what grit whetstone for polishing?
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For sharpening, I love my R2 / SG2 Bunka finished at 3k, would recommend the Naniwa Chosera/Pro 3k.
For polishing, it really depends on the cladding and what finish you're looking for. Usually, you'd need a progression of stones for polishing, and soft muddier ones are easier to start on, e.g., Naniwa Super Stones, or Suehiro (Cerax, Debado SNE etc.). Personally, I think a Chosera 800 does well, but you'd definitely want to follow up with something finer. Some people have had luck with the Chosera 3k, but I've never been able to get my polishes streak-free with that.
For polishing, it really depends on the cladding and what finish you're looking for. Usually, you'd need a progression of stones for polishing, and soft muddier ones are easier to start on, e.g., Naniwa Super Stones, or Suehiro (Cerax, Debado SNE etc.). Personally, I think a Chosera 800 does well, but you'd definitely want to follow up with something finer. Some people have had luck with the Chosera 3k, but I've never been able to get my polishes streak-free with that.
Get Ouka 3K if you love bite, NP3K for refined aggressiveness or Imanishi 4K for more refinement with a bite.
They’re all pretty fast. Ouka is budget oriented and a good polishing stone too for a bit of both world. Imanishi and NP3K require more skills there but they can do something nice too.
Cerax 3000 is same as Ouka if it’s easier for you to get.
They’re all pretty fast. Ouka is budget oriented and a good polishing stone too for a bit of both world. Imanishi and NP3K require more skills there but they can do something nice too.
Cerax 3000 is same as Ouka if it’s easier for you to get.
so for hard SG2 j knives the whetstones should stop at 3,000 grit? i see lots of others for 6k, 8k, 10k, etc
Ouka is 3K. NP3K is more 4K. Imanishi is 4K. I personally don’t even go higher on carbons. Mind you stones are peculiar so someone might suggest a 6K stone that works more like 4K, or suggest a 4K that works like 6K.
It’s a good range for kitchen knives. If you want to slice sashimi all day then you’ll need a finer edge. But if you want an edge that works all around, 3-4K is a nice target.
Otherwise, PM steels like SG2, despite it being quite easier to work out than harder variations, if you really want refinement over the 4K range, you might need diamond stones.
It’s a good range for kitchen knives. If you want to slice sashimi all day then you’ll need a finer edge. But if you want an edge that works all around, 3-4K is a nice target.
Otherwise, PM steels like SG2, despite it being quite easier to work out than harder variations, if you really want refinement over the 4K range, you might need diamond stones.
If you want to stay in the family you can get an SG4k, that’s my end-point for all my knives (SG2 and carbon). I use it for light touchups and only use the 1k if there’s a bit of tiny micro chipping or when touchups on the SG4k stops being effective. That preserves the steel really well.
I have many stones and bought a Naniwa Offspec #4000 stone 1.5 years ago at the ebaystore of "ikkyujapanavenue". It´s a very nice and cheap stone. It´s splash and go and cost only ~20$ + shipping. I use him more then the Chosera 3k. Maybe it´s the right stone for you. Another very nice stone is a Suehiro Rika 5k
Stone Details:
Manufacturer: Naniwa
Grit: #4000
Dimensions: 70 x 210 x 23mm
Stone Details:
Manufacturer: Naniwa
Grit: #4000
Dimensions: 70 x 210 x 23mm
inferno
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) <*))))><
is your imanishi 4k a medium soft (you can cut into it buy mistake, but it feels "hard") resinoid you think? i wonder if this stone is the exact same as the cleancut kitayama 4k. i think it is.
If I relate to my first uses of it, back when I still made wobbling mistakes with the left, I think cutting into it by mistake is very possible - and yet it does feel hard enough that it would seem unlikely. So yes, perhaps. Perhaps worse when soaked longer. When dulling a knife's edge on the side of it, it digs like in Cerax 700 or so IIRC.
Not overly dishy though. Admittedly, not a favorite for polishing (good for wide bevels though), so my assessment of it's dishiness rather limited. Can't tell you much in guise of hard facts. I can try a few things next time I come around to it and report to you.
inferno
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) <*))))><
mine seems to wear slow too. it gets this weird discoloration and spots on the surface. it seems completely random. and its definitely not a single solid color on the surface anymore. when wet at least. yeah well just wanted to figure out if these 2 are the same. since i suspected they are.
also my box of my kit4k looked exactly like the 4k in this pic here.
click top pic. Japanische Wassersteine: IMANISHI Bester
also my box of my kit4k looked exactly like the 4k in this pic here.
click top pic. Japanische Wassersteine: IMANISHI Bester
mine seems to wear slow too. it gets this weird discoloration and spots on the surface. it seems completely random. and its definitely not a single solid color on the surface anymore. when wet at least. yeah well just wanted to figure out if these 2 are the same. since i suspected they are.
also my box of my kit4k looked exactly like the 4k in this pic here.
click top pic. Japanische Wassersteine: IMANISHI Bester
Yeah you posted that pic once a while ago on a same discussion.
BTW my Ima 4K is a combo 1200/4000 so... is it THE Imanishi 4K or a sub variation... IDK
And yeah same for discoloration. It's really liking to be resurfaced. I don't like to use it if Atoma didn't have quite a ride on it first, usually. And 45-1 hour soak. Which I remedied by perma in the end.
Edit: BTW, can I ask you, is it just me or is that stone devilishly fast for how fine it works?
inferno
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) <*))))><
i never resurface mine since that splotchyness will never go away. dont resurface your one. just use it. it will cut just as fast. or slow if you want.
i never soak mine. it seems like a splash and go. it needs like 3-4 splashes at most and then it seems to keep its drink.
its very fast in polishing stuff since its somehow macroscopically hard (so its stays fairly flat), but on a finer level its a soft stone (so it conforms to the small height variations in the steel). and it releases just a tiny bit of abrasive to not get clogged. good mirror(-ish) polisher imo. and could be used for kasumi but then you need to keep it at a certain slurryness.
id say its speed is about half of the shapton glass 4k. with more clogging to deal with, with the imanishi. i also much prefer the edges of the glass 4k. its just crisper, nicer and more evil.
i never soak mine. it seems like a splash and go. it needs like 3-4 splashes at most and then it seems to keep its drink.
its very fast in polishing stuff since its somehow macroscopically hard (so its stays fairly flat), but on a finer level its a soft stone (so it conforms to the small height variations in the steel). and it releases just a tiny bit of abrasive to not get clogged. good mirror(-ish) polisher imo. and could be used for kasumi but then you need to keep it at a certain slurryness.
id say its speed is about half of the shapton glass 4k. with more clogging to deal with, with the imanishi. i also much prefer the edges of the glass 4k. its just crisper, nicer and more evil.
More or less agree.
It does go away - what I experienced. Which was a lot of more or less fingerprint sized "specks", and bigger "discolored" areas. Nowadays it's just what it's supposed to be:
This was attained long before I decided to permasoak.
As for resurfacing it on the contrary I advise you to try: mine was feeling off when I started. Like a worse SP5K in feeling, and not so much faster. But mostly it was just weird: knives would stick with nothing, after a fresh splash or just out of a decent soaking period. Surface always felt overly glassy and weirdly uneven, like there were bumps where there wasn't any. I would also feel something akin to hitting small areas where some debris would stuck out, still where there was none.
Was about to give up on it when one night I gave it hell with the atoma. Removed about a full mm from the top. Since then, I always get that state above once dried, it's much faster, and there's nothing weird going on.
I also like feeling and feedback much better when I condition it first. It's much more usable than it was if I don't, but it still is much better if I do. Edges are much crisper. It would sometimes literally kill a good progression and a good edge while technique was consistent. I just wouldn't know why, and couldn't predict when. Since I dealt with it, I've got consistent results.
Soaking/perma also removes some of the clogginess, but on that point, it's just still a cloggy stone.
It does go away - what I experienced. Which was a lot of more or less fingerprint sized "specks", and bigger "discolored" areas. Nowadays it's just what it's supposed to be:
This was attained long before I decided to permasoak.
As for resurfacing it on the contrary I advise you to try: mine was feeling off when I started. Like a worse SP5K in feeling, and not so much faster. But mostly it was just weird: knives would stick with nothing, after a fresh splash or just out of a decent soaking period. Surface always felt overly glassy and weirdly uneven, like there were bumps where there wasn't any. I would also feel something akin to hitting small areas where some debris would stuck out, still where there was none.
Was about to give up on it when one night I gave it hell with the atoma. Removed about a full mm from the top. Since then, I always get that state above once dried, it's much faster, and there's nothing weird going on.
I also like feeling and feedback much better when I condition it first. It's much more usable than it was if I don't, but it still is much better if I do. Edges are much crisper. It would sometimes literally kill a good progression and a good edge while technique was consistent. I just wouldn't know why, and couldn't predict when. Since I dealt with it, I've got consistent results.
Soaking/perma also removes some of the clogginess, but on that point, it's just still a cloggy stone.
