Well I was about to get into my car this morning when up comes the mailman with a package from Japan. Inside were my vintage hone and Iwasaki Razor.

http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d72065346

The hone which was mined during the WWll era is about 8 inches by 2 inches and is about 3/4 of an inch thick. The top surface is perfectly flat and polished while the rest of the hone is pretty rough and is mounted in a wood craddle which is well worn. The stone is a very pale grey with a very few yellow spots on the surface. (the less yellow and the more uniform the grey the better the stone).

I haven't a clue what the grit size is however comparing the feel of the stone with my 12K Kitayama and the coticule this stone is way smoother and finer. I would guess this stone is a fine finishing stone between 12K-15K. I haven't really put it through its paces yet but the quick honing I did feels really different than any other stone I have ever used. The stone has this quality to it that you get this really smooth silky feeling as you hone, almost a mystical experience. Nothing at all like the coticule. There are markings on the side of the stone as you can see in the fotos and it also came with a rubbing stone which also had writing on the stone and I was trying to figure out how they used a stamp on these highly uneven surfaces without smearing the ink and then I realized the writing was all done by hand.

It appears to be primo quality. As I use it I'll report my findings.

I'll cover the Iwasaki in Pt 2 in the razor forum.