Nubatama vs suehiro vs naniwa stones. What do I need to know?

They are all fine stones. Each brand also has a different lines, so you need to narrow down that question.
 
Title edited for clarity.
 
Are you looking for price-to-performance or are you asking for unique things about the stones?

I think the more expensive stones definitely offer more than a cheap amazon stone. But even the Naniwa 1000/3000 for 25 bucks is already a big step up from the 20 bucks amazon stones.
One thing about Suehiro: the stones seem to come with a coating, so you need to open up the surface with that little extra stone that comes in the package. That just takes a minute.
 
What are you looking for?
There are well over 100 different stones among all 3 of those brands.
 
Father & Son Traditional Sharpening said:
Old thread but as someone who wonders how to justify such an expensive set of stones, what gives them this recommendation specifically?
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That's what the professionals use for sharpening Japanese kitchen knives, you get a good combination of speed, feedback, dish resistance, finish and cut for the price as long as the steels don't have too much Vanadium.

You'll also have to maintain the flatness with a stone flattener.


These stones work best when you use a freehand technique like this.

 
DeadboxHero said:
That's what the professionals use for sharpening Japanese kitchen knives, you get a good combination of speed, feedback, dish resistance, finish and cut for the price as long as the steels don't have too much Vanadium.

You'll also have to maintain the flatness with a stone flattener.


These stones work best when you use a freehand technique like this.

Click to expand...

Great answer, thank you. I'm not new to waterstones but I've not used many higher end waterstones.
 
I like the Naniwa Chosera 3k for most of my sharpening. Unless the edge is very dull or has a lot of hard vanadium carbides, it cuts fast and leaves a good edge.

Is Naniwa the only brand that offers diamond waterstones?
 
Gil P. said:
I like the Naniwa Chosera 3k for most of my sharpening. Unless the edge is very dull or has a lot of hard vanadium carbides, it cuts fast and leaves a good edge.

Is Naniwa the only brand that offers diamond waterstones?
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No there are plenty of other brands that offer "Diamond Waterstones"

Resin bonded diamond waterstones.
Nanohone
Columbia Gorge Stone Works
Naniwa
King
Venev
Poltava
Gesshin

Vitrified Bond Diamond waterstones
Practical Sharpening
Gesshin
BBB Super Vitrified

Metallic bonded waterstones
Poltava

Electro Plated Diamond
DMT
Atoma
Etc
 
Father & Son Traditional Sharpening said:
Old thread but as someone who wonders how to justify such an expensive set of stones, what gives them this recommendation specifically?
Click to expand...

To go into a little more detail..

The Naniwa Chosera stones are the best of the best from Naniwa and are among the best stones available. Used by professionals and beginners alike, the higher quality stone provides a better overall sharpening experience with greater abilities, cleaner grind lines and more refined scratch patterns. You can simply do more and do it better with premium stones.

As with many high end Japanese waterstones that have complete sets, the sets will have specific stones that work best in a specific order or with specific types of steel. In the case of Naniwa Chosera it is recommended to use the 400, 800 and 3000 grit stones in progression, this recommendation comes directly from Naniwa and is typically noted as a general sharpening progression. I have also found that while they work fine with carbon steels they are far superior on stainless steels, especially with the 400 grit.

The 400 can keep up with stones much coarser than it while leaving a much finer scratch pattern. For this reason I tend to use it a lot for setting bevels and when I need to grind a large flat bevel like those of laminated japanese kitchen knives and wood working tools. Also great on many folding knives.
 
DeadboxHero said:
No there are plenty of other brands that offer "Diamond Waterstones"

Resin bonded diamond waterstones.
Nanohone
Columbia Gorge Stone Works
Naniwa
King
Venev
Poltava
Gesshin

Vitrified Bond Diamond waterstones
Practical Sharpening
Gesshin
BBB Super Vitrified

Metallic bonded waterstones
Poltava

Electro Plated Diamond
DMT
Atoma
Etc
Click to expand...

Some more new releases:
Venev:
They now have a line of metallic bonded diamond stones and CBN resin stones.

Hapstone:
Now has a line of metallic (copper&tin alloy) stones in both CBN and Diamond.
 
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