Chosera 800 grit

[Gary W. Graley]

I had picked up this 800 grit Chosera as I had been wanting to give them a try, have had the edgepro stones as well as the Shaptons for edgepro but my grit range could stand to get a couple in to space it out a little better;

120 grit from edgepro
220 grit from edgepro
220 grit from shapton
320 grit from shapton
500 grit from shapton
2k grit from shapton
8k grit from shapton

so, I set out to fill in the blanks as it were, ended up getting a 180 grit...not sure of the make, but I love it's cutting action, almost like a waterstone it really SOAKS the water up and wears down pretty quick, but does a great job helping to set initial bevels.

800 grit Chosera, really nice, really very nice as now if I want a more toothy edge I run my sharpening only up to this grit, further or higher grit gets me a more polished edge which is great for wood carving but not so well for cutting into fiberous material.

and I got a 5k Chosera which I found that since I was stopping at the 800 I really didn't find a spot for it and sold it off recently, at a loss unfortunately but it's gone to a good home! And as the 5k was pretty close to the 2k and 8k I didn't see any actual benefit of filling that void right now anyways.

But back to the 800 grit Chosera, I'm very tempted to get a bench stone in this grit, but I find my method of sharpening I don't use bench stones as I use to, the edge pro mounts make it handy for me to free hand sharpen, as I had sold off my edge pro gear a long time ago. I hold the stone in one hand, pinched between my thumb and ring finger and hold the knife in my right hand and sharpen in this manner.

So this is, I guess, more of an alert for those that have not given the 800 grit Chosera stone a try, it's worth the price of admission, it's not as splash and go as the Shaptons are, as it soaks up water a bit more, but not as much as that 180 grit, that is like a sponge!

G2

edited to add this shot, the 800 grit Chosera is the orangeish one just below the Case shield on the knife, plus it's a thicker version they sell too

 

[Jason B.]

A very nice stone indeed! Chosera, renamed the Naniwa Professional stones are very easy grinding stones making the sharpening experience very enjoyable. I prefer my Shapton Glass, but can't deny the greatness of the Naniwa stones.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Thanks Jason, I'll be on the lookout for more of those then, hadn't heard them called Naniwa before.
G2

 

[Epicurian]

Gary, not to hijack your thread, but I was curious if Jason wouldn't mind contrasting the Naniwa and Shapton stones. I have Naniwa bench stones and love them.

 

[Jason B.]

Gary,

Naniwa is the name of the company that produces the chosera/professional stones, one of the most recognized stone manufactures in Japan.

Epicurian,

It's a well debated battle between the two. It's best to compare the Shapton Pro vs the Naniwa Professional (this is the new name of the Chosera line). The Shapton Glass are a step above both in terms of quality and precision, they are a complete system (rather expensive system) and made to a higher standard than anything I have seen.

The Naniwa Pro vs the Shapton Pro can best be described by their coarseness. The Naniwa is known to be fine for its grit, this is because the Naniwa stone is seeking to produce the best polish thanks to a tightly regulated grit range within the stone. The Shapton stone is all about precision and cutting speed, it's ceramic abrasive (or binder, not real clear on that) is harder making the stone more dense. There is also a noticeable change in coarseness of the stone, they give a very positive grinding feel and are noticeably faster.

I am one of the rare few that thought the Chosera were great but never really warmed up to them. I like stones with a powerful cutting feel and blinding speed, I found that with the Shaptons.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

The shaptons I have are the Glass ones, the 220 wears down a lot faster than the rest, above that, the others appear pretty flat.
G2

 

[Brian.Evans]

I have a 1000 grit Chosera bench stone that I use to set the bevels on straight razors and I love it. Really nice stones.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

I have the King 1k/6k combo waterstone, recently tried that out and I really like the edge it provided too, but I can see it will begin to wear down fast, which is the give and take of a waterstone.

A good tip on waterstones...do NOT leave them in your garage if you live in an area that has cold winters...the water residue inside will cause you to end up with a pile of smaller waterstones
G2