ποΈ Umegahata,Kyoto Prefecture,Japan
β Authorized product with Kyoto Grinding Wheel Sales Cooperative Association seal
πͺ Finishing stone for all types of blades (kitchen knives, chisels, razors, etc.)
π Brand new product
Shohonyama: Whetstones mined in Kyoto
Awasedo: Natural finishing whetstone from Kyoto and surrounding areas
Nakayama: Grinding stones mined in the eastern region of Kyoto. Market stock is still available as artisans are still mining it today. Generally regarded as a hard whetstone, but in fact soft whetstones also exist. Kiita and Mizuasagi in Nakayama are popular with buyers. The particles are very fine and can be used for all knives, hand plane, razors, and other blades.
Kato Mine: Named after Mr. Kato who first mined in Nakayama.Currently, another craftsman, who is not Mr. Kato, is mining.
Yaginoshima: A whetstone mined in the western region of Kyoto. Since the mine is now closed, the market stock is small. Yakinoshima Awasedo's Asagi is so suitable for razor blades that it is called a razor blade whetstone. It is also often suitable for steel knives.
Umajiyama: Grinding stones mined in the western region of Kyoto. Since the mine is now closed, there are few in stock on the market. Many of the stones are slightly sandy and soft in texture. Anyone can sharpen them beautifully, but they are not suitable for blades such as a hand plane.
Hideriyama: Grinding stones mined in the western region of Kyoto. The mine is now closed, so the market stock is low. Many of the stones are soft and can be used by anyone for clean sharpening.
Aiwadani: Grinding stones mined near the border of Kyoto and Shiga prefectures. The mine is now closed, so there are few in stock on the market. Similar to Nakayama, but the sharpening stones are a little sandier than Nakayama.
Shobutani: Grinding stones mined in the eastern part of Kyoto. Since the mine is now closed, the market stock is small. It is characterized by its fine grain size and softness.
Ozuku: A whetstone mined in the eastern part of Kyoto. Since the mine is now closed, there are few in stock on the market. Many of the stones are hard.
First of all, even a small whetstone can sharpen knives. Smaller stones do not necessarily mean that the quality of the whetstone is poor. Also, small stones are relatively inexpensive. If you have never used a natural whetstone before, we recommend that you start with a small whetstone.
Each natural whetstone has different characteristics. You cannot assume that a stone is hard or soft because it was mined in a particular mountain. The hardness of a whetstone is described in the description column on a 5-point scale, with 1 indicating softness and 5 indicating hardness.
In general, a soft whetstone is recommended for hard blades and a hard whetstone for soft blades. This is because a moderate frictional resistance is applied to the blade. However, there are extremely soft blades in the world, and if a hard whetstone is applied to such a blade, the blade will be damaged.
For those who choose a whetstone for razor blades, we recommend a whetstone with a hardness rating of 4 or 5. And we recommend that you choose a whetstone with no Suji at all.
There is no such thing as a suitable whetstone for stainless steel blades or a suitable whetstone for steel blades. This is because both stainless steel and steel knives can be soft or hard. Therefore, we recommend that you select a whetstone according to the hardness of the blade.
Harder whetstones are harder to slurry, making them more difficult for beginners to sharpen. A whetstone with a hardness level of about 3 is easy for beginners to handle.
When sharpening the sides of knives such as Japanese knives with a Suji stone, the blade may or may not be slightly scratched. Light black Suji, brown Suji, and white Suji do not cause minor scratches on knives. Black shiny Suji tends to cause minor scratches. For knives that are sharpened only at the cutting edge, such as Santoku knives and Gyuto knives, there is no adverse effect when sharpened with a whetstone that has shiny black Suji.
Natural whetstones are a product of nature, and no two natural whetstones have exactly the same characteristics, even if they come from the same place of origin or the same geological formation. Natural whetstones may be harder or softer than expected, may or may not produce grinding fluid, may or may not stick to the blade, etc. We hope you will consider this to be a good thing about natural whetstones and enjoy them.
Natural whetstones are susceptible to cracking when immersed in water, so only moisten the surface when using them. (Many artificial whetstones are soaked in water before use, but natural whetstones are not treated in this way.)
If you want to protect your natural whetstone, we recommend that you apply cashew paint to all five surfaces except the grindstone surface. We have some products coated with cashew paint, so please take a look if you like.
Some products may be difficult to grind and chattering may occur. In this case, we recommend using a Nagura whetstone to release the juice before sharpening.
When sharpening knives, a part of the grindstone surface will be dented (in most cases, the center of the grindstone surface will be dented). (In most cases, the center of the surface is dented.) If you continue sharpening the blade as it is, it will not produce a good edge, so please use a correcting stone to regularly adjust the surface.
Depending on the combination of the sharpening stone and the blade, small scratches may appear on the blade. Some blades are suitable for the whetstone and some are not. Therefore, please try sharpening various blades with whetstones.
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