Originally Posted by
JeffE
Please, there is a very obvious, very easy answer to all of this, and a number of people have hinted around it. Here it is -- ASK ALEX GILMORE OF THE JAPAN BLADE. Alex is a dealer in Japanese natural stones. He sells some less expensive stones on eBay, but the best of his selection are only available through his store. His prices are NOT the lowest out there, but what he offers in return is, to me, infinitely more valuable -- you can actually TRY OUT A FEW STONES and PICK THE ONE YOU LIKE.
I don't know of anyone else dealing stones who is willing to take this kind of time to help you. And for the record, I bought a fantastic stone from him, which gives me a killer edge and is a pleasure to use. It was definitely expensive (around $400), but I felt that it was money well spent because it was a stone that I got to try out and experiment with before buying.
By the way, I also have a really nice Belgian combo coticule, and I don't think the coticule and the Japanese stone really compare. The coticule is very, very fine and gives a great polish, but to my inexperienced eye, it looks like the coticule removes a LOT of metal compared to the Japanese stone. The Japanese stone really takes away very little metal with each stroke and leaves your razor super scary sharp. I don't think there's anything like it in the sharpening world.
Anyway, you get the drift. Call Alex, and tell him that I (and others) recommended him. He's the guy you want.