Naniwa Superstone to King comparison

So, I'm about to get a few stones. I will do my own, for now only carbon steel, razors. Some need a lot of work (two DA's sitting here), others will just be the usual maintenance. Having looked at a shop I think is good, I'm leaning towards Naniwa superstones (over Shapton, it's just a feeling I have, don't know why and the Naniwa's are also a few euro cheaper, but that's just minor). I did also see King stones there, and the "better" (presumably) 8K stone is significantly cheaper than the Naniwa Super.

Are there any ideas on the King vs. the Naniwa Super in general and for specific stones? I'm happy to hear and learn. I am looking first of all at an 8K and a 3 or 5K stone, and maybe a 1/2K one later for some rework. My main focus is maintenance for now. I do already own a Chinese 12K, which I've lapped already (takes some time :D).


Edit: Another related question: Any positive/negative views on the Naniwa Superstone combination stones? There's the 800/5K combo and the 3K/8K combo.

You will be winner with super stones. go to SRD AND order them. it will serve you great. Add some chro2 to your stones and you will set for a long time. i have at least 50 stones but want to buy superstones for myself. They fast cutter and does the job very easily. good luck

I won't order from SRD because it'll take a lot of time and customs here will rip me off. :) Plus there's a shop in Germany that has superstones that aren't glued to the plastic base, making them usable on both sides. Could be a plus, maybe it's no benefit at all.

As an owner of many stones, what's your opinion on King, and their different series?

Thanks!

When I first started sharpening my Japanese knives I bought King stones as they where extreamly afordable. For the money they are not bad stones but are very slow, and work very well on carbon steel, not so well on stainless.

If you are able to spend the few extra $$ I would suggest the Naniwa stones. I have a couple coarse stones for fixing kitchen knives and they have held up beautifuly.

I'm sort of leaning towards the Naniwa anyway, but I'd like to thank the respondents for taking the time to give me their opinions.

Anybody's got something to say about the Naniwa Superstone combo stones?