Thread: A green brick...

Originally Posted by JimR

The kanji actually says "blue hone," the weird conflagration of green and blue is odd in Japanese, but "ao" actually means blue. It's also "aotoishi" not "aotoshi." This particular stone is naniwa's attempt to make an artificial Aoto, meaning a fast, soft, mid to rough stone for knives.

Never tried it though.

It is a fine hone for both knives and also for resetting
the bevel on a str8.

It is fast -- the slurry quickly turns black from
the steel it cuts. It is not so soft that it
dishes out from under you.

I used it on a razor from New York
and it cuts "hard American" steel well.
I used it on a German kitchen knife
and it was happy to hone and polish.
I used it on a couple of Shun classic
kitchen knives and the very hard VG-10
gave it no problem.

It is a good 2K hone.
I plan to enjoy it for resetting bevels
on shavers when laps on a 10K
or 12K no longer does the job
(i.e. no need to go up to a 1K).

I also plan to use it after my Norton 1K
hone when setting a new bevel. It very
quickly removes the "roughness" that
the 1K seems to deliver.

With some limited tinkering it might deliver
a better polished edge than half my barber hones.

Highly recommended for those with HAD.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I'm familiar with the Naniwa Choseras and Superstones. I know nothing about the Aotoshi line other than knowing of its existence and now seeing a photo of one. What are the differences/similarities with the other two lines?

At this point the Aotoshi is not a line it is a point.
It has only one example.

It is softer than both the Superstones and Choseras. The biggest
thing I noticed is that it makes a slurry just by using it. It has a
lot of grit and you can hear it cut sort of like the old soft shoe dance
with sand on the stage. It apparently polishes more than the Norton 4K
side of a 4/3k combo perhaps because there is so much abrasive in
the hone.

I have tried my 10K Chosera dry and it seems to like this mode
on occasion. I tried the green brick dry and it seems to clog
with swarf quickly perhaps because it cuts steel so fast.

If you love sharp kitchen knives get one.

If you have a box of shavers (already well honed)
you will not need a coarser hone in the kit. I think
it will let me focus on polishers and finishers.

It is perhaps the most satisfactory HAD induced purchase
I have made.

Does it need soaking?

It apparently polishes more than the Norton 4K
side of a 4/3k combo perhaps because there is so much abrasive in
the hone.

I think the stone has natural abrasives which break down and thus provide much better polish than the stated grit of the stone.

Originally Posted by Danricgro

Does it need soaking?

Yes but not a lot.
Soak it for five to ten min and if it wants more give
it a splash more of water from a pan or the sink.
As the slurry begins to dry it begins to act like 'mud'
with a small splash of water it is cutting again.

Originally Posted by mainaman

I think the stone has natural abrasives which break down and thus provide much better polish than the stated grit of the stone.

It uses white fused alumina, the same as the superstones and chosera. The binder is different, though.

Originally Posted by JimR

It uses white fused alumina, the same as the superstones and chosera. The binder is different, though.

thanks for the clarification, I was under the impression it was similar to the Imanishi Aoto, but never really checked into it.

How does it compare to a Japanese natural Aoto?

Originally Posted by mainaman

thanks for the clarification, I was under the impression it was similar to the Imanishi Aoto, but never really checked into it.

Similar how? The only description I can find of the Imanishi stone says "It uses a mixture of #1000 and #3000 artificial abrasives to reach an average of #2000" which sounds, to me, like a bad idea.

Originally Posted by JimR

Similar how? The only description I can find of the Imanishi stone says "It uses a mixture of #1000 and #3000 artificial abrasives to reach an average of #2000" which sounds, to me, like a bad idea.

The Aoto has natural abrasives too, this is a very popular stone for knife sharpening because the composition. Imanishi uses natural stone material in their Takenoko 6k or the identical Arashyama 8k stone too.

EDIT:
I checked with some people that used to sell the stone, it is not confirmed that it has natural abrasives in it, it looks like it is misinformation floating on the forums. One vendor is listing it as having natural components though.