Kohetsu 800 and 2000 Stones: Anyone Tried Them

[ncrockclimb]

I found these on that chef knife site. They look interesting. I would be interested to know if any of you Japanese stone aficionados have tried or heard about these.

 

[Jason B.]

I would have to guess that I was the first one in the US (besides CKTG) to have these stones about 1.5 years ago. I just purchased my second set the other day, If that says anything.

You can find a fair amount of my writings about these stones on the CKTG Forum. My friend Greg (orezeno on the CKTG forum) is the only other person I know of that purchased these at the same time I did, him and I share very similar opinions of these stones.

The Kohetsu stones are soft but very fast cutting stones designed for hard high alloy steels found in Japanese Kitchen cutlery. They are softer than a King 1k but faster than a Shapton Glass stone and though they are softer stones wear does not seem to be an issue. I do use them for some folding/hunting knives but more so on kitchen knives. They produce a dull finish with an edge that is very toothy sharp and cuts like a demon.

From what I can tell in my usage the 800 seems to be an aluminum oxide type abrasive while the 2k is a Silicon Carbide type abrasive.

 

[ncrockclimb]

Thank you! I was hoping you would post, and suspected you knew about these stones.

I have Shapton Pro 220, 1000, 5000, and they have been great. I am considering trying something different just for fun and the Kohetsu sounds like it might be just what I am looking for.

 

[Jason B.]

They will be a good change from the Shapton's, soft and muddy stones are very fun to use despite the mess. They will be harder to use and get use to but you will really like the feedback.