I wanted a hone that I would pass on to my kid (whichever one got my love for tools and honing), so I lapped the top, taking off the markings (i saved pics). I planned on keeping it regardless. If it turned out to be too fast or rough, I would use it for tools. The vendor marked it as a 5 in hardness, however, but also noted it was a good, smooth cutter.

Lapping: I made the error of lapping with a norton lapping stone. This was a mistake. It just did not want to lap well with the composition of this hone. If you buy a good quality Japanese stone, don't put a norton near it. It's insulting. I bought a DMT and lapped it flat and very smooth, which took some work as there was dips in two corners - perhaps the reason Maruka would have passed it off. It raises slurry like mad, so I wondered about the hardness. The slurry, however, was like silk. I do not know if sandpaper would work because of the amount of fine particles that come off - it would take a lot of paper. The DMT worked best. Invest in one if you can.

Once that was done, I began the very long process of figuring this stone out - 8 months. I honed with various Nagura - the stones you use with Japanese Natural stones to raise slurry. I had a Shobudani that I used in the meantime, so it was ok. I figured out through trial and error that this kiita did not like my nagura. I found out, though, that my Nagura were not top quality, another mistake. It does not pay to skimp on your slurry with good stones. I plan on buying high quality ones once they come available again. So two notes: use a dmt to lap (and slurry), and use highest quality nagura you can find.

The reason is because your slurry is actually composed of the Nagura and some of the hone. The amount of hone in the mix depends on your hone composition and the hardness of the Nagura. At the bottom end of Nagura, Botan is very soft and rough, and on up in hardness and fineness to Tomonagura, which is a small piece of another hone. On my Shoubudani I get almost nothing but Nagura, as that stone is VERY hard. This Kiita, however, is a very odd beast. It gives up slurry easily, yet is still very hard…?

As far as Tomonagura, I received many from maksim with my Shobudani (he is a nice guy). I tried many out, but like the nagura, they would just not give me good edges. I tried for months to find the right combo to get this Kiita to work with various types of Tomonagura, even using the Shobudani. Last week I decided another route.

I have a kamisori that I shave with exclusively. I have some very nice western straights, but the size and fit of a kamisori is perfect for my face and thick beard. It developed a rough edge and upon inspection, had two small nicks in the blade. I decided to test using only the Kiita. I used the dmt to raise a slurry, and began with pressure to reset the bevel and hone out the chips. I do not mind honing like some, it is meditative to me. This went very fast, however. It was not long before I had a straight and clean edge. It was removing a lot of metal depending on my pressure, turning the kiita which switched from the green side to the more yellow side. The slurry would be raised again, and following a kamisori guide written here, I progressed up to just water. As I looked at the blade under the microscope during this process, I was shocked to see almost no scratch marks even in the bevel setting stage. Really. It was a smooth finish, yet it was removing metal very fast - almost like burning it off. It was hard for me to tell where I was in the process, as I am used to determining the stage base don the marks left in the blade. As I lighted my touch, the smoothness increased, but never was there the marks I see from rough Nagura in the initial stages. This stone seemed to be able to, with only its own slurry (breaking down), set a bevel and finish the razor. I was done in 30 mins.

It was a very, very smooth cutter, with feedback, yet with water and a feather touch could put almost a mirror polish. I used Jim Rion's back and forth techniques. There developed no wire. I went to a green paste balsa like Iwasaki recommended, then to a strop. I shaved yesterday and had a wonderful shave. I was shocked at the capabilities of this hone. I thought today to maybe use the shoubudani to finish it lightly, but honestly I see no reason. I got a great shave!

In all, so far, this was a great buy. It wasn't cheap, but no where near what I see Maruka Nakayama Kiita's going for. But my experience with this stone leads me to believe you can indeed have a one-stone process unless you need serious metal work. A kiita is a magical stone.