Thread: Shapton Pro Stones VS Shapton Kuromaku

Originally Posted by Dafonz6987

Thanks for actually answering my question that was really helpful... Do you happen to know if there is a difference between the 12k kuromaku and the 15k pro? I've had people tell me they are the same but not use both of them

They are two different types of stones made with two different types of binders. Under high magnification you can see a difference between the stones. When honing, I couldn't tell a difference between the feel or sound of the two.
When used as finishers, I couldn't tell a difference between the two when test shaving.
This is not that surprising because the difference in grit sizes between the two is only 0.2 microns.

The confusion between these two stones goes back about 10 years. In the beginning there was just the 12k Kuromaku and there was no 15k pro. People in the desert southwest USA, kept having their 12ks crack. So the company reformulated the 12k Kuromaku with a new binder and heat treatment, etc. and the result was a 15k grit hone that would not crack in the desert southwest of the USA. So the users were happy and the company was happy, great. Then the marketing people made a mistake. The new 15k Pro sold by Shapton USA was given the same part number as the original 12k Kuromaku sold by Shapton Japan and the packaging was exactly the same as well. To the casual observer the only difference between the two was that 15k cost more and that led to a conspiracy theory that Shapton was gouging the US market by forcing them to buy a more expensive stone. Reality is that the Shapton Japan 12k and the Shapton USA 15k are two different hones that are very, very similar.

Can all honers let this conspiracy theory die now?