Thread: eBay Naniwa Score

So I got almost a whole setup from the bay. The guy was a knife guy. He had all kinds of knifes for sale also. The set came with a 11 3/4" x 6" x 1" flattening stone, stone holder, slurry stone and then 220, 1000, 3000, 8000 and 12000 grit stones.

Now the issue is after I got them in hand I found that the seller was showing the back side of the stones. The front was in rough shape with marks/ shallow groove on the surface of the stones. I have took 99% of these out and have put a bevel of about 45° down the long sides.

The first photo is of the score. Second is 8000 stone before flattening. Third is after flattening.

I didn't know I would get so dirty from this. I still had on my work pants.

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I hope deal was good enough to make up for the dishonest "unused side" photos. That is so lame.

He was a new seller only had an 11. The deal wasn't bad but if I would have known I would have haggled some to get the price down.

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I would have opened a case and see what he did. I have had sellers like that offer to credit my PayPal when called on it.

Looks to be a nice complete rotation of stones. And they look to be in reasonable condition.

The slurry stone is the one that comes with the Chosera 1K. It'll build a slurry but I don't tend to bother with slurry on anything other than 1K. It works best if you soak it for a few mins in water. Otherwise it acts like a sponge and sucks all the water from the top of the stones and tends to stick.

Personally I'd lap a bit more out from those stones. Or flip them and use the good side.

If you don't already use superstones expect them to load pretty fast with swarf when you use them. And the swarf will want to stick to the hone as black spots and lines. You can just clear it off with something non abrasive and continue to hone. The palm of your hand works pretty well as too does a simple dish washing sponge. You don't need to lap them with anything abrasive every time they load up.

They also look to be the older 20mm thick stones. So you probably got a good deal if you were looking at 10mm stone prices on the net.

Originally Posted by Iceni

The slurry stone is the one that comes with the Chosera 1K. It'll build a slurry but I don't tend to bother with slurry on anything other than 1K. It works best if you soak it for a few mins in water. Otherwise it acts like a sponge and sucks all the water from the top of the stones and tends to stick.

Personally I'd lap a bit more out from those stones. Or flip them and use the good side.

If you don't already use superstones expect them to load pretty fast with swarf when you use them. And the swarf will want to stick to the hone as black spots and lines. You can just clear it off with something non abrasive and continue to hone. The palm of your hand works pretty well as too does a simple dish washing sponge. You don't need to lap them with anything abrasive every time they load up.

This is my first honing stones. What is swarf? All of the stones have black spots. And you think I need to lap the yellow 8000 stone some more?

This is way I posted. Thanks for your help.

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Swarf is the metal that is removed from the blade. Depending on the stone, lubricant and metal it can behave differently. With a superstone it likes to stick to the stone. You will see it instantly after a few passes of a razor over any of the stones. It's silver/black like thick pencil lead.

The spots you can see on a freshly lapped stone are normal for superstones. It's not something to worry about. And it's not swarf.


Don't soak these stones. 2-5 mins in water is the longest they should ever be dunked for. A spray bottle is good for wetting them in use, or just dunk your hand and wipe them over.

After use, dry them and let them fully air dry naturally before putting them away. If you put them back into the boxes after use even if only slightly damp there is a good chance you will get mould growing on them (mine did). I keep mine in a wooden box with air holes in the side so they always have good airflow even in storage. They don't take long to feel dry but I like to leave them in the open for at least a day after use to make sure they don't take any water back into that wooden box.

For practice sharpen your smaller kitchen knives. These stones will deal with a knife no problem. You can gouge them so just be careful. If you just want them for razors then there are a few good options. Like picking up a few decent looking vintage blades off ebay, Or sight unseen from whipped dog. You can also go the gold dollar route if you want just be aware that those razors often need a bit more work and you would probably have to correct them on the 220 grit.


The 220 is also not really a razor stone. It will make a great knife stone but for razors you tend to start at 1K and work from there.


I'd lap the 8K till it was almost perfect. You have a good thickness of stone, the 8K doesn't see a lot of wear in normal use, you will see this as you use it. And having it perfect will give you more confidence that any problems you are having is you and technique rather than the stone catching the edge funny and ruining your work.

Hone a gold dollar as a first hone project is very good advice.

I have a similar set of Naniwas and made several bad mistakes on a gold dollar. Eventually had it honed to shave, but it was not pretty. Forever grateful I learnt on that cheap razor and not on something of value.

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Hells, I'm more impressed with that lapping plate than the stones!

And you think I need to lap the yellow 8000 stone some more?

Yea, and you will need to chamfer or round the corner so the chamfer or rounding is past the chip on the face of the stone. So that when you hone on the face, you do not feel the chip, Better to have a ¼ inch bevel, than loose a ¼ inch of thickness.

Or, better yet, why not just use the good side?

If you are going to use the same stones for knives, use one side for razors and the other side for knives. Just mark the side of the stone, so you know which side is which.