omega that makes no sense to me. the ikarashi's that shinichi offers must be of the finer kind because the one i had from JNS was more like 1-2k grit.
Supplemental Jnat finisher
- Thread starter K813zra
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Omega
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@Panda Interesting! I'll be the first to admit, I am certainly no stone expert, and you could very well be right. I can only relay on what Shinichi and I spoke of. In an incredibly subjective testing-the-grit-with-my-finger, the Ikarashi feels smoother than my Aoto.. But that's as good as I can give you for now : /
valgard
Stones Addict (terminal case)
He says in the description (at the top) that those stones are medium fine grit.
K813zra
Senior Member
My experience with Ikarashi is the same as panda's about 1500 grit +/-. My Aoto stones are more or less in this range as well, maybe a little coarser but not enough so to use them before Ikarashi.
Edit: I got my Ikarashi from Watanabe.
Edit: I got my Ikarashi from Watanabe.
my old vintage aoto (now in possession by asteger) was 5k range. that's a huge range of variation from 1.5k-5k 
K813zra
Senior Member
my old vintage aoto (now in possession by asteger) was 5k range. that's a huge range of variation from 1.5k-5k
My two Aoto stones are cheap stones that I took a gamble on. Around $80 a piece and I was told before I got them that they were not quality vintage aoto's. They are greyish brown and about 1200-1500(ish) when compared to synthetics. I think a lot of these stones are floating around. I see them on MM all the time, for example. They are good working stones for what they are and gave me an idea of what I wanted to look for in a stone. I leave one at my grandfathers house and the other at my parents house to touch up their Fujiwara knives that I gifted them.
Someday I will have to hunt for a good vintage aoto like you mention but it is not a priority.
ynot1985
Senior Member
I'm in the same boat, but I kind of given up. Hard to find that vintage aoto without trying it first. I was told by a store in Japan that the stone distributors rang out of the finer aotos about 30 years ago and most of the aotos nowadays aren't as good.. I have been burnt a few times myself so I'm now going to stick with aizus and finishing stones instead
K813zra
Senior Member
Well, I know what you mean but I would not say I was burnt as I knew the stones I was getting into were of lesser quality and their price reflected that. One of my stones was listed as an Aono aoto and the other as a Tanba aoto, both of which are likely in the 1200-1500 grit range but coarser than my Iakrash at the very least. They are fast cutting stones that are quite pleasurable to use. If they were that pleasurable to use but finer, I would be in heaven. Soft for a natural and oh so creamy with loads of feedback. I wonder though, if the vintage aoto's are so much finer they are likely harder too, which I think might take away from the experience.
At the end of the day, I don't have a natural stone that I don't like. It is just that I like some more than others. This sure has become addictive, to say the least.
(I will have to read this and see if it makes sense at a later date...I had a bit to drink while preparing dinner, lol.)
