Japanese Natural Whetstones
Nakayama is the most famous of Japan's natural finishing stone mines, due in part to the ancient history surrounding the mine, the marketing skills of the previous owners, and the extremely fine quality of the stones. Kato-san, who owned the mine from the 1950s to the late 1960s, stamped many of his stones with his own personal ink stamp, while most other miners simply wholesaled […]
The difference between natural and artificial whetstone work No matter which way you sharpen with an artificial stone, the scratches on hard and softer steel will be basically the same. Artificial whetstones can be sharpened relatively quickly, but they are too abrasive and create grooves that are difficult to remove, making it difficult to get a long-lasting cutting edge. […]
Nakatoishi 中砥石 - medium-grained (1000-5000 grit) natural Japanese sharpening stones: Aoto, Natsuya, Binsui, Aizu.
Natural Japanese sharpening stones are unique natural wonders that have been used in Japan for thousands of years to sharpen knives and grinding stones. Also known as 'toishi' or 'jnats', these stones are made from natural rocks that have special properties that make them perfect for sharpening. One of the main reasons why Japanese sharpening stones are so valuable is that [...]
Although the production volumes of natural Japanese honing stones are very low, there are many people who use them in search of a finish that can only be achieved using natural honing stones. In this article, Jun Watanabe, an expert from the traditional knife brand Mitsuhide Sakai, will explain the characteristics of natural sharpening stones by region and how to choose them. INDEX Jnats (Japanese Natural Stones) [...]