Whetstones

Please Note: These pictures and measurements are examples. Your specific product may differ slightly in appearance and measurements.

Brand: Naniwa ナニワ研磨工業
Stone Length: 270mm
Stone Width: 70mm
Stone Height: 10mm
#1000 Grit Stone Weight: 315g
#3000 Grit Stone Weight: 297g

Soaking Requirement: Several minutes

Please Note: These pictures and measurements are examples. Your specific product may differ slightly in appearance and measurements.

"Base" series; Does NOT include base

Please Note: These pictures and measurements are examples. Your specific product may differ slightly in appearance and measurements.

Oboro Knife

The newest NSK series, Oboro Knife was designed specifically for kitchen knives, and are very effective on a wide variety of steels for a wide variety of services. The abrasives in Oboro Knife tend to cut deeper and faster than other NSK lines, thus they are the most ideal series for full-blade servicing such as thinning, repairing, and reprofiling. Ideal for seasoned to advanced users.

Oboro Knife grits are: 200, 400, 800, 2000, 4000, 6000

Brand: NSK Kogyo Ltd.
Grit Range: #200
Thickness: 3.5mm
Length: 200mm
Width: 75mm
Height: 26.5mm
Weight: 740g

Please Note: These pictures and measurements are examples. Your specific product may differ slightly in appearance and measurements.

Oboro Knife

The newest NSK series, Oboro Knife was designed specifically for kitchen knives, and are very effective on a wide variety of steels for a wide variety of services. The abrasives in Oboro Knife tend to cut deeper and faster than other NSK lines, thus they are the most ideal series for full-blade servicing such as thinning, repairing, and reprofiling. Ideal for seasoned to advanced users.

Oboro Knife grits are: 200, 400, 800, 2000, 4000, 6000

Brand: NSK Kogyo Ltd.
Grit Range: #4000
Thickness: 3.5mm
Length: 200mm
Width: 75mm
Height: 26.5mm
Weight: 740g

Oboro Knife

The newest NSK series, Oboro Knife was designed specifically for kitchen knives, and are very effective on a wide variety of steels for a wide variety of services. The abrasives in Oboro Knife tend to cut deeper and faster than other NSK lines, thus they are the most ideal series for full-blade servicing such as thinning, repairing, and reprofiling. Ideal for seasoned to advanced users.

Oboro Knife grits: 200, 400, 800, 2000, 4000, 6000

Brand: NSK Kogyo Ltd.
Thickness: 3.5mm
Length: 200mm
Width: 75mm
Height: 26.5mm
Weight: 740g
Grit Range: #6000

Flattening Stones

Although all NSK stones are very wear resistant, these flattening/dressing stones are specifically formulated to counter the wear resistance and flatten at an impressive speed. They also work very well on natural stones as well, and the higher grit flattening plates will leave a scratch-free surface unlike many other diamond plates. The flattening stones are slotted to eliminate suction when rubbing against the sharpening stone.

If needed, coarser flattening grits can initially be used on higher grit sharpening stones to remove material quickly, as long as you condition the surface of the sharpening stone with a higher grit flattening plate before use in order to prevent overly-aggressive surface. Each grit of the flattening stones can be used on several different grits, so there is no need to get every single flattening grit for each corresponding grits of NSK sharpening stone you may have; see recommended grit ranges for each flattening stone below.

Flattening grits: 200, 400, 600, 1000, 3000, 6000

Recommended Use: Flattening grits from 200-1000 can be used on All NSK sharpening stones up to 1500 grit. All NSK sharpening stones with grits above 1000 should ideally be flattened with a grit as close to the stone's grit as possible. For example, a 3000 grit sharpening stone should be flattened with grits 3000 and above.

Brand: NSK
Length: 200mm
Width: 75mm
Height: 17mm
Weight: 468g
Grit Range: #600

Brand: Tanaka Toishi 田中砥石工業所
Dimensions: 225mm x 86mm x 44mm
Weight: 1615g

Notes: Really nice specimen from the famous Mikawa mine in Aichi Prefecture via the famous Tanaka Toishi brand. They are firm to hard, and quality specimens are fast and give good polishing results. Generally easy to use depending on the hardness.

Suggested Use: pre or final polisher for knives and push-cut tools.

Background Info: Nagura is made of lithified tuff, which is silica-rich stratified volcanic ash that has been compacted into a solid over many, many years. They contain very fine particles of silica (and other  which are often more friable than other sedimentary stones, and thus are ideal for polishing. They are used as one of the last stones before Uchigumori in a traditional sword polishing sequence. The word "Nagura" is the named after the individual who discovered the utility of the lithified tuff as a whetstone, Sakon Nagura, over 700 years ago.

Please Note: Given the natural aspect of these stones, all subjective qualities are our estimates and may vary slightly from your exact expectations and assessment. The images shown and characteristics described may be from a previous example. If purchased, yours may differ slightly in appearance and qualities. Dimensions, weight, and stamps may be different from listed if it has been tested.

Brand: Tanaka Toishi 田中砥石工業所
Dimensions: 220mm x 82mm x 45mm
Weight: 1573g

Notes: Really nice specimen from the famous Mikawa mine in Aichi Prefecture via the famous Tanaka Toishi brand. They are firm to hard, and quality specimens are fast and give good polishing results. Generally easy to use depending on the hardness.

Suggested Use: pre or final polisher for knives and push-cut tools.

Background Info: Nagura is made of lithified tuff, which is silica-rich stratified volcanic ash that has been compacted into a solid over many, many years. They contain very fine particles of silica (and other  which are often more friable than other sedimentary stones, and thus are ideal for polishing. They are used as one of the last stones before Uchigumori in a traditional sword polishing sequence. The word "Nagura" is the named after the individual who discovered the utility of the lithified tuff as a whetstone, Sakon Nagura, over 700 years ago.

Please Note: Given the natural aspect of these stones, all subjective qualities are our estimates and may vary slightly from your exact expectations and assessment. The images shown and characteristics described may be from a previous example. If purchased, yours may differ slightly in appearance and qualities. Dimensions, weight, and stamps may be different from listed if it has been tested.