Thread: Nakayama Maruka

PM Arsenico, he can translate kanji for you... but I would say it may very well be a Nakayama, or from the general Kyoto area, which can't be bad. If it's a quality awasedo (razor grade, I believe) and you trust the seller, then it's a winner.

Watch out for the remark about self-slurrying. Maybe more experienced among us will have something to say about that. I don't personally like it in a finisher, but that's just me. A few people I know (Vasilis is aparently one of them ) actually like to finish on slurry... gives an edge that's a bit toned down and not overly sharp.

Thanks! The stamps does not describe the name of the mine, but the sharpening surface has Jyunhonyama Awasedo, meaning finishing stone and Betsujyo (best quality) stamps on it. Price is $475.

No way to definitively tell provenance of this stone.

In general many stones get re stamped for commercial purposes, if the seller is honest then the stone will indeed be as described. Even if a stone as from the mine which stamp it carries, there is still no guarantee it will work well. What I am saying is that stamps are not everything, but definitely can bring higher price.

Lots of good advice here.

The stone in the above photo shows no evidence of being from the Nakayama mine, or from any other mine for that matter, it just looks generic.

And from my experience, assuming that it is in the 205-75-30mm thick range with perfectly square corners, even grain throughout, sawn on all sides including the back, and "yellow" I would suggest that if it were at a fair price, it really was a Nakayama kiita, that it would be worth your time and the extra expense (compared to the stones price) to fly to Japan and test it out first. We would be talking big dollars here for a Grade A Nakayama kiita.

Everyone in Japan has ink stamps now, the fact that this one shows no attribution is also suspect too if it was coming from a retailer. If I were to guess from the photos I would say from the Tamba area, out beyond Ohira and it is most likely Atagoyama, Maruoyama pedigree.

Alex