SHAPTON Ha No Kuromaku Ceramic Whetstone (A-set) Medium Grit (#1000) + Fine Grit (#5000)

Some of the best synthetic water stones you can buy and priced more than fairly for how good these stones are! These stones have superb performance, they last a very long time, don't dish quickly, cut very quickly, leave a beautiful finish and leave incredible edge quality. I personally prefer kuromakus over Chosera I prefer the feel and cutting performance of the kuromakus over them. Due to how quickly these stones cut you can do a 3 stone progression and cover 95% of your kitchen knife needs with those three stones and that's a 320, 1500, 5k. With that progression most of your needs will be covered by those three stones. That's damage correction and light reprofiling as well as a toothy finish stone for knives that mainly are for cutting proteins with the 320, a fantastic mid grit stone with the 1500 that leaves a sticky sharp edge but with some bite remaining and makes a perfect edge for vegis as well as for cutting proteins (I prefer it over the 1k or 2k) to a mirror polished very fine edge at 5k that's excellent for cutting delicate fish proteins and other delicate items where you want very high keenness for slicing performance and push cutting performance. That doubles as a great 3 stone setup for pocket and outdoors knives, the 5k isn't needed for pocket folding knives and outdoors knives unless you want the mirror edges as the 320 is perfect for toothy edges and the 1500 is perfect for edges where you want more keenness but with still good bite. These stones are truly excellent performers and extremely good values! Lots of kuromaku videos on YouTube@diamondcutsteel really showing the excellent performance of these stones from simple carbon kitchen knife steels like all the way up to high performance modern powder steels being sharpened on these incredible stones.

If you are new to knife sharpening or even a pro with plenty of experience, you cannot go wrong with these stones in your arsenal. Whether you are looking for a whetstone, ceramic, or glass. The various grits, and SHAPTON offers plenty of them, are considered to be accurate. They range from grit capable of reshaping the blade all the way through putting a mirror finish. I will caution you here? Since SHAPTON makes a variety of stones, do not skip out and follow the instructions on preparing the stones, breaking in the stones, cleaning the stones, 'fixing'; the stones, storing the stones, (you get the idea). The directions for all this? As these are stones from Japan where knife sharpening is an art form, they are written in Japanese. You can find the English translated version on the internet or contact SHAPTON directly to have them available. If you are wanting quality stones and paying the price for them, you need to keep them ready. These are not the most expensive stones out there, but if you're in the market for stones that will work and get quality knife edges right off the stone itself, then you need to start here. The stones are ideal but take a lot of care to ensure they work as advertised and will last. Your only issue here is finding the correct stones to start with. As I mentioned, SHAPTON has a number of stones available and although having the full range available, to start, you only require two or three. And then progress from there. Good stones, good quality, good reputation, and functional as well. Not a bad investment for above high-quality standards

These sharpening and polishing stones are fantastic. I wouldn't expect anything less from Japanese stones. They are definitely not copies; although I could be wrong, I don't think so.

I can not even begin to help you understand just how great these stones are. They changed my whole world when it comes to sharpening. I used a smiths trihone before this. You would think I was using a rock just comparing how sharp I can get these vs the smiths. So the stones are hard. They don't require soaking. They have good feedback. Easy to clean. Slow wearing. I know these stones are going to last me basically forever. But if and when they do wear down I will buy another set. These are seriously that good. I ordered a 2000 grit to help between the 1000 and 5000. But with these and a strop. I get unbelievable edges. I use the sharpal 162n I think it is to set the profile then these to do the shining. Anyway. I say all that to say I wish I could give 10 stars. Jeez they are just so good. DONT QUESTION YOURSELF. JUST BUY THEM. ITS MORE THAN WORTH IT! Thank you shapton!

Good sharpening stone set, but priced at the upper limit of what it is worth.

I own the 1000, 5000 and 8000 grit Shaptons. They are perfectly consistent grit all the way through, don’t require soaking, just a splash of water, work well for both carbon and stainless knife and tool blades and wipe down easily with a cloth towel. The plastic box acts as a stone holder and it’s a perforated case so the stones dry if still damp when put away. These synthetic stones combine the ease of use of a true synthetic with the sharpening capability of a true JNAT (Japanese natural stone). For the average user, the Shaptons are a great setup for any blade. I lapped these stones when they were brand new out of the box on an Ultra Sharp 400/1000 diamond plate. Lapping flattens a stone to dead flat. The Shaptons were not perfectly flat on arrival, they had some low/high spots and I’d recommend lapping them when new and as you use them from time to time. You can see the 3 Shapton stones in the photo with the Ultra Sharp 400/1000 underneath. You can also lap a stone like the Shaptons with silicon carbide waterproof 220 grit paper on a piece of window glass or even plexiglas used as a flat surface for the paper. That eliminates the need for spending $70 on the Ultra Sharp or Atoma diamond stone. I label the stones and boxes by grit with a marker so I can see the grits easily. I use the back side of the stones and leave the printed Shapton stone face labels intact. I like the Shaptons a lot more than soft soaker stones like the Kings which are very soft and can gouge easily, especially with chisels and plane blades. Hard to beat a 1000 grit Shapton stone as a starter stone for home and shop use. Hope that helps!

VERY GOOD

functions well, durable

Good product

Machine precision whetstones. Not much left to say. Sharpening your knives will become much faster, more precise, and more enjoyable. Worth every penny for a purchase that you can pass on for generations.

ممتاز واصلي

Es una excelente opción para cualquier tipo de cuchillo en especial en los de alta gama, es rápido y fácil afilar con estas piedras además de tener un mantenimiento rápido pero muy delicado.

Bear with me, I'm so I'll nerding out about these absolutely incredible stones! I've used everything from 2nd hand and cheap £ store stones to more expensive brand name stones, but these.. If you're keen about proper kitchen knife maintenance then get these! I got the #1000 & #5000 grit stones and used them almost as soon as they arrived! The results are insane! After a few minutes on the #1000 my knives were gliding through paper, I almost decided not to try the #5000 but the polish that puts on your edge is gorgeous! The little storage cases they come in are cool too. They aren't labelled (like no etching or embossing on the container) but that's the closest thing to a drawback these stones have. Just to tick some boxes; Great Value For Money. Excellent build quality and super easy to use. Will cut your maintenance times in half and will last a good long while. P.s. Apologies for no pics/vids of my claims, if I can edit this review later then I will add them.