Does anyone recognize these Japanese waterstones?

It's very common for Japanese water stones to have only two finished sides. In some cases, I've seen stones with only one finished surface. Triangle shaped, rectangle, cubes, chunks, etc., etc. The idea is not to waste good stone just because it isn't a long rectangle.

The Japanese writing on these stones doesn't say anything about their grits, only that they are 'old style sharpening stones.'

Stitchawl
 
Are they just the nagura or is it stone and nagura?
 
Well I contacted the seller..

He told me that
The light colored stones with the brown concentric bands are iyomate stones, in smaller sizes they are used as nagura/slurry stones.
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He goes onto say
Natural stones do not follow a grit rating because the particles sizes are somewhat random. Stones of the same type, ie kiita, asagi, karasu, suita, etc. can still cut at different speeds and produce different finishes. Also, stones from the same mine can produce different results depending on depth and the presence of different minerals where they formed. For natural stones, they really have to be used and then the edge finish estimated visually to come up with an approximate grit. But even then, as the stones are used, the slurry that builds can break down into finer particles, so a hard and fast number just doesn't apply. Still, the 'sharpening' stones on the page are iyo and should make a finish that falls between 1000-2000 grit JIS, and the 'polishing' stones should be closer to 6000 JIS.

Stones can be very expensive depending on which mine they come from, especially since the most famous mines where shut down over half a century ago. Their size, appearance, lack of cracks or veins, performance grading, the mountain of origin, etc all influence prices. The polishing stones I have are small, koppa size, and the iyo stones are not expensive in general.
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So basically, yes, they are nagura and very small stones.

Everthing the seller told you is true.

Your better off with different stones........
 
knifenut1013 said:
So basically, yes, they are nagura and very small stones.

Everthing the seller told you is true.

Your better off with different stones........
Click to expand...
Thats too bad because they look pretty cool. Actually some are bigger than the Fallkniven DC4 ceramic and diamond sharpening stone, like this one.
http://www.ecrater.com/p/6844490/ja...o-224?keywords=japanese+Sharpening+Waterstone

I guess for these Japanese waterstones bigger is better/easier as opposed to diamond and ceramic
 
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If you want to try some quality natural stones of a better size check japanwoodworker.com

Bigger stones are always better ;)
 
It will work but I would go with the 1k/6k and a single coarse stone. Unless you have damage or need to do serious reprofiling the 250 would see limited use.

All stones will wear and how much you use them will be the main factor in how long they last. If you sharpen a knife or 2 every once and a while it might last 20 years. If you sharpen every day maybe half that or less and with a combo stone like that king expect even less life simply because of thickness.

Diamonds require different care with pressure being the main destroying factor. With proper care I feel mine might last a very long time as its taken a little more than a year of use to break them in. Some members here even report 20 years of use and counting.
 
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