Thread: Japanese waterstones

what is the best brand for Japanese water stones?

Some guys like naniwa superstone, others shapton pro or glass and still others the naniwa/chosera line. All get the job done, just a matter of personal preference.

You can't go wrong with any of the Naniwa or Shapton products & I have experience on Chosera (1K only) SuperStones & GS's. Maybe one of these days I will end up with the set of the Chosera's...

Who has the better pick-up, Chevy or Ford...just a personal preference as they are both good trucks.

Another vote here for the Shapton GS series. I use the Chosera 1k for bevel setting and the Shapton GS stones myself. I like the Shapton GS for their ease of use, and speed. Like the other guys, It really is a lot of personal preference when it comes to this.

+1 on all the above. All good stones. For me Chosera 1k for bevel, and Shapton Glass for the rest. My Naniwa SS's are feeling neglected. Unfortunately the only way for you to see which you like the best is to try them, which can be pretty expensive.

You might want to enter a general location in your profile settings and maybe there's a member near you that would let you come over and try their stones. If you're near central Okla. I have 2 of the 3 sets, and one of the Chosera.

Regards,
Howard

I have never tried the Shapton stones, but I'm sure they are very good. I have used the Naniwa Super Stones 1K-12K and they are great stones. I have used, and still have my Chosera 1K which I use for bevel setting, and that stone rocks!

I use 1k Chosera 2/5/8k Shapron Pro, 10k Super stone

Originally Posted by dedox

what is the best brand for Japanese water stones?

Best in what sense ?

I have and like the Chosera water stones. Good for both razors and any other sharpening, knives, chisels, planes etc.

I own the 1K, 2K, 3K, 5K

My high end synthetic is also a Japanese made one but a bit more expensive, the Suehiro 'Gokumyo' 10K. I understand that the Suehiro 'Gokumyo' stones are a bit harder than the Naniwa Chosera, which are harder than the Naniwa Super Stones.

I have also tried the Naniwa Diamond hones, but was not impressed and returned them. The amount of abrasive on the steel plate is a ceramic mix with diamonds only 1 mm thick (see here for a side shot of the hone). They are quite expensive, for so little abrasive, and the one I got was 'cupped' and I wasn't willing to let the money I spent on the hone run down the drain in lapping it.

And as others have mentioned, there is also Shapton, which I have never used.

It will boil down to your budget.

in getting the knife the sharpest the the fastest