Recommendation? Naniwa Pro 400/800/2000 or 400/1000/3000

[Druantia]

Hi everyone!

I'm very new to sharpening, and after doing some research, I'm a little stuck on which stones I should order.
The focus of my question isn’t just about the size of the jumps, but more about the feel and behavior of the stones - which ones do you prefer, and why? What are your favorite stones from Naniwa?

I know that many people prefer the 800 over the 1000, but I’m wondering if the 1000 might be a better choice since it can also be used to finish western knives.
(for now, I’ll be practicing on western knives, but later I plan to work on ginsan, AEB-L, or other similar stainless steels kitchen knives)

I’d really appreciate any insights and opinions!

 

[Ourorboros]

I prefer Naniwa Professionals and Shapton Glass for steels that can be easily sharpened with aluminum oxide. For the steels you list, that will be fine.
I prefer a hard stone that dishes slow. I also like novaculite for simple steels, so yeah, rocks.

I'd personally go with Naniwa Professionals 400 then 2k, then strop or go finer. Really a 400 to 800 or 1k is a small jump for those steels unless you are polishing after thinning.
A 2K edge in some Germans is about all it can handle anyways. With the rest, it really depends on the final edge you want, but 400-2K gets you to a good place to either be finished or to polish.

 

[Jason B.]

The Naniwa Chosera/Professional is my main stone set for kitchen knives and most other edged tools. They have some of the best sharpening feel and the cleanest scratch pattern of any synthetic stone I have used.

The set I use is the 400, 800 and 3000. The 400 is a smooth and deceptively fast cutting stone, even said to be faster or as fast as the Shapton 120. The nice thing about the 400 is you start with very clean lines, coarser stones can distort the shoulder of the bevel causing more work.

I chose the 800 over the 1000 because its the recommended progression (400, 800, 3k) for knives. Razor honors seem to really like the 1k though. The 800 is also a great stopping point for German knives. You can finish to 3k but 800 and strop makes a really good edge on softer steels.

The 3000 is the star and a highly regarded stone in in the sharpening community. The feel is silky with a firm grab on the steel. It doesn't polish like most synthetic stones, its a strong abrasive that consistently cuts so its a very defined scratch pattern. You actually get a 3k edge and not something polished from burnishing. It also sets a great base for further polishing.

 

[Jason B.]

Another stone to consider in addition to the Professional stones is the Naniwa 2k Aotoshi. This is my Go-To finisher for German knives or softer stainless in general. I also use the 400 pro and 2k Aotoshi as a combo.