When I first started sharpening as a young sailor at sea, I used an oil stone which many folks find perfectly fine for taking care of their edges. As my obsession for learning about sharpening and how to improve commenced I found an article on JWS (Japanese Water Stones) and my obsession/passion took on a new path. I was kind of hooked before, now I was addicted. As in everything else on the market, stones come in various varieties and differ in quality. The ones I use are synthetic as most are and are absolutely remarkable. There are natural JWS of course that can be used, generally more expensive, harder to get and not something I plan on looking at just now. Many of the sharpeners I liaise with who have both prefer the synthetic type and all agree that they perform what they designed for wonderfully. There are three broad categories of JWS, the Ara-to (rough stone), the Naka-to (medium stone) and the Shiage-to (finishing stone).
Here is a JWS, King brand at 800 grit. This is a great stone for starting on a dull knife, it is aggressive, easy to use and cheap to purchase. (Less then $30.00). This is one of the stones I started with after switching from oil stones to Japanese Water Stones.
Now however I use a higher quality JWS that is cut to a specific size for me by a gentleman in California who purchases these very high quality stones from Japan. I use stones specifically designed for my system by a brilliant sharpener who has sharpened over 100,000 knives on the device he created.
I use a combinaton of JWS including Naniwa Chosera and Shapton in a wide variety of grits. Here is what they look like:
These are the stones that I use to take the edge of a very dull knife to a screaming sharp and enjoyable to use knife. Whether it is a nice Global, Shun or just a no-name brand that needs some TLC.
