The Aoto Thread

[hi_bud_gl]

I gave in and ordered one from Hida tool myself... the large one too.

I thought I had HAD whipped, but apparently not.

that is the place i bought it but it is not large one.

[holli4pirating]

Any updates gentlemen? Am I the only party pooper in town?

I'm still waiting for mine to arrive.

So I just checked the tracking, and though the package arrived at JFK on the morning of the 8th, the tracking information was not updated to show its arrival until now (after midnight, so the morning of the 12th)...

[kevint]

My Hida stone has cracks. I like Hida too much to send back + it is heavy.

Hida has lots of nifty stuff Have you seen the natural pocket stones

[holli4pirating]

My Hida stone has cracks. I like Hida too much to send back + it is heavy.

Hida has lots of nifty stuff Have you seen the natural pocket stones

What came cracked from them? An Aoto? Which size? Did it look like shipping damage? Was it well packed? That is a major bummer...

[kevint]

What came cracked from them? An Aoto? Which size? Did it look like shipping damage? Was it well packed? That is a major bummer...

Aoto, yes. The smaller one. It was the condition of the stone not from shipping.

I'm sure you will do fine.

[Pyment]

Aoto and Ohira green sharpening stone arrived. I have only unpacked and given them a cursory look. At first glance, I seem to have been lucky with the Aoto. I didn't see any obvious inclusions. The surface seems to be a pretty even blue.

The Ohira is supposed to be from one of the shallower layers. It is supposed to be a softer stone that should fall between the Aoto and my finer finishing stones.

[sparq]

Aoto and Ohira green sharpening stone arrived. I have only unpacked and given them a cursory look. At first glance, I seem to have been lucky with the Aoto. I didn't see any obvious inclusions. The surface seems to be a pretty even blue.

The Ohira is supposed to be from one of the shallower layers. It is supposed to be a softer stone that should fall between the Aoto and my finer finishing stones.

What condition did the aoto arrive in? Smooth and flat or deep grooves and saw marks?

[Pyment]

pretty smooth.

I didn't spend a lot of time looking, but will post some pix later.

[Buddel]

I´m also using the Aoto now since one year. I bought mine here:
Japanese Natural Waterstone Aoto | DICK GmbH - Fine Tools

I highly recommend this stone in the range from 1000 - 2500 grit. With slurry it is more aggressive, then use it more and more only with water, to go finer. So you can use only this stone before you must go to a 6000 grit stone. The stone is soft and must be flatten relatively often, but it gives a very good feedback for the sharpener and works quite fast. For me a best buy.

[sparq]

I´m also using the Aoto now since one year. I bought mine here:
Japanese Natural Waterstone Aoto | DICK GmbH - Fine Tools

I highly recommend this stone in the range from 1000 - 2500 grit. With slurry it is more aggressive, then use it more and more only with water, to go finer. So you can use only this stone before you must go to a 6000 grit stone. The stone is soft and must be flatten relatively often, but it gives a very good feedback for the sharpener and works quite fast. For me a best buy.

Thank you for rubbing it in!