This is a very nice and large Japanese natural stone. It measures 210x90x35mm and the weight is around 2kg. It's medium hard, very smooth and it will easily release some mud when used with wide bevels and the back of a blade and this makes it a fast stone. When you use it with a laminated Japanese blade it becomes even better, because the soft steel backing pulls material from the stone very easily making sharpening even faster. The mud is very slick and I recommend to leave it on the stone after use. Just add some water the next time and keep using the mud.
It finishes to a bright, semi-mirror polish and in terms of sharpness it's comparable to a synthetic 8000 grit stone. If you keep working the mud so the sharpening particles break down even further you can easily get a 10.000 grit finish. Being a natural stone it's very dish resistant, much more so than a synthetic stone. You do of course have to use the entire surface of the stone to keep it flat as long as possible, just like with a synthetic stone.
It's important to note a stone like this is not like a synthetic stone that you have to keep really wet all the time. In fact, the performance decreases when you do this. Just lightly wet the surface with your fingers and this will make the stone perform optimally. When you see the stone is starting to dry out just add a few drops of water and continue sharpening.
It does have 2 spots with some toxic inclusions that scratch the steel and I've already removed them. This is absolutely no problem because your blades will simply pass over these spots if like me you sharpen freehand at an angle or sideways, but you have to remove the inclusions once in a while as the stone wears. The 2 small spots in the top left hand corner also contained some hard material but these are shallow and will disappear after lapping the stone a few times. Experienced users know natural stones can have some toxic inclusions and no one really cares about it. The other lines and spots are benign, they don't scratch the steel and will wear with the rest of the stone. And lastly, the sides and bottom are sealed with a clear lacquer. Keep in mind a nice Aiiwatani that's this large is fairly rare. This one will last you a life time and of course it's a also a very nice stone to sharpen knives on.
I'm asking $325 for the stone, this includes the cost of shipping and the Paypal fee. Feel free however to make an offer. I will ship internationally as a signed package with track and trace. This means the package is automatically insured up to $600.
Here are some pics of the stone.https://imgur.com/a/4gQKn
It finishes to a bright, semi-mirror polish and in terms of sharpness it's comparable to a synthetic 8000 grit stone. If you keep working the mud so the sharpening particles break down even further you can easily get a 10.000 grit finish. Being a natural stone it's very dish resistant, much more so than a synthetic stone. You do of course have to use the entire surface of the stone to keep it flat as long as possible, just like with a synthetic stone.
It's important to note a stone like this is not like a synthetic stone that you have to keep really wet all the time. In fact, the performance decreases when you do this. Just lightly wet the surface with your fingers and this will make the stone perform optimally. When you see the stone is starting to dry out just add a few drops of water and continue sharpening.
It does have 2 spots with some toxic inclusions that scratch the steel and I've already removed them. This is absolutely no problem because your blades will simply pass over these spots if like me you sharpen freehand at an angle or sideways, but you have to remove the inclusions once in a while as the stone wears. The 2 small spots in the top left hand corner also contained some hard material but these are shallow and will disappear after lapping the stone a few times. Experienced users know natural stones can have some toxic inclusions and no one really cares about it. The other lines and spots are benign, they don't scratch the steel and will wear with the rest of the stone. And lastly, the sides and bottom are sealed with a clear lacquer. Keep in mind a nice Aiiwatani that's this large is fairly rare. This one will last you a life time and of course it's a also a very nice stone to sharpen knives on.
I'm asking $325 for the stone, this includes the cost of shipping and the Paypal fee. Feel free however to make an offer. I will ship internationally as a signed package with track and trace. This means the package is automatically insured up to $600.
Here are some pics of the stone.https://imgur.com/a/4gQKn
