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I bought it from 330mate on this Ebay listing:

JAPANESE sharpening stone #100 Ohira Green kumori sword - eBay (item 200266041189 end time May-14-10 00:27:01 PDT)

I made an offer of $30 which...

Back on subject.

I would be willing to send the Ohira Tomae to someone for testing. I think this is potentially an Aoto substitute to fit between the 1k-2K hone and the 8K stone. I paid $30 for it...

Well I got my larger Ohira Tomae stone. It took 5 weeks to arrive. It was definitely harder and seemed finer than what I asked for.

I sent an email to 330mate, but, knowing I was right up against...

An update,

Although I like my Aoto, I wanted something a little wider to use on blades that I have had to reshape. Say, if I have just corrected a frown I would like to stay on wider stones as...

I think if someone wants a predictable aoto experience, the best way to go is the synthetic aoto. There are a number of sources for those. Hida Tool, japaneseknifesharpeningstore.com, The Japan...

very nice!

Back on topic. Here is a closer shot of my Aoto's surface as I am currently using.

Is that a Maruoyama?

He kind of likes a Maruoyama Shiro suita for that.

I am just waiting for So to give me the total and how to make payment.

Japan Tool - Natural Sharpening Stones - Maruoyama2

The aoto came from 330mate.

The Ohira Tomae also came from him. It is a medium fine stone and not a finisher. It is the one he has listed as "JAPANESE sharpening stone #100 Ohira Green kumori...

An update on my Aoto experience.

I am liking mine and seem to have been lucky. The side I have flattened has no "toxic" inclusions and (from descriptions of others) it is harder than average. I...

It does and works fine. I want something bigger (and more expensive).

Because mine just doesn't cut fast enough, I will settle for using it after my DMT 1200.

I will look at getting a natural bevel setter again in the future.

My next goal is to get a stone to...

I don't know which seller you are after but 330mate's ebay store is:

eBay Store - Japanese tools whetstone for sword: Top class, Yamawaku, Hi class

His website is 330mate.com

I am pretty...

I didn't keep track, but would say it took less than 1/2 the work - maybe 70 laps?

I had a second larger chip I was paying more attention to.

You're probably right.

I was trying to avoid slurry on that one. It is faster with slurry:

I tried to get the pics of the edge at about the same magnification (200X), same part of the blade and the same lighting.

1)I took a few swipes on the DMT1200 to try and get some scratches from...

Next we have the ebay razor. I have this one around to test hones and haven't polished it at all. It has been used to test other hones so is fairly sharp. It has the advantage of having a chip.
...

This morning I had a chance to get started with some of my new hones. These are pics of the participants.

1) The 3 hones together before lapping. At the top, is the aoto. In the middle is the...

I am going to be growing my beard back this winter (a Py tradition for over 30 years). So I will be working on my honing. The problem is getting an adequate shave test. So I plan to send a couple...

pretty smooth.

I didn't spend a lot of time looking, but will post some pix later.

Aoto and Ohira green sharpening stone arrived. I have only unpacked and given them a cursory look. At first glance, I seem to have been lucky with the Aoto. I didn't see any obvious inclusions. The...

All the stones I bought from him are now in the US according to tracking info. Hope to have them soon.

here is the translation of one of 330mate's pages:

Google Translate

Actually, it would be more cost effective to us to buy an Iyo whetstone which is in the 1000-3000 range. I think these are being mined again.

My impression is that he has them all packed and just picks one off the pile.

He may have a pile for the auction and a pile for those that sell at the BIN price.

from his site:

天然ç¥çŸ³...