Thread: Nakayama Kiita on eBay

Just stumbled on this one:
item #220562131400
http://cgi.ebay.com/JAPANESE-NATURAL...item335a8709c8

looks like nice Kiita, and it has 7 day return policy so it can be tested for quality.

The same seller also has a number of what looks like 330mate asagi stones, which do not show inclusions,or defects. To some those might be worth a try , the HGAL rating indicates that they are very fine.

I've seen a number of stones being sold by this guy, and you're right, his numbering system and the odd use of some expressions reminded me a lot of 330mate, but then you see that he's located in Alburquerque, New Mexico. Is he 330mate's US distributor?!

It would be great for someone just to ask him straight out whether he will accept a stone for return AND a full refund if it doesn't perform well. I mean, I'd think for the price he's charging he would include that kind of service, but you can never tell.

Originally Posted by JeffE

I've seen a number of stones being sold by this guy, and you're right, his numbering system and the odd use of some expressions reminded me a lot of 330mate, but then you see that he's located in Alburquerque, New Mexico. Is he 330mate's US distributor?!

It would be great for someone just to ask him straight out whether he will accept a stone for return AND a full refund if it doesn't perform well. I mean, I'd think for the price he's charging he would include that kind of service, but you can never tell.

I have no idea who he is, the stones look very uniform so they might have been hand picked . The good thing is there is 7 day return policy so one can test and see if the stones are good or not. Also one does not have to deal with returns to Japan.

Originally Posted by JeffE

I've seen a number of stones being sold by this guy, and you're right, his numbering system and the odd use of some expressions reminded me a lot of 330mate, but then you see that he's located in Alburquerque, New Mexico. Is he 330mate's US distributor?!

It would be great for someone just to ask him straight out whether he will accept a stone for return AND a full refund if it doesn't perform well. I mean, I'd think for the price he's charging he would include that kind of service, but you can never tell.

he says "I will accept returns for stones if they are not what you need as long as there is no damage. I do not want you to feel that you might get stuck with a stone that you cannot use. I have many stones and I am very happy to make sure you get the right stone for your application. You will be responsible for all shipping. Please ask any questions and I will work with you. Thank you.
The buyer is responsible for return shipping costs.
"

Well, that certainly sounds like the right return policy. Has anyone dealt with him? Personally, I'm not looking for a Kiita right now, as I just went a little crazy with buying a few other stones, but it would be great to know that this guy is worth buying from in the future.

Don't read this as anything against this guy; these are my thoughts and speculations, and they are totally ungrounded.

I wouldn't buy from him. I would bet he is taking 330Mate's ratings and coping them; I doubt he is actually testing the stones. I also don't think much of 330mate's ratings, because I bought a stone from him that was rated as extremely hard and extremely fine and it was neither. It's not soft or coarse, but it's nothing like... say... my asagi or a thurry. Maybe I just don't get is rating system. I also don't ever think you could say something is not what he rated it as, because who knows how many +'s he can tack on. He could make an aoto a grit of 3+++++ if he said the max is 3+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++.

Now maybe this guy is a good guy, but, IMO, he could deny returns by playing with the max's on his ratings scale.

Not to mention his prices are way higher than 330mate, so you know he's making a fair bit of money. Yes, of course there is nothing wrong with that, but if I did want a hone like what he has, I would first try to deal with 330mate directly.

Whatever
-dylan

I kinda doubt he is getting these from 330. Maybe from the same place 330 does. Maybe a lot of people get their stones from the same place.

As Mr. Alex G. has described- there are not a whole bunch of places where these left-overs are available.

Look, not to take sides here, but from what I read, I think 330mate leaves a lot to be desired as a seller, and I personally buy from Alex G. for just that reason. Alex doesn't give you a bullcrap ratings or plusses. He will just send you two or three stones to try out, and you can keep the one you want and send back the rest. I don't know of any better recommendation to give someone except that he's trustworthy and puts the time into making sure you've got the stone you want.

That being said, you definitely pay for the privilege of buying a stone from Alex, but in my estimation, you get what you pay for here. As for Mr. Alburquerque, I was only wondering if anyone else has dealt with him, because his descriptions look a little too much like 330mate, and that alone would make me uncomfortable about dealing with him!

I can't speak to this exact stone. I'd never buy a Japanese natural off eBay for that kind of money. That's me.

But, I have bought 3 much less expensive stones from this seller. One was a nagura that is both very pretty and very effective. I got it at a good price, about twice what an artifical nagura costs at Woodcraft. But it's about 3 times the size of the Woodcraft artificial nagura, so bonus.

The other two stones were sold as a Karasu and an Uchigumori. I walked in eyes wide open, buying at relatively low prices, just to see what quality of Japanese natural I could get for low prices.

The stones are genuine, and are pretty, but are soft. I would put mine in the 5 to 6K range, tops. About like a high-end BBW. The feel is nice, but they are slow, and usually have flaws of some kind (cracks, inclusions, chips, repairs, etc.). The seller is pretty up front about the flaws on his less expensive stones.

The seller is honest, ships fast, etc. But to sum up, all I would say is that I feel these are lower-end stones, maybe bought from the same stock as 330_mate (all the markings match, but I don't read kanji) and more or less priced accordingly. They are borderline for razor use, and definitely not finishers (to me). For the money I paid, a coticule would have been better, and a little cheaper.

These stones are usable Japanese naturals, but are nowhere in the same league as the Nakayama Asagi I got from OLD_SCHOOL. The Karasu is not even on the same planet as the Karasu from OLD_SCHOOL. But for the price, I didn't expect them to be going in, so I wasn't disappointed.

I just love honing stones of all kinds, and am living proof that you can't give rednecks money.

Hmmm.. I see this guy auctioned a Chinese12k for $60
What the.....???