Thread: 12k kitiyama

I understand that the 12k kitiyama can be used as finishing hone after 8k norton. Will the 12 k kitiyama as well as final polish actualy add any extra keeness? i no the coticule does'nt and just aids smoothness with water is this the same for the kitiyama?

I have never used the Kitiyama but when I called Japan Woodworker to buy a Shapton pro 12K I spoke to the guy who does the honing there. He said he liked the Kitiyama better then the Shap pro.

IME a 12K will smooth out the edge and give a smoother shave. My impression from reading the stuff on the forum is that the general consensus is that the 4k sharpens and the 8K and above polishes. If you aren't sharp already the higher grits won't get you there.

OTOH, I think that they add a certain amount of keenness along with smoothness. As far as the Kitiyama goes someone will probably be along who has one. I like the Shapton 12 but if I had it to do over again I would just stick with the 15 pro.

I have the Kitayama and used it as a final polish after the 8K. Since I got my Coticule I hardly use it because the Coticule is far superior. However it does work.

I know I'm not an expert, but as far as I can tell, Kitayama only makes an #8000. Or rather, the only hits that come up on any search I do for Kitayama stones are for #8000. Where are you guys finding the #12000?

Originally Posted by JimR

...Where are you guys finding the #12000?

Try here.

Regards,
Viktor

Originally Posted by Viktor

Try here.

Regards,
Viktor

Hmmmm...That looks like the #8000. I mean...It's identical to the #8000s on theJapanese pages. Many, MANY Japanese pages...Does it say #12000 on the box somewhere? Can anyone confirm this? Of course, it is a natural stone so I'm not sure it can be graded as such, but I can't find any reference to a #12000 Kitayama stone anywhere on any Japanese site.

Could it be a mistake on the US site? I'm quite interested, because if the US price for a Kitayama #12000 is less than $90, it should be even lower in Japan, right?

I did read somthing where it said the 12k kitiyama was more like an 8k. So probably right it could be