My favourite sharpening stuff

Hey folks, thanks for being here.

Over the past 10 years or so I have really taken a huge interest in Japanese Water Stones. (I don't use Japanese Natural Stones yet, that will come in time as I get more hand made Japanese knives to sharpen)

I have some favourites of course, these are the stones I use on a daily basis:

Naniwa Chosera:

My favourite stones

I have used these for many years and because I am in Canada I purchase them from Paul's Finest. I love them, the 1,000 grit stone is absolutely superb but they are all great, I also have the 10,000 grit Naniwa Chosera. I don't it very often, most knives that I sharpen don't require a level of refinement that high. IN FACT, in reality, no knives do.  This doesn't meant you can't use of course, there is a difference between what the edge needs and what you want to do with it.

Shapton Professional
Chef Knives to Go


There is only one place in NS that I know of where you can purchase these, i.e. buy them off the shelf and that is because I asked the fantastic owners of the beautiful little Japanese shop called The Ikebana Shop to stock some.  The 5k stone here is my favourite 5k water stone. It will produce an edge that most people have never experienced.

(Now if you live in the United States, you don't need to look any further than Chef Knives to Go, Mark Richmond, the owner is absolutely wonderful to deal with, he has a collection of water stones and knives that I can only dream of having. All the stones that I use are available at his site and I have ordered from him many times, never a problem.)

5K Shapton Pro

SHAPTON GLASS

This is another fantastic line of stones and I can highly recommend them. Some folks are turned off by the feel of them but you will get over that quickly. They do the job on all steels, and I have relied on them for years.

I get mine from Mark at times but because of the shipping cost, customs and exchange rate, it is just better for me to deal with a Canadian shop so I use Fendrihans for my Shapton Glass.  Now I really like dealing with Mark but he understands.

Shapton Glass

In the link, you will notice that the Shapton Pond is Sold Out.......that is because I bought the last one :)  (sorry)

There is one particular stone, a 2,000 grit stone that I use and I think it is my favourite stone of all, even more than my Chosera 400, 1,000, or Shapton Pro 5k.  

The Naniwa Aotoshi 2,000 or Green Brick of Joy.

Green Brick of Joy

Just get this one from Mark at Chef Knives to Go. The stone is huge and delivers and edge that will startle you. Polished yet not over refined at all and better that most factory edges, oh yes.
I love this stone, I bought mine in Phoenix but if you are in the States, don't hesitate to pull the trigger on this fantastic water stone.


My favourite 6,000 grit stone is the 

Favourite 6K


My Favourite 8K is the:

8K favourite

Another cool spot in Canada to purchase Japanese Water Stones and knives of course, dream knives, is Knifewear. 
Kevin Kent, the owner has done much to highlight the beauty and importance of hand made Japanese knives to Canada and he should be commended for that. 

He and his staff are great folks, easy to deal with and they know there stuff, believe me.

Knifewear

Thanks for being here