Who's Got the "Green Brick of Joy?" love this stone

DeadboxHero

DeadboxHero

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Mar 22, 2014
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Finally got the Naniwa Aotoshi 2000 grit stone, Also known by its street name the "green brick of joy"

I've wanted this stone for 5 years, finally got one.

Wow, what a great stone.

cuts fast for what it is, medium hardness, builds mud, great feel and feedback, fast soak.

2000 grit stones are interesting. They are right at that gap between sharpening and polishing.

this is a great finishing stone especially for two stone setup.

start with 400-600 stone range and then jump to brick of joy

perfect.
 
I have one.....LOVE it. 2K is a nice edge for many uses. Stone has a beautiful creamy feel. Plus, I like the instructions that were included. The stone gets sad and angry if you don't treat it right! But it's "joyful" when you do!
 
It's a stone I have used for many years and love it. I pair it with the Chosera 400 and consider it to be one of the best stone combos you could own. Mine is only about 3/4 of an inch thick today but has sharpened many thousand of knives.

I use this combo on carbon and low alloy stainless, the GB is not that great on PM steels but with low alloy steels it's hard to beat for speed and edge quality.
 
samuraistuart said:
I have one.....LOVE it. 2K is a nice edge for many uses. Stone has a beautiful creamy feel. Plus, I like the instructions that were included. The stone gets sad and angry if you don't treat it right! But it's "joyful" when you do!
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Hahaha thats awesome I feel ripped off! I didn't get any cool instructions with mine. :( :D


Jason B. said:
It's a stone I have used for many years and love it. I pair it with the Chosera 400 and consider it to be one of the best stone combos you could own. Mine is only about 3/4 of an inch thick today but has sharpened many thousand of knives.

I use this combo on carbon and low alloy stainless, the GB is not that great on PM steels but with low alloy steels it's hard to beat for speed and edge quality.
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dude, agreed, 2k grit is such an underrated finishing grit too. since its kinda off an inbetween a sharpening and finishing grit. Its great though. still get that "bite" AND the "precision"

love it, also just but a big'o 600 clay stone to go with it.

perfect set up for low alloy baby. :D
 
So far my water stone experience has been primarily with Shapton Pro "splash and go" stones. I love them and can get very good edges with them, and they are easy to maintain and clean up after. I also find that the 2000 grit finish is about as far as I usually go, though I do have a 5000.

But I have to admit some day I would like to try some of the mud-forming stones to see what that experience is like. The GBOJ seems to be a love or hate stone, from what I have read on various forums. It's on my radar but perhaps there is a better introductory stone or set of stones to learn the right techniques on.
 
I have the green brick and have to say its not my favorite but I can get some interesting results with it. I rarely ever use it and will probably let it go in the near future.
 
Someday I may spring for this stone, but I already have too many.

2k is in that range where it can be very different from one manufacturer to the next. I normally don't use a 2k very often as most of my progressions jump from 1k to 4k or 1k to 6k.

My Juuma Cobalt 2k is closer to what I would consider a 4k finish and is the one stone in my collection I like to use as a finisher for "utility" kitchen edges in that grit range. It works well with the 800 grit of the same make, though both are prone to sticktion on wider bevels.

My Suzuki Ya 2k makes a somewhat less refined edge then the Juuma but is very quick. Is actually the softest stone in the set and I have to believe is for a reason, to clean up the edge and remove any edge chipping or swaying from the 1k prior to using the 4k. As a result it works well enough for stand-alone edges with a bit of finesse, but not as nice as the Juuma. I normally go right to the 4k anyway.

I'm curious how a softer stone at that grit level can have a strong reputation for making nice finishing edges, that's usually something the harder stones do well. I realize it varies from one steel type to the next, but how weighted is the edge in terms of draw vs pressure cut? What other finishes is it comparable to?
 
I believe the GB to be a Resin bonded stone like the Naniwa Super Stones. Like the SS the Green Brick will load with removed metal and as a result the stone starts to polish/burnish the edge... but the abrasive still cuts... just slower. I similarize this to stropping because in this stage the GB starts acting like a fine strop and adds a lot of glossy luster to the surface of the 2k edge. This seems to also almost completely remove the burr on even the most stubborn of steels like VG-10 and German cutlery. It's this quality which have given it the reputation of being the "magic bullet" with soft stainless.

For a long time I heard how muddy this stone was but never experienced it and always consider it a "loading stone". When I started sharpening more Japanese cutlery I found out why it was called a muddy stone, on clad knives or wide bevels the abrasive actually releases and will build a fine mudd. Though useful in limited applications I find it best to just keep the surfaced flushed with fresh water, to make use of the mudd always seemed to be more work than it was worth.

It took me a while to warm up to mine and was not until I paired it with the Chosera 400 that I realized its potential. The GB is the ideal finishing stone to follow a coarse-medium stone because it gives just the right amount of abrasive cuttting and burnishing/polishing to make a toothy but refined and very sharp edge. It's also one of the few stones that I have received overwhelmingly good customer feedback from. This edge seems to be well suited to the culinary professional and my personal favorite for carbon steel hunting knives.

Martin,

I think you would like it, it really is a joy to use and will last forever.
 
I don't let mine mud up at all. I created a mud slurry when I first got it, using a DMT lapping plate to bring up a mud and decided to change my tactics. When I use that stone, it is usually my finish stone for softer/cheaper cutlery, and will soak it for 5 minutes only, allow no mud to build, and use edge trailing only. It can and does polish at a higher level than 2k, I thought. Jason's last paragraph, "It took me a while..." is bingo dead on with my experience and preference.
 
DeadboxHero said:
Finally got the Naniwa Aotoshi 2000 grit stone, Also known by its street name the "green brick of joy"

I've wanted this stone for 5 years, finally got one.

Wow, what a great stone.

cuts fast for what it is, medium hardness, builds mud, great feel and feedback, fast soak.

2000 grit stones are interesting. They are right at that gap between sharpening and polishing.

this is a great finishing stone especially for two stone setup.

start with 400-600 stone range and then jump to brick of joy

perfect.
Click to expand...

Newbie to sharpening here.
Took 2 hr course will be sharpening dull 2nd hand knives shortly.

My stones are 220, 1000 and this green brick...
Should I go thru each stone..Or just go from 220 to the green brick?
 
canali said:
Newbie to sharpening here.
Took 2 hr course will be sharpening dull 2nd hand knives shortly.

My stones are 220, 1000 and this green brick...
Should I go thru each stone..Or just go from 220 to the green brick?
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If the knives are dull Yea use the 220, speed up the process and use the other stones to clean out the bevel. Make sure you find a way to keep that 220 flat in between knives it will dish badly. The 1000 and 2k green brick are very close to one another it's almost just one or the other. Not sure if I would use them in sequence together.

Have fun
 
5AA5DD1B-7B84-4459-BA45-8BABB39882E2.jpeg D229D38A-75F5-4CB1-A50F-0A70CE873AEF.jpeg The GBOJ is an excellent stone when paired with the right steel and a light touch is used.

I’ve had mine a bit over 2 years and it is a great stone for the money.
At first it frustrated me because of loading and slowness compared to other stones.

2k is a great finishing point imo
and with a light touch and edge trailing strokes I can get a super high sharpness.

Another great 2k is the Shapton Pro Melon colored stone.
I just finished up my V Toku Endura up on it and it could very well be the sharpest I have gotten any knife.

I do want to see how the V Toku responds to the GBOJ when I touch it up next.
 
jc57 said:
So far my water stone experience has been primarily with Shapton Pro "splash and go" stones.
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Probably stupid for me to say this just to get the "so what" response but . . .
The Shapton Pro 2,000 was my very first Shapton . . . pro or other wise. I was filling the gap between my King 1200 and my Norton 4000. And ironically it is a green stone . . . shown here
I call this photo The Old Team (before I went all Shapton Pro for my woodworking edge tools)
The Old Team .JPG

I also find that the 2000 grit finish is about as far as I usually go, though I do have a 5000.
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Oh don't quit now . . . just when you're going good.
Get that elusive 8,000 stone !
You know you want 'em shiny . . . just look . . . the mirror is speaking . . . you can't resist it's charms . . .
Embrace your inner Raven
IMG_1102.jpg
 
samuraistuart said:
I don't let mine mud up at all. I created a mud slurry when I first got it, using a DMT lapping plate to bring up a mud and decided to change my tactics.
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In the past I was so anti mud I couldn't see. I still think building a FRESH mud on the stone is a total mistake and rinse that off.
But I have come to appreciate how a coarser stone (2,000 is coarse compared to 8,000 or 15,000) once it loads up and dried out some can actually act like a finer stone.
I just am against adding much water to that kind of stone because then the loose excess mud bangs into the edge . . . gets the bur off I suppose.
I almost never sharpen this way, doing the whole job on a stone or two, but if I were making a living from my sharpening I would embrace it in a New York minute.
 
Jason B. recommended this stone to me. If I recall, that was three years ago. I've used it a lot since then. I love it. It just works. It pairs well with all of the basic carbon steels. I just finished one of my heavy-duty 5160 field knives with it today. Damn, so so sharp. If you're reading this thread years down the line... Recommended.
 
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