Interesting reply from Norton

[Marshal]

In the thread that recently rehashed if the Norton 8K is really 8K it sparked a side discussion about whether or not they'd ever put out a water hone finer than 8k. Well, I took the opportunity to fire an email off to them, fully expecting it to get lost somewhere in the mix. To my surprise they did respond! First the message I sent to them:

I've been using Norton water stones for a lot of my sharpening

needs, and had a question. I've got the single grit hones up to

8K, but for some of my needs (shaving with a straight razor)

finer grit is maybe not necessary but typically preferred. Since

I don't want to step out of the Norton line for my water hones, I

was wondering if there was any chance you guys were working on

any water stones in a finer grit? Maybe a 12,000 or 16,000 grit

stone?



I'd also like to say that while I really enjoy your 4,000 grit

and 8,000 grit stones, the 1,000 grit seems to drink up a LOT of

water. So does the 220, and it also turns to mud when used.

Random thought, but it would really tighten the line up if those

2 'issues' were addressed. It would be really nice to be able to

keep water on top of those 2 stones without having to spray them

down every 30-45 seconds.

I took a moment to address the biggest complaint I see (and have myself) with regard to the 1K and it's lower grit counterpart.

What they said:

Thanks for contacting us regarding our waterstone product line. It’s always good to get feedback about how our products work and what new products our customers would like to see. At the moment we don’t have any stones finer than the 8000 grit product you are already using. We are considering developing something finer and will keep you posted once we have something to offer.


I think on reason the 220 grit and 1000 grit st6ones absorb water more quickly has to do with the larger grit size and slightly more open structure. However, your concern is noted and will be taken into account as we continue to refine our product offering.



Thanks again.

So...now might be a good time to fire off emails and show a bit of interest. If they're considering making a finer grit water stone, the make or break on that will be if they can sell them.

And it wouldn't hurt to mention what they could do to tighten up the lower end of their line, if you're interested in that as well.

Edit: Can a mod be so kind as to fix the title for me? The fact that it says replay instead of reply is going to forever drive me nuts!