Thread: Looking for a 12K waterstone

I am looking for a 12K waterstone. I dont think i care about manufacturer. The highest grit stone i own currently is 6K. I am looking for something to just remake an edge after use on a straight razor. I thought 12 is better than 10?

Normally i would not have a problem just buying something to test it out. However 80-100 bucks for a stone, i dont want to get screwed by not researching or asking questions.

Is there any difference between these stone. Why would one be 80 while another manufacturer 130? I am a little leery of the naniwa because there are no reviews for it. However on the other hand it is 50 bucks less.

These are the stones i found:
$130 Shapton 12K stone
New Shapton Super Fine 12000 Grit Whetstone Sharpening Stone Knife Sharpener | eBay

Nanimwa 12K stone
Naniwa SP491 12000 Grit Honing Stone - - Amazon.com

Synthetic stones seem to be your bag. What about natural stones like the c12k or some of the Welsh slate?

Originally Posted by Elcs

Synthetic stones seem to be your bag. What about natural stones like the c12k or some of the Welsh slate?

The difference is that the synthetics are predictable and the naturals are a crap shoot. The "c12k" does not exist. The Chinese (guangxi) and Welsh stones can be serviceable low end finishers and some of them can create a fine edge while some cannot.

Either the Shapton or the Naniwa will serve you well. The SuperStone is highly regarded by many people here so don't worry about lack of Amazon reviews.

A price difference does not always reflect a quality difference.

I have both of these, for your application i would go with the Naniwa Superstone, seems to me the Shapton works better when you have the whole progression.

Like Utopian mentioned the lack of reviews on Amazon means nothing, there are countless reviews on here, its a fine finisher and easy to use, just needs a good lapping first.

Thank you Martin103 and Utopian. I bought the 12K naniwa from amazon. You have put my fears at ease.

Naniwa 10k on the bay are around $50. I have used one for a while with very good results. They do take some time to get from Japan however

Originally Posted by metulburr

Thank you Martin103 and Utopian. I bought the 12K naniwa from amazon. You have put my fears at ease.

You won't regret that purchase.
My Naniwa SS 12k has become my reference to which I compare all natural finishers.

Cheers.

+1 on the naniwa 12K
Not only a great finisher but I use mine as my "barbers hone"
With practice and a light touch it can take a razor from "meh" back to "wonderful" in 6-8 strokes.

Did you buy or already have some kind of holder?

Smooth Shaving...

I dont have a holder like that. I have plastic holders that came with other stones that I separated the stone and holder. Im not sure this would fit on those though, not sure of this size. If that wont fit, ill try to put some rubber slabs underneath. If all else fails, then i might make a stone holder out of some scrap wood.