K0704 Blade Blade, #5000, Finish Enge

The kuromaku 220 and 320 are two must have stones for sharpeners. They are fast cutting and slow wearing stones that handle even steels like super blue at 65rc very well. Now they aren't for steels with high levels of tungsten and or Vanadium carbides but any of your lower alloy steels even if they are ran very hard these stones will do a fine job with. I sharpen zdp189 at 67rc on them all the time and they handle it very well, zdp189 is a high alloy steel with lots of carbides of course but it's chromium carbide mainly and these stones will cut chromium carbide efficiently and effectively. The kuromaku line of stones offers a lot of performance and quality for a very fair price. They are true splash and go stones and that's a huge plus and they aren't messy when sharpening as they don't create any mud, just swarf and they don't load up with steel so that's another huge plus. They come perfectly flat out the box and no lapping needed out the box and that's very nice! I really love these stones and have the full line of them except for the 30k as I don't have a need for it beings I have the 30k shapton glass stone and rarely if ever use the 30k except on straight razors maybe once or twice a year and the 30k stones are very expensive for something that isn't hardly ever used. The 120, 220 and 320 are the cherries of the kuromaku line, they are amazing stones and the extremely fast cutting they are capable of makes them a real gem and 3 that every sharpener should have in their arsenal. Out of the 3 coarse stones if you are only gonna get one I would suggest the 220 as the 320 isn't aggressive enough for heavy reprofiling or larger chip damage repair and the 220 is yet it's not as fast wearing at the 120 is and still cuts steel plenty fast. Personally I only use the 120 for thinning knives and the 220 is for reprofiling and damage correction. The 320 is my start stone to set a fresh bevel and remove fatigued steel on well used and dulled edges and that's what the 320 is perfect for, the 320 is also great if your looking for a fast cutting stone that's a one and done type stone for nice super toothy edges, you can finish on the 320 and have a very aggressive toothy edge if that's what your looking for. The 1k is the best all around stone for most people, it's the perfect one and done stone for home cooks and for general sharpening so long as there is little to no damage to the edge and your not trying to reprofile. The 1k leaves a very sharp edge with high level of keenness and good bite/tooth and is personally the stone I finish most of my cooking knives on as it's the perfect finish for general kitchen knives where you want high keenness but also with good bite. Knives that I use for cutting delicate pieces of fish they will be finished at 8 or 16k but those are knives that are for a specific purpose and require very high levels of keenness with very little bite. Every stone in the kuromaku lineup is very good and each grit has a purpose but for most people the 220, 1000, 5000 will be a pretty well complete set of stones that will cover all their needs. A lot of people will tell you go 320, 1k, 5k but trust me and go 220 instead of the 320 and you will thank me as soon as you have a big chip you need to sharpen out or you are wanting to reprofile a knife that's in a hard and wear resistant steel that's not to say the 320 isn't a great stone because it most definitely is but the 220 will serve most people better just for the fact that it will significantly speed up reprofiling and or damage correction over the 320 and most people aren't going to finish on the 320 anyhow they will go to at least the 1k. These are great quality stones and if you buy them you will be happy and you will have a quality sharpening set that will last you many years and provide you with high performance. The case they come with has great grip on the bottom so when you place the stone in the top of the holder and use it as a sharpening base everything will stay nice and stable for you so a stone vice isn't needed if you don't already have one, the case doubles as a storage case and a sharpening base. Get you some kuromakus and you will be happy!

Let me say that these are not the best stones on the market, but they are certainly up there in quality and dependability. For me, I just don't feel like spending hundreds of dollars to get those stones. For the price and quality, these stones are, by far, the best out there. They are pure Japanese stones and if you know anything about Japanese swords and sharpening them, these are the stones to have. Issue? Once you get one in your inventory, you will quickly realize that the other stones Shapton offers need to be in your collection as well. The grit size is pretty darn close, and you may have to use some caution (also known as technique) to use the "right" stone for what you are attempting to achieve. This particular stone is ceramic and quit forgiving if you are just starting with knife sharpening. As you progress, get better, you will find that these stone will grow with you. The stone comes with a plastic base, and although descent, you may wish to invest in a stone holder, (or if you have more stones a couple of holders) to assist you in getting that desired edge. Generally, if you are not interested in getting hundreds of dollars of sharpening stones, and just want to get into the entry level, then these are the go-to stones. Well made, durable, and with the right stone, can give you that perfect edge. The directions for how to use the stone are in Japanese and it is advisable to get the English translation to make sure you use the instructions correctly. They are, by nature, delicate and fragile (at least the ceramic ones) and are intended to be used by someone familiar with the techniques, processes involved, and knowledge of sharpening. Hand-sharpening knives is an art-form and not for the faint of heart. As quickly as you can put an edge on a knife you can ruin it. But with good technique and practice you can hardly do worse than having high quality stones in your work force. These are those stones.

I have received this order on Oahu, Hawaii, 96825. I only have a few whetstone for sharpening some of my Japanese knives but this whetstone sharpen very well, it does not cut too fast or too much, which is perfect for touch up and regular sharpening upkeep of your knife. Can get your Japanese knife sharpen in a few minutes, feedback is good and relatively smooth.

I had been completely happy with my sharpening system. Quality diamond stones, coarse, fine and extra fine, and then I would strop with either chromium oxide (the green stuff) or diamond paste. it was fast, easy and very affordable, when you consider that the stones will last a lifetime. Then i got a Shapton ceramic glass stone 6000. It also is a "splash n go" so not all of the mess associated with water stones, it cuts really fast and was easy to flatten (i use my coarse diamond for this) and it put nice polish on my steel, but i still had to strop. Well, enter the Shapton Kuromaku 12000. I just sharpened a brand new Veritas 2 1/2" wide PM-V11 plane iron. it took less then five minutes, two on the 6000 two on the 12000 and one min. to put the blade back in the plane. oh, and yes, the hairs on my arm were jumping off before the edge was even near them. Perfect performance from the plane, stropping unnecessary. It looks like touching up my edges can be done with these two stones faster and more easily than ever before. i'll still keep my strop clamped to my bench to maintain the edge of chisels while I'm using them, and don't want to drag out my stones, spray bottle and sharpening jig, (Yes, I use a jig to establish a micro bevel, and using the strop will round that over a bit. Maybe there are some who can accurately maintain a micro bevel on a strop, but I'm not one of them) but at the end of the day, I'll touch up the edges on my stones, and I don't need stropping when coming directly off of the 1200, so next time i pick up those chisels they're super sharp with a perfect micro bevel. You should probably get this stone.

Excellent stone. Cuts fast. I use this as my middle stone between a 1500 Shapton and 12,000 Shapton. Excellent for Veritas PMV-11 plane blades and chisels.

It's a great stone. It has good feedback and decent durability. But it seems in a different "class" than Shapton's other ceramics. It's noticeably more porous than their finer stones, and feels kind of sandy to me and requires more rinsing due to more slurry. It still cuts great and does it fast, it just doesn't have that premium feel that drew me to their other stones. Not a bad stone for the price, but you definitely won't be finishing your edge on this one!

Let the slurry build up until it's like wet mud. Unlike diamond stones that show up gritty but lose most of it after five minutes -- if you want a 320-grit diamond stone you have to buy a 220-grit -- this water stone keeps its grit. And unlike diamond stones, it doesn't constantly clog up, which diamond stones do even with a honing liquid to lift out the swarf. You may need a piece of sacrificial steel to get the slurry going. (I'm using the iron from the cheapest block plane they had at Home Depot.) Or maybe not. Warning: When it shows up, you'll feel the surface and be disappointed. It's not sharp like #120 sandpaper. I think the surface wears as you go, and the slurry holds the grit that does the work. I was disappointed until I was flattening a spokeshave iron. I was growing increasingly frustrated, but then all of the sudden I heard it start to grind or cut, and in a few minutes the stone did what it would have taken a few hours to accomplish with my DMT 220-grit diamond stone. Obviously, this stone is for heavy work. Because these stones are splash-n-go, they're incredibly convenient. If I knew then what I know now, I'd have only bought these, and have a progression of grits. I got the Shapton 12,000-grit stone for Christmas, and I couldn't be happier with it. Do they stay flat? Yes and no, depending on what you need. If you're sharpening an iron for a smoothing plane, then you need to worry about the smallest variations; if you're sharpening knives, you have more room to play with. I have an el-cheapo dressing stone, so I use that and my other stones against each other and it seems to be working fine. (I think you can get flatness with just three stones, but the cheap dressing stone is helping by making a bridge between this stone and the higher-grit stones.) I flatten with every use, so it takes very little time -- and is oddly satisfying. Will diamond stones outlast these Shaptons? Sure. Why not? Will diamond stones last a lifetime? Yes, but only if you plan to live as long as a large-breed dog. A coworker has a set of DMT stones with the diamond clearly worn off much or most of the surfaces. He happily sharpens away on surfaces that are part diamond, part exposed steel, but that's okay, because diamond stones are just the super-duper bestest! Are there better stones that these Shaptons? Sure. Why not? If you find them and the price is right, buy 'em. This is about getting the best you can afford, not brand loyalty. Until then, my long-term plan is to collect a functional, if incomplete, set of these. I am very satisfied.

I’ve owned shapton stones for years and have always been happy with them! Saw this higher grit stone, 12,000 grit, for a great price and gave it a try! Part number is the same as the old stones and works as well as the old ones that I use to pay $100+ USD for! Very happy with the finish from this stone and easy to resurface after each use! It’s also nice that you don’t have to soak these before use! Spritz them with water and good to go!!