Which one of these waterstones/whetstones?

Hi Soap,

You did well. For the A or B options i can't give you a valid opinion as i've never used a Naniwa stone but i would suggest to keep some coherence in your set up line and go for the Shapton 8k. The Shapton grit scale is not the same than the Naniwa's one if i well remember. I don't even try to check as i've got the flu and have yet an headache.

You may be should to experience all the abilities of the Shapton 5k before buying a 8K. More i use the 5k more i can refine my edges. when you hold the blade like if it was a new born bird's feather (hope it makes sense) you can get surprising results. The purchase of a 2k could be more relevant since it's a very good stone which makes a good bridge between the 1k and the 5k and is by its own a very good finish for some kitchen or all around uses.

You can lap any stone upper 1k with the Atoma 400. You can as well use a 1k to lap a 5k and a 5k to lap a 8k. It takes more time but the result is smoother. Higher the grip smoother you want it to be anyway.

Hope it helps, when the Americans will be waked up they will give valuable advices though i don't think to be wrong there.

dantzk.
 
hi dantzk8,

Thanks. I really need the diamond lapping stone cause after sharpening the 5th knife, I cant get the results I had at the beginning. I tried lapping the 5k with the 1k and then the 5k's surface was a bit better.
But with the 1k I had to try a different way of sharpening(western) since the japanese(back and forth while going from the heel to the tip) won't work unless I lap the stone. (because now mostly the sides of the stone have contact with the blade while the center of the stone is intact).

You are right about the 8k. Im still a noob at sharpening and I guess I should first learn how to use properly the ones I already have and then decide if I need a finer stone.
I think a stone coarser than the 1k would be more useful since I have some really dull blades to sharpen. So dull that after >5 minutes on the 1k, there was little to no progress.

So my options now are:

A: Atoma 400
B: Atoma 140 + Shapton Pro 320

I was going for the Atoma 400 so I could both lap my stones and sharpen really dull blades on it but since it is not available I came up with option B.
But is the Atoma 140 appropriate for lapping my 5k stone(and even finer stones if I decide to get one later) ?

Thanks
 
Yes, the Atoma 140 will work just fine. I would also recommend a synthetic nagura to texture the surface of your finer Shaptons after lapping. It's more of a personal preference with stone feel as the 140 makes the finer stones feel a bit rough. A small nagura can also prolong the need to use a lapping plate because it levels and cleans the surface with much less aggression.
 
Hey, thanks for helping me out.

I finally got the Atoma 400 (because of my limited budget, I had to go with option A) plus a nagura stone.

Soon, I am planning on getting a "middle/bridge" stone(a stone that will be used between the Shapton 1K and the 5K).
Keeping consistency and getting the Shapton Pro 2K would be the most logical thing I guess.

BUT. I would like to try a Chosera stone(now called "Professional" series).
I mean, I 've heard that the Choseras are very close to the Shapton Pro series. They are relatively hard stones too, they grind off metal very fast too, they also don't wear out fast and they last long, etc.
It is also said that the Choseras have a different feel and that they give a nicer feedback than the Shaptons. That is subjective though(I guess).
To be honest, I would prefer the Chosera, mostly because I want to try something else too.

Also the grits on the Naniwa stones, usually tend to be higher than advertised, right? If that's correct then I think the Chosera 2K will be the right match.

But what's your opinion on that guys ?

Thanks in advance
 
The Naniwa Pro 3k is the unicorn in the lineup, I would highly recommend it. Produces a beautiful and clean finish on large bevels and works well after most any 1k stone.

Expensive, but well worth the money.
 
But then, would I really benefit from the Shapton pro 5K later(because the Chosera 3K is a very fine stone-probably very close to the Shapton 5K(?))?

I've also heard only the best for the Chosera 3k but what worries me, is if the 3k will do the same(or even better?) job(than the 2K) removing the scratches from the Shapton pro 1K, because the Shapton as much as I know, is actual coarser than a usuall 1000 stone(some say is more of a 700-800 grit stone).
Apart from the thing that the 3k is much more expensive than the 2K, this^ is what I worry about the most.

Sorry for all that blabber. It is just that these stones are really expensive and I want to be sure about the choice I will make(given the stone kit I already have).

Thanks
 
You should probably just stick with the 2k pro.

The 3k Naniwa is not as fine as the SP5k but the purity of the scratch pattern the Naniwa yields will appear to become "scratched up" if you follow it with the SP5k. Shaptons in general have a more "scratchy" finish compared to other stones while the Naniwa Pro produce one of the cleanest scratch patterns of all stones.

I would say you might be over thinking things a bit, the SP1k is a 1k stone just like the Naniwa Pro 3k is a 3k stone. The differences in abrasive and binder make the stones perform the way they do. Reading too much into "this stone is like that grit" will only confuse you and will only truly make sense once you experience it.
 
Ok, great.
I will go for the naniwa pro 2k.
Thanks again for all the info!

Btw, I just received the Atoma 400 and I have to say, it is kinda hard to lap the shapton pro 1k.
I guess it is either because of the shapton's hardness or it could just work better with the atoma 140.
Lapping the Shapton 5k took me less than a minute. Lapping the 1k took me about 5 minutes :/. Anyway, what matters is that it gets the job done. I'm just saying..
 
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