Thread: Shapton 15k pro or 16k glass questions

I have a 12K Chinese but I haven't gotten around to using it yet. I bought my 15K pro off of The Topher. He is a forum member who has a lot of experience in honing and lives in my area. He showed me a lot of what I know ....... however much that is

He wanted to go with the 16K because so many folks were enthusiastic about it. After he had it awhile I asked him if he liked it better then the 15K. He said that it was very good but that he didn't find much difference in the two.

Speaking to Harrelson Stanley, the US importer for Shapton, he has told me that the glass stones are a different formula from the pro. Keeping in mind that these stones were made to sharpen Japanese wood cutting tools I don't know how much difference it makes.

With the pro you get 15mm thick stone and with the glass you get 5mm. Both , according to Shapton, should be lapped before each use. I am very happy with my 15 but being a HADDICT I may eventually break down and buy a 16.

I can also say that Chris Moss has pros and from what I have read of his posts on honing has gotten good performance out of them. So after all of this blather, I don't know what to tell you . I imagine you would be happy with one or the other.