Shapton Ha No Kuromaku Ceramic Whetstone Medium Grit #1000

As others have observed, the grading of 1000 is probably a little high, it might be more like 800, it's definitely a medium stone rather than a fine one. Whilst you can use it to reprofile an edge, it will take a while, this stone excels at repairing and maintaing an already profiled knife.It's a very high quality stone, its consitency is uniform, there are no grit lumps (giving rise to pimples) and the wear in consistent over the whole surface. It is of one grade throughout, both sides cut the same.It's easy to use, do fully read the enclosed instructions though since some online videos are incorrect, it's not just a "splash and go" stone, it's porous throughout and requires an initial soaking period especially if it has been left to dry out. You also need to regularly splash as you sharpen to both lubricate and remove slurry. It's not as convenient as a dry diamond stone but it's a fraction of the price. In practice using it with a small towel around it is fine, once it has been soaked you only need a teaspoon of water every so often to keep the surface lubricated and clean.The case is nicely designed as well, it is sturdy and clicks closed positively so that even if you do the unspeakable and drop the stone in the closed box it should still be protected from fracture. There are four non-slip rubber button feet on the underside and a four-sided fence on the lid which retains the stone perfectly whilst allowing water and slurry to drain from the gaps in each corner. This means you don't need to buy or make a custom stone holder, the case does a perfectly adequate job for most people.The whetstone has a very nice smooth grind feel when sharpening, you can easily gauge from the drag how much metal you are removing, the tactile feedback from the stone is excellent.Unlike diamond stones this stone will wear and depending on your usage and technique/proficiency you will need to periodically flatten it which requires investing in a separate flattening stone, but it's well worth it and if you use and maintain this whetstone properly it will give you many years of faultless service and hundreds of sharp knives.Whilst you can buy a finer grade stone to finish on, you don't have to. The orange Kuromaku is a good enough compromise that you can use it to both shapen and finish needing only one or two leather strops with diamond paste to raise a knife to a razor edge (dependent on the knife of course).Overall this is an excellent quality stone, I'm very pleased with it and I also believe that it represents excellent value for money since you can just about get away with just the one expensive whetstone plus one flattening stone and a few rawhide strops. (You can do major reprofiling using those cheap diamond stones first.)As a novice I watched many online tutorials before purchase and I went with the consensus of opinion that this was an excellent value one-stone sharpening solution and after using it successfully (I sharpen all my friend's knives for practice) I concur with them all. If I buy an additional whetstone it will be probably be another Shapton.

This is a good, even excellent, whetstone. For, it does the job, gives reasonable feedback (i.e. one can feel what one is doing), does not have any problem with slurry, and it does not seem to wear especially fast. I have used it with success on low-carbon knives and medium-carbon knives. I have not tested it on any very high carbon knife, though I imagine that it would work on such a knife. Other reviews here say that it does.The price is pretty good.I add the following (and in so doing I echo somewhat one of the other reviews). This remark of mine will concern medium or high-carbon knives, i.e. hard knives. If one is changing the angle of such a knife, and/or perhaps is the knife is really blunt, then one needs a coarse stone, like this one. For, under those conditions, using a less coarse stone makes it hard to get the knife sharp. (Still, what counts as less coarse? Perhaps 400 grit and above. Certainly 800 grit and above. But I'm talking about standard synthetic stones here. Matters might be different with diamond stones. As to natural stones, some of them are very hard, but at least most such stones will have a grit north of two thousand, which, for the sort of work at issue, will take forever.)I would not try to use the whetstone atop its box - as shown in one of the photographs provided by the seller. I imagine that that would work badly. One needs a proper whetstone holder. For _storing_ the stone, the box is fine, though I prefer the Naniwa boxes. (Incidentally: to my knowledge, Naniwa does not do a stone in the 300-400 grit range, at least not within its more serious lines of stones.)

I have a few whetstones, ranging in grit from 250 to 8,000 and I have been previously using my 8,000 grit stone to finish off my Global Knives - none of them in the price range of Shapton, to be fair. I've become reasonable adept at sharpening them freehand and they were pretty sharp, I wouldn't say razor sharp but very sharp nevertheless. This Shapton stone, at 12,000 grit, is a different level. I used a 3,000 then an 8,000 grit stone to get a really nice sharp edge and then went to work with my new Shapton 12,000.The stone I ordered came directly from Japan and the instructions were in Japanese. However, I did a bit of research and it was recommended that you soak the stone in water for about 5 or 6 minuted prior to first use. On further uses, it's not recommended to soak the stone as it can soften the stone. For future uses, the stone should be sprayed with water on the surface prior to use. Following use, once clean of any residual dirt, it should be allowed to dry prior to being placed back in the box.The finish you get using this stone is at another level to the stones I've used before. I found the blade edge was genuinely polished and is was unbelievably sharp. This stone is quite a bit more expensive than stones I've used before but I can see why. It is far superior in quality. I would highly recommend this stone for anyone who is serious about sharpening their knives. Genuine top quality product.

Best stone / grit for general tidying up and achieving an edge out of the range of these stones I have. Ceramic is simply an excellent way to stone your edges and these are well made, come with a box holder, are a really good price at time of writing and will last forever. Absolutely love these stones they are fantastic and better buying these than some other types of “whetstones” available as sets…to the novice I would recommend starting with just this stone and for the pros then you probably all ready know how good these are.

I started my whetstone journey with the King 1000/6000 and it was a real struggle. Recently though, I moved over to Shapton. I've got a Kuromaku 320 and the 1000. Writing here about the 1000. So, what do I think about it?If your knife is blunt, you probably want to start on a courser grit like the 320. However, if you're just maintaining a still sharp knife that's just lost some of it's edge, you'll be fine with the 1000. It's a fast cutter and it doesn't dish easily. There are people out there who say it's not really a 1000 grit and is more like a 700 or 800. I'm not sure how true this is. I can't discern any significant difference in scratch pattern between the Kuromaku 1000 and a Shapton Glass 1000.The Kuromaku is a faster cutter though. You should be able to refresh your edge in just a minute or two on each side. That said, I don't generally finish on the 1000, I usually go on to a 3000 and a 6000 for a mirror polish. These are definitely better value than the Shapton Glass though -- and especially since the recent price hike. You're getting more than twice the abrasive for about two thirds of the price.If you're just looking for a one stone and done, the Kuromaku 1000 would probably meet your needs. This would definitely be my first buy. But you should also be thinking about buying a coarser stone like the 320 for if you ever need to reset your bevel, or if you're struggling to raise a burr on the 1000. The 1000 is a great stone and gets the most use of all of my whetstones, but the 320 was a complete game changer for me, enabling me to get knives that were sharper than factory sharp for the first time ever.There's a solid reason for starting on a coarser grit than the 1000. Sharpness depends on your ability to consistently hold an angle, so the fewer strokes it takes to raise a burr, the less likely you are to introduce wobble in the wrist. Once you have your apex set, you're really just refining your edge. And there are many people who think the toothy edge you get from a 320 grit stone is all that you need. (I'm not such a person. I go up to 6000. But I'm a bit obsessive about sharpening.)

Excellent quality stone, hard with plenty of feedback. It feels more like a 700 or 800 grit, i use this when my knives have lost a bit more sharpness due to not having time to look after them. I start with this stone which will give me a working edge very quickly but a little toothy so i move to a naniwa 1000 then progress to a 4000. The stone is hard wearing and should last a good while, i would say these shapton stones are good value for money but if you intend buying this particular one it's worth getting the 2000 as well as this one is not like most 1000 grit stones. Great quality and easy to use.

Great quality product from Japan. I have a few stones. Ranging from cheap to higher end. These range of stones are exactly where I see my sharpening skills, based on the investment I want to make. The feel and feedback is really nice, you do feel the quality. Hard wearing with no sludge. Many YouTube reviewers rate these stones and I can see why. A solid quality product, at a reasonable price point with good economic sense due to their hard wearing construction. Splash and go!

Much better than the cheap £30 crap for sale. Do yourself a favour and spend the bit extra for one of these. Much better feedback when sharpening and you don’t have to flatten it as much since the blade doesn’t dig in as much. Splash and go as well, no need to soak it for 20min like the other double sided ones.

Every knive, dull or sharp amounts to improvement while using the stone (keeping in mind The Angle of the blade). 1000 grit measurement is the perfect medium. Have gotten knives come back to live meanwhile inferior effeminately seem ready for re-cycle.KEEP SHARP

Avevo letto online che tagliasse davvero velocemente , ma ho l'impressione che tagli addirittura piú della mia 1000 al diamante ( che ho usato nel lato 400 per spianare la pietra ed era già quasi perfetta di fabbrica)Promossa a pieni voti , però taglia talmente tanto che forse una 2000 sarebbe piú adatta per un uso come " manutenzione " , questa a parte acciai HSS al vanadio ecc... mangia davvero tutto.Taglia piú della mia King 300 .Lascia il filo equivalente ad una 700 , con una passata per sbavare diventa un filo strepitoso.

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This are great stones, easy to use (just need to wet them, don't need to soak it first). Give my knives a great edge.The 1000 and 5000 stones are my go to stones for sharpening kitchen knives, with the 1000 giving it a edge and the 5000 to sharpen it. The 12000 stone is mostly for fun since removing too much teeth will also reduce its cutting edge.Grit and teeth. The lower the grit, the easier it is for the knife to cut rope, boxes, or anything that is rough to cut. The higher the grit, the more teeth it is going to remove, so the knife can cut paper easily, but nothing else. So most of the time 5000 grit is great for many kitchen knives - grit to teeth ratio. With 12000, it is going to the knife a mirror edge, which for most purposes, it is for fun instead of any practical purposes.

love it