Water stones? shapton glass?

I am not fond of soakers and like the splash and go stones much better, but that is just me.

Be sure you see this statement and not get distracted after putting the stone in water to soak:

"Kitayama stones contain Magnesium salts that will dissolve in water so it is recommended that you do not leave the stone in water for long periods of time."
 
Last edited:
pwet said:
what else do you already have ?
Click to expand...

A full set of DMT stones, lots of sandpaper, and a natural aoto that I'm probably going to sell for a man made one. Like the Kitayama the aoto has natural materials mixed in so I would like to find another stone between that has the same qualities.
 
takenoko/arashiyama (spell?) is labelled at 6k and is in the same league as both synth aoto and kitayama. i think they could compliment pretty well. that would make 3-4ish to 6-8ish to 8-12ish roughly. very acceptable gaps, most people could jump straight from aoto to kitayama but i've heard that she was a bitch of a stone and needed a very close jump and some practice to reach her true potential, both in term of finish and sharpness.

try finding th ebay store called "metalmasterjp" the owner is very knowledgeable and he lists some stones with nat abrasives mixed. along with a lot of cool stuff like abrasive powder used in stones up to 10k, atoma diamond plates, etc.

i personnaly havent tried both the kitayama and takenoko so take it with a grain of salt.

you should email dave at JKS and ask him
 
pwet said:
takenoko/arashiyama (spell?) is labelled at 6k and is in the same league as both synth aoto and kitayama. i think they could compliment pretty well. that would make 3-4ish to 6-8ish to 8-12ish roughly. very acceptable gaps, most people could jump straight from aoto to kitayama but i've heard that she was a bitch of a stone and needed a very close jump and some practice to reach her true potential, both in term of finish and sharpness.

try finding th ebay store called "metalmasterjp" the owner is very knowledgeable and he lists some stones with nat abrasives mixed. along with a lot of cool stuff like abrasive powder used in stones up to 10k, atoma diamond plates, etc.

i personnaly havent tried both the kitayama and takenoko so take it with a grain of salt.

you should email dave at JKS and ask him
Click to expand...


That what I was thinking :D

I check MM but please don't remind me of the diamond water stones I could go broke.....errr :eek:
 
diamond waterstone don't get very good review, it's kinda weird concept if you ask me. there is just a thin layer of usable stone where the diamonds are embedded and the stone wears very slowly, heard it doesn't feel like a waterstone at all

atoma plates on the other hand have a great reputation, think dmt continuous but with a thin layer you could unglue and replace for cheaper.

i think that with a d8f, aoto, takenoko and kitayama you should be good to go.
 
My Kitayama arrived today and all I can say is WoW! This stone works great and produces a very sharp edge on nearly every steel I tried. It seemed to have a little trouble with S30V, made it look nice but I think I'll stick with the diamonds. Carbon steels and more basic stainless steels however were great and sharpened beautifully. I tried a custom in 440C, my JYD CB CPMD2, mule in M4, and my millie in S30V, surprisingly the S30V was the hardest to get a nice keen edge on but polished really nice.

It weird, its almost a relief to finally find a water stone that I like and works for me. I understand better now why so many like them.

Thanks to everyone for their help and recommendations.
 
wait for your transition stone between aoto and 8k before trying s30v and others. the more abrasion resistant the steel, the less gap you should have between stones.

or you also can use your usual diamond setup and switch to kita after EEF to erase the haze and refine the edge, it should work imho, there's no problem using the best of both worlds.
 
That's what I did on the S30V. I had sharpened it the other day on the EEF and stropped it on horse butt. The horse leather actually refined the scratch pattern, gave a little polish, and produced a killer edge. The Kitayama removed the rest of the scratches and made it look nice but I still feel the edge done on the diamonds with that steel was better.

To anyone that knows..... Should I be working up a mudd with this stone or just splash and go? working it with the knife does not build a slurry.
 
I think I figured out how it works :D



Start
Kitayama014.jpg


Finish
Kitayama013.jpg


Sharpness test :cool:
Kitayama015.jpg
 
knifenut1013 said:
To anyone that knows..... Should I be working up a mudd with this stone or just splash and go? working it with the knife does not build a slurry.
Click to expand...

you can do both. using the stone as is will give you a 8k edge. building a slurry with a small EF plate and working it a little will give you a more refined edge and a different polish.
 
Do you still have the 10K (or was it a 12K) SS stone? You should try the Kitayama after it... I think you'd like the result.

I'm not sure you'd find much benefit in the Takenoko in your current lineup. A stone you might like is the Suehiro Rika 5K.

If you ever see a used 10K JKS (JapaneseKnifeSharpeningStore) stone, that's another one you should consider. (He doesn't sell them anymore). I think everyone who got one was happy with the result on a variety of steels.

cbw
 
cbwx34 said:
Do you still have the 10K (or was it a 12K) SS stone? You should try the Kitayama after it... I think you'd like the result.

I'm not sure you'd find much benefit in the Takenoko in your current lineup. A stone you might like is the Suehiro Rika 5K.

If you ever see a used 10K JKS (JapaneseKnifeSharpeningStore) stone, that's another one you should consider. (He doesn't sell them anymore). I think everyone who got one was happy with the result on a variety of steels.

cbw
Click to expand...

I sold it, hated the feel.


I could probably just go up from here because the Kitayama easily removes the marks from my EEF but I want a second set of stones :D

I was thinking to add the Takenoko and Aoto next then something coarser like a bester 700 or 500. Are their any other 12k stones besides the naniwa? I know woodcraft carries one but its said to cut very slow.

I should also add that the above pics are all from the Kitayama stone and shows how it creates a finer scratch pattern as you use it.
 
knifenut1013 said:
...but I want a second set of stones :D
Click to expand...

That's why I suggested the 5K... I think you would find it better in a lineup.

knifenut1013 said:
I was thinking to add the Takenoko and Aoto next then something coarser like a bester 700 or 500. Are their any other 12k stones besides the naniwa? I know woodcraft carries one but its said to cut very slow.
Click to expand...

I personally don't find much difference between the Kitayama and the Takenoko to have both in a lineup. They work a little different, but not that much to have both. Of course, YMMV. I really like the feel and result of the Suehiro 5K, which is why I suggested it, I think you might too. I like the Naniwa 10K, so if you didn't like the 12K I don't know what to suggest. To me they're similar. I think it's better than the Shaptons... not that the Shaptons are bad, I just got better results from the SS. Here's a SS10K finish...

P1020367a.jpg


Many like the Chosera 10K, but report it leaves a more hazy finish. I've never used the Woodcraft one, but have never heard much good about it related to knife sharpening, so just never tried it.

cbw
 
cbwx34 said:
Do you still have the 10K (or was it a 12K) SS stone? You should try the Kitayama after it... I think you'd like the result.

I'm not sure you'd find much benefit in the Takenoko in your current lineup.

cbw
Click to expand...

the benefit i see is that the kitayama require a very short jump in grit to show it's true potential. takenoko well used can give a 8k-ish edge that's just the starting range of the kita ... i don't see it any less usefull than jumping from the finest 10k stone available to a kitayama ... :confused:
 
I think they're more similar than different... but give two stones to 10 people, you'll probably get 10 different opinions. :)

cbw
 
cbwx34 said:
I think they're more similar than different... but give two stones to 10 people, you'll probably get 10 different opinions. :)

cbw
Click to expand...

THE TRUTH!

:D


I'm getting a good deal on the Takenoko so even if I don't need it I'm still getting it :D

The Aoto is because I have one now and really like how it works and its abilities to remove a fairly coarse scratch yet still give nice refinement to the edge. I'm basically getting it to replace the one I have now.

I don't know though that Suehiro 5K sounds real nice, might have to get that one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top