$3 COARSE Chinese waterstone

When I was last visiting my mom overseas, her husband (a construction contractor) gave me a waterstone (the smaller top stone you see in the picture). It was shockingly coarse and was probably intended for tools rather than knives. Certainly not razors. It was soft and dished out quickly, but also ate steel fast. I thought it might be useful for hand-reprofiling knives. So it was.

Then later, after reading online about cheap hones generally sold in housewares shops in Chinatown, I stopped in a store called China Fair in Cambridge, MA and bought a stone that looks very similar to the one my Mom's hubby gave me, only bigger...for $3!

I haven't used it yet, but if it is the same (and it sure looks the same), these are great for hogging off huge amounts of steel. They don't last long, but at $3 each, who cares. I'd guess 220 grit.

So if you have Western chef knives in dire need of a secondary bevel, head to your local Chinatown & see if you can score one of these babies. And if the city you live in is not civilized enough to have a Chinatown, I suggest you move at once.