Thread: Japanese Grit vs. American Grit

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

People in Binghmpton, NY don't think that behavior is so sweet.

That was actually a reference to this page:

Are you ready to get pumped

But I'm sure that there are alot of samurai that really didn't like the joke either....

English just click on the little german flag on the left side menu of www.fine-tools.com
then choose Schärfwerkzeuge. It gets you a list similar to the english one.
Then there is a link to the naniwa stones. The combos are all the way down the page.

Olivia,

There are two different internet sites.

Fine Tools

and

Naniwa Germany.

I think you are looking at the Fine Tools site.

If you look at the OFFICIAL NANIWA Site the combination stones do not exist. Also on the NANIWA site, you will see they sell two types of SUPER HONE.

SUPER and SUPER+.

Is it me or you is confused. Best regards.

Just another thought, although I think some of the previous posters already came up with some better explanations: Maybe one system uses the average grit size, while the other uses the minimum/maximum grit size. I dunno...

English, the Naniwa Germany site is for wholesale.
Maybe its not the only source or they do offer more variety on request, since fine-tools has them.
Guess I'm going to pay that guy a visit. He's in Berlin as well.
Thanks for that link.

Originally Posted by OLD_SCHOOL

Well this is a complete left field guess, but again with my temperature analogy. There is a point I think in the negatives, where Fahrenheit and Celsius are the same. I will also point out that this is from high school memory, which is not exactly fresh anymore so I could be mistaken.

Not that it matters a whit for grits, but yes, the two scales are coincident at one point. That is, minus 40F equals minus 40C.

Originally Posted by English

The best site I have found for Hones and Naniwa hones is the following:

Japanese Waterstones: Naniwa

You have to page down to see the hones.

But clearly there is a 12000 grit.

I've just ordered the 800/5000 to complement my Chosera. I'll let you know how it goes but the 800/5000 and the 3000/8000 combo stones represent great value. The price will I think probably rise soon.

Interestingly on the Naniwa Duetschland web site, they don't list the 12000 hone or the combination hones.

Also to add to the confusion, they advertise a Superstone range and a more expensive Superstone + range.

So it gets more confusing.

But the problem I'm having is, this stone is not available in JAPAN. Foreign market yes, Japanese market no. This is what troubles me so...this is what keeps me up at night, weeping and moaning...beating my breast in misery...

I do think there is a difference between the Japanese grit and American grit standards. Here are a few charts i came up with... might help some.

Conversion Chart Abrasives - Grit Sizes

http://www2.woodcraft.com/PDF/77A40.pdf

Abrasive grit sizes of belts, wheels and stones used in knifemaking, sharpening and woodworking

http://www.cumi-murugappa.com/abrasi...it_compare.pdf

Well that first chart shows the 15k USA is equivalent to the 12k Japanese so maybe that is why my two Shapton pros look alike and the 12k is supposedly not for sale in the USA ? OTOH, the 15k is a higher priced stone by $10.00. I'll have to do some comparison honing with the pair to see if they are indeed the same animal.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Well that first chart shows the 15k USA is equivalent to the 12k Japanese so maybe that is why my two Shapton pros look alike and the 12k is supposedly not for sale in the USA ? OTOH, the 15k is a higher priced stone by $10.00. I'll have to do some comparison honing with the pair to see if they are indeed the same animal.

Please do, I'm keen to know...