Originally Posted by
STF
I originally bought 220/1k - 4k/8k Norton set and a 12k Naniwa SS.
The Nortons were great, no complaints except I find soaking them a drag.
I recently bought 1K - 3K - 8K Naniwa SS and another 12k Naniwa SS and I love them. As long as you get the Super Stones the Naniwas don't need soaking, just splash and go.
I do also like the feel of the Naniwas more than the Nortons.
The Naniwa Super stones come in two thicknesses, I have the thicker ones because they feel more substantial and less delicate. If you do get Naniwas make sure they are super stones, the traditional ones need soaking I believe.
The real advantage of both the Nortons and the Naniwas is that the results are consistent and loads of the experienced guys here have them so there is a lot of help available, the naturals stones are different from one to another so it is much harder for anyone to help you because their results will be different to yours.