#800-1000 stone to compliment my shapton glass set

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dothedr3w

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Oct 7, 2020
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Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum so I thought I'd turn to the experts to help me decide on my next stone purchase...which I will admit is probably very unnecessary. First off here's what I currently have:

Naniwa Chosera #1000
Naniwa SuperStone #5000, #8000, #12000
Shapton Glass #320, #1000, #3000, #6000

I've had the Naniwa stones for quite some time now, and I am largely pleased with them, but the Shapton's are a brand new purchase and I haven't even had the chance to use any of them other than the #320, which I really enjoy.

Here are my thoughts....
1. Sell the Naniwa SS #5000 since I've now got the SG #6000;
2. Sell the Chosera #1000...because I find it a little too slow for my liking.

I sharpen everything from tactical folders, to high carbon kitchen knives and straight razors. I'm looking for a stone to replace the Chosera #1000, which will compliment the Shapton #1000. I'm thinking about the Chosera/Professional #800 @ 14 microns (I think); for reference the Shapton is 14.7 microns. With my limited knowledge, the micron count tells me the #800 will be slower/finer than the SG, but I really don't know enough about the binding agents to make an informed decision. Can you folks help me get rid of this pocket change burning a hole in my pocket and suggest a nice complimentary stone, if not the Chosera #800? I'm open to any and all suggestions so long as they make me spend money lol.

Cheers!
 
The Shapton Glass stones will polish like a higher grit than what they are listed at. I think it depends on what your goal is ... I still use my Chosera stones on many steels because I love the feel. I find I only use the lower grit Shaptons up to 500 grit but then I prefer a toothy edge for almost all of my knife uses.
 
JJ_Colt45 said:
The Shapton Glass stones will polish like a higher grit than what they are listed at. I think it depends on what your goal is ... I still use my Chosera stones on many steels because I love the feel. I find I only use the lower grit Shaptons up to 500 grit but then I prefer a toothy edge for almost all of my knife uses.
Click to expand...

do you find the chosera's to be 'toothier' than the shaptons? If that's the case, is it a significant enough difference to justify it? From what I've read the Chosera #1000 is more like a #1200-1500, and the #800 more like a #1000.
 
If you like the Shapton Glass 320, you might want to consider a Chosera 400, especially when paired with the Aotoshi 2K (Green Brick of Joy.)

That's a great kitchen knife combo, and would probably work well on your folders as long at they are not crazy hard steels.
 
Correct. The Chosera 800 cuts like a 1000 water stone and the 1000 like a 1200 water stone. They have great feedback. But they're water stones, and have to be soaked. I started out with those, but just got sick of waiting for them to soak, and the bigger problem was drying. I put them away too soon and they grew mold! So the Shaptons are splash-and-go, and I'd keep those and get rid of ALL of the Naniwa stones: SuperStones and Chosera. A "toothy" edge will shave the hair on your arm and not ever require more than 1000 (or even lower). Toothy is preferred for slicing action (like meat, vegetables and rope) and a polished edge is preferred for push cutting (like your razors). So I'd get rid of the Naniwas, maybe buy an Atoma 140 diamond plate for reprofiling an edge. Maybe also an Atoma 600 diamond plate for really dull blades, otherwise your 1000 Shapton is your workhorse.

After trying all of that stuff, I personally ended up with nothing other than soft, hard and translucent Arkansas stones. A couple of drops of honing oil and you can sharpen and polish anything from a dull hatchet to a straight razor. Just my $0.02.
 
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thanks everyone for the feedback, it's very much appreciated. I don't think I want to drop as low as #400, quite close to the #320. And the #2000 just isnt really on my radar at this time. As for diamond plates, ive got a DMT dia-flat which I forgot to mention.

How do you guys think the Shapton Pro 1000 would compare to the Chosera 800 and Glass 1000?
 
You may "feel" that they cut a little differently, which is the difference in feedback that each provides, but cutting-wise they really are all the same.
 
dothedr3w said:
could you elaborate on this a bit further Dave? excuse my ignorance
Click to expand...

Notice the "feel" of sharpening on a diamond stone. It feels like it is cutting harshly. It's hard to make it feel like it's cutting lightly. Diamonds cut aggressively. If you look at their scratch patterns under magnification you can see that they scratch deeply, even with high grit plates. Notice that your Chosera 1000 feels completely different than your Shapton 1000. And a 1000 diamond plate would feel different that both of those. Japanese waterstones (Chosera) are softer stones and they utilize a grit slurry, so their cutting is more even and feels "softer". Notice that it is easy to gouge the stone if you aren't careful. This indicates that it's softer. Softer stones also have to be lapped (flattened) periodically, but those who like those stones don't mind the extra work. The relationship between feel and cutting is the "feedback". People who like feedback usually gravitate toward the Chosera, and the "get 'er done" group just go for fast cutting and minimal feel (diamonds). Shaptons are in between. All personal preference.

Incidentally, Arkansas stones aren't measured by grit, because they both cut and polish at the same time. The feedback is very good: you sense just how hard you are cutting. A "soft Arkansas is roughly equivalent to a 500/600-800/900, a "hard is equivalent to a 1000/1200-1500/2000 and both black and translucent are equivalent to a 3000/5000-6000/8000. They sort of cut like the low end and polish like the high end to over-simplify it a bit. Practice with your Chosera and Shapton 1000s. Decide which "feel" you prefer. The Chosera is kind of a "purists" choice, while the Shaptons are a very good all-around choice.
 
Look up Ryky Tran’s YouTube channel called “Burrfection” and watch as many of his videos as you can. Everything you’d ever want to know about sharpening you will find there. He has many comparative tests including Choseras (800 is his favorite), shaptons, Arkansas and many more.
 
When you say "compliment" your Shaptons, exactly what do you want this new stone to accomplish?
The Chosera 800 will be pretty close to the Shapton Glass 1000. In fact, on the Chosera scale the Shapton is estimated to be about a 700 stone. But if you go through your progression to 6K, what is the point? A .7micron difference isn't much.
At the same time you don't want a Chosera 400 because it's too close to a Shapton 320?
You're going to need that diamond plate for the Shaptons though. They do dish out and take a while to flatten.
 
My bad. You are correct Craig! I moved from the Chosera 800 to the Suehiro Cerax 1000 a while ago to GET a softer soaking stone. Sorry for the confusion.
 
hey Dave thanks for the great reply, everything makes much more sense now!

In your opinion how would a shapton pro 1000 perform/feel compared to the glass 1000?
 
I sold my Chosera 1000 for a Chosera 800. the 800 is great, and the jump from 800 to the Chosera/Professional 3000 is just right in my opinion. At the moment I don’t have anything higher than the Chosera 3000. (Apart from natural stones)

If you have a Shapton glass 6000 I would personally stop there. I had a Naniwa Super stone 8000 once but didn’t like it at all. Way too soft for my taste. I like hard bonded water stones a lot more than soft ones like the super stone series.
 
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