The Japan Stone / Alex Gilmore razor stones: Green Okudo and blue-gray Shobudani

I'm mainly into kitchen knives, and you can find my post history at KitchenKnifeForums. You can confirm and contact me there if you would like.


Shobudani #1138 from Alex Gilmore.

I just put it away while taking the photos and chipped an edge.... jnats are much more fragile when putting forces along their sedimentary layers as I have now found out twice. So the last picture shows that, but the previous ones do not. All pictures are when the stone is wet, to show how it handles water.
There are some long scratches on the stone surface too from me trying it out on kanna. Alex's stones seem to favor faster cutting and fine grit, though the experience is not as clay-smooth as some other stones.

195 x 70 x 19 mm

Bought for $325, selling for $210

Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20190617...ral_tomae.html


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Okudo #291

Bought for $300, selling for $200

This one is a smoother and denser than the shobudani, and slightly wider.

195 x 72 x 19mm

https://web.archive.org/web/20190818...udo_asagi.html

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Any idea which one of these leaves a finer scratch pattern? Thanks.

Maybe the green one. It's harder and slightly slower, and denser. I'll post more impressions later. Both stones are characteristic of Alex's stones. They have rolling grit that falls off and cuts with each stroke, just scales to the grit ratings. The binder is usually on the stiffer side, but not unusably super hard.

These two stones cut pretty fast. His hoard stone kiita cut faster though, and are softer. There are stones that could be smoother, or make more of a suction action between stone and blade due to cohesion.

I can post grit patterns and so on....

will the diagonal imperfection shown in the fourth picture cause problems down the rode? Is the Shobudani capable of finishing a straight razor?

The diagonal line on the shobudani is not an inclusion. It's part the stone matrix itself. It is the stone itself, therefore it isn't harder than the other parts of the stone.

Both are razor stones, based on my own use and that of Alex Gilmore when he sold them to me. They work on Kamisori just as they do on straight razors. They are both harder, more gray toned stones, which is more apparent when they are dry.

I will post pictures of a homed Kamisori later tonight, as well as split hair pics. I can't seem to be able to upload pics on the mobile forum website.

Alex sells good stuff. Id have to say he is one of the masters of these rocks. GLWS.

I'm gonna be posting pre world war I Nakayama Kiita from Alex in the coming days if anyone wanted a heads-up, since I know people like softer stones too

Here's a loupe zoom of a really old kamisori honed on the two stones. The razor still has some deeper pitting marks though not related to the stone. I just use the razor to see finishes. There's distortion because I didn't center the loupe on the camera completely. The blade isn't actually bent that way.

The lower grit scratches aren't completely removed. . . I use the razor as a tester for other stones, too, and it takes a bit to get a perfect finish, but I don't doubt the stone can make such a mirror / haze

If a nagura is used the razors can get a super hazy look, like velvet or an ultrafine sandblast or suede.


Shobudani scratch pattern pics
https://imgur.com/a/tPrPFIG


Okudo scratch pattern pics
https://imgur.com/a/awJMvAa

Okudo is SPF

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Okudo sold

Price drop to $180. Point for me is to get it sold, so I don't mind dropping the price until someone buys it.

The stone may look gray and "slow and hard", but it's faster than the green stone I had just sold, and actually softer, if that was an issue. It's also marginally thicker and wider, by a couple mm in both cases (maybe like 2-3).

Offers welcome

Shobudani sold -- all alex gilmore stones I own, sold