Aono Aoto

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Kit Craft
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Aono Aoto

Post by Kit Craft »

Back on the old site I had a write up of my first few natural stones but due to the reset, everything was lost. I do not have photos because, well, I am an awful photographer. If you really must have photos, I will take some but prepare yourself for the worst photos you have ever seen. Now, I am not going to review stones in the order that I got them but rather in the order of enjoyment that I get from using them, which is why I will start with the Aono.

The show stopping Aono Aoto: I call this stone the show stopper because it really blew my socks off when I used it. It is the natural stone by which all others that come through my kitchen are measured.

Feedback:

Tactile feedback on this stone is awesome. It is soft enough that it will tell you that you are off your angle. In fact, if the stone could speak this is what it would say. "Hey, dumb ass, you are off your angle" or "yeah, that is the way I like it". You can always feel where your edge is at as it will stick to the stone, or rather bite into it if you are not careful. The feeling is kind of chalky if you do not first use a tomo, which is a feeling that I like, but turns very creamy as the mud starts to show up. If all stones felt like this in use, I would be bankrupt.

Audible feedback on this stone is amazing as well. Think way back to when you were just a child. Can you recall using sidewalk chalk and if so, have you ever used it in the rain? Well, if you haven't, the texture changes and as a result when your write on the sidewalk the sound changes as well. Why do I bring this up, that is just how the aono sounds in use. Just like wet chalk on a sidewalk. On the other hand, if you are off it will make a scarping sound as if you were plowing dry chalk on the blackboard. As you near your stopping point that sound will be less intense or rather it will mellow out and be a lower pitch. The point is, you know what is being done and if you are on your angle or not.

Visual feedback is another story as it is not so "in your face". The visual feedback of this stone is quite subtle in that the swarf hides itself in the mud. However, if you pay attention you can still tell what is going on. As you start off the mud generated is a brown earthy color but as time goes on the mud will start becoming grey. With more and more time the mud will darken up to almost a black color.

Management:

Mud management is fairly easy with this stone as it generates a fair amount. If you use a tomo you will have more mud than you know what to do with in only a few strokes. However, if you use only the knife, this will take a little longer. Now, this will vary depending on the width of the bevel. If you are sharpening a single bevel or you are thinning the mud will produce readily but if you are on a narrow bevel it will take more time. The mud does dry out easily so working it is needed. Not so much that you have to add more water more often but in that if you run your fingers around the stone a few times here and there, the mud will hold off on drying out. More on that below.

Water management is also straight forward. This is a thirsty stone, the thirstiest that I own. A few strokes and it wants more water BUT just a single drop, a little goes a long way. Again, as I said above, make sure you keep the mud on the stone rather than on your hands or the knife. The more mud on the stone, the less water you need to add. Just make sure that you are moving the mud and water around. If it pools up, it will dry out quickly. Incidentally, that is not a bad thing as dried mud on this stone makes for a killer strop.

Speed:

So just how fast does this stone cut? Well, for a natural in its "grit" range it will raise a bur surprisingly fast. In my last session it took 32 single sided strokes on AUS8 at 58/59 hrc. Mind you, this knife was not prematurely dulled by scraping the edge off or anything. It was mere normal wear and tear. If you were in need of setting a new crisp bevel or thinning behind this edge, by no means would I start with this stone. Regardless, for a medium fine stone it is fairly quick. I find that desirable in a touch up stone.

Finesse:

The question that everybody seems to ask about naturals: How fine is it compared to a synthetic and what grit is it? That is hard to answer, as I am sure you all know. The cutting speed is similar to that of a 3-4k glass stone. The cosmetic finish on cladding is closer to a 1k and the edge quality is between 2-3k. Clear as mud? What I can tell you is that the edge itself is wonderful. I would say it fall somewhere in the 2-3k range, as compared to shapton glass stones. It has a ton of bite left in it but also cuts cleanly. Example: it will slice through free hanging paper towel without stuttering, no ripping, no jagged edges and no scraps left on the edge. This will slice or push cut through newsprint with ease (with or cross grain). Shaving arm hair is a joke. My point is that there is a good balance. It works equally well with tomatoes and potatoes, which I find to be quite different. Mind you, I am no expert.

Hardness:

This is a soft stone. It may not be the softest stone that I own but I do feel that it is the least dense, which to me seems to make a difference. My Omura is also soft but it feels like a sandstone and this feels like clay. The stone is absolutely soft enough to gouge, and badly at that. That isn't a problem, just stay on angle.

Dishing:

Even though this is a soft stone I do not feel that it dishes quickly. I think I have flattened it twice and I use it nearly every day. I have had it for five months. It does not take much to keep it flat and it gets there quickly.

Vanity:

Hey, what can I say? I collect stones so the beauty interests me and it may you as well. This stone is not head turner. In fact, it is quite drab. It is solid grey. However, it think that is part of the appeal in that it looks boring but it will get your wheels spinning when you put the steel to the stone. I believe that is what they call a "sleeper" in the auto world but that is not my forte. My example does have stamps and stickers, which does give it some character. I also lacquered it, which also gives it a different look. (BTW, I highly suggest lacquering this stone as mud gets everywhere and is hard to clean. With lacquer you can clean it in seconds and preserve the Kanji and stickers.)

Value:

This stone is a tremendous value. I paid $100 for this stone including tomo. If you want to save a few bucks, the tomo is not a necessity but it sure is nice to have.

Random thoughts:

I find this stone to excel at one thing, soft stainless. That is not to say that it is not good at other things because it is but soft stainless is where it shines. In this case I use it as a finisher that gives me an edge that I feel that I could not otherwise achieve. For the average person this stone would also work well to finish petty knives and slicers that you want to keep toothy. For me it is the perfect all around edge. A slightly refined edge that is still a vampire. Top that off with the fact that it is not just so easy to use but pleasurable and you have a keeper.

Bottom line:

Without a doubt this is the one stone in my collection that I would not be without. It hits all of the key points. It is affordable, easy to use, has good feedback, is fast enough to be a touch up stone and fine enough to finish with. It is by far the most versatile natural stone that I have. It really does not do any one thing the best but it does excel at all things, IMO that is. As I said, if I could only have one natural, this would be it. If I could only have one stone...well I would go with a coarse synthetic.

So who is this stone for, in my opinion? Anybody really. But as I said, I think people would find this a great stone for finishing soft to mild stainless or for knives that you want to retain a fair amount of bite with. It is a good stone for the budget minded as well. This stone is not for those who dislike soft muddy stones. Being somewhat new to this myself i would say that the Aono Aoto is a beginner friendly stone as well.

I think that about wraps it up, or at least I do not know what more I can say. Other than I would be more than happy to answer any questions about the stone or even compare it to other stones that I have or have had. Though for those that I no longer have it would only be from memory. Hopefully this was helpful for someone and thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on this stone.
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by J david »

Great write up, Kit. I know you have an affinity for mid grits and thus is quite the endorsement. I currently have a Kozaki Aoto on the way from Japan now. This will be my first full sized aoto and I am excited to use it. I have used various aoto nagura with some other mid grits and have liked the results.
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by Kit Craft »

J david wrote: Sat May 06, 2017 7:25 pm Great write up, Kit. I know you have an affinity for mid grits and thus is quite the endorsement. I currently have a Kozaki Aoto on the way from Japan now. This will be my first full sized aoto and I am excited to use it. I have used various aoto nagura with some other mid grits and have liked the results.
Thank you. I find aoto stones to be my favorite. Even those that are more of a lower mid grit are nicer in feel. I too have a Kozaki on my radar. I have a third Tanba on my list too! :lol:
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by dAviD »

an aoto is on my short list for this month along with a couple more sharping toys.....err tools 😉
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by Kit Craft »

I am not a good photographer, hell I am not even a decent one but I figured at least some pictures of the stone were needed.

A little bit of mud from the tomo.
Image

You can see from the dry spots how quickly this stone absorbs water.
Image[/URL]

I have some photos of the scratch pattern left by this stone but I can not locate them in my 5000000 photos. I have to take that many just to get one photo to come out somewhat okay. :lol:

These photos are old and those markings on the top of the stone are long, long gone. The stone has also been lacquered since then. I will see if I can dig out any others.
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by Kit Craft »

This should give you an idea of how the mud works in use.

Image

This should give an idea of the scratch pattern although it is not the best photo. Sorry, no camera skills, the wrong lens and poor lighting.

Image
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by jmcnelly85 »

Just read through all of your nat reviews, thanks for taking the time and spelling things out in an understandable way. Stone reviews can be tough. All three of these seem fun.
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by gladius »

Nice review. I like this stone allot and always use it as my first natural before every other
...and on some knives, by itself it leaves a great edge for slicing especially.
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by Kit Craft »

Thank you both. I had hoped it would come out intelligible. I am not much of a reviewer. Rather, I find them intimidating to write. Some people are good with objectivity, me not so much. :P

As for the aono, I too really love the stone and do often use it as a general edge on many of my knives. I do have a few other aoto stones but I don't have a lot of experience with them as of yet. I have a line on a particular Tanba aoto that I want to pick up as well. Too many stones and not enough time or money to try them all.
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by ken123 »

Another great review ! I could feel the mud from the review. Very accurate review. I have some Kouzaki and a few other aotos, but find the aono aotos more than adequate for most sharpener's needs.

You can also put some ofthecopious mud on a stropand use that as a dry technique fwiw.

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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by Kit Craft »

ken123 wrote: Wed May 10, 2017 4:36 pm Another great review ! I could feel the mud from the review. Very accurate review. I have some Kouzaki and a few other aotos, but find the aono aotos more than adequate for most sharpener's needs.

You can also put some ofthecopious mud on a stropand use that as a dry technique fwiw.

---
Ken
I love to harvest the mud from my aono. I transfer it to a balsa strop and that seems to work quite nicely for touch ups. As I have said before, thus far, if I could only have one natural then this would be it. As for other aotos, the thing is that I fell in love with the feel of this stone in use and am trying to chase that high, so to speak. However inexperienced I may be with my newer aoto stones I have yet to find one that I would call a dud, which I find interesting because I see so many people bash cheaper aoto stones. Maybe I just don't know what the end all be all of aoto stones is like but maybe I wouldn't like one anyway. I have heard people talk about hard aoto stones and I think that would take away from the experience but I could be wrong.

Along those same lines a Monzen is still on my list but as I said before, I need to give my pocketbook a bit of a rest. Be assured that my stone buying has not come to an end. It is just on hold for a few months. This really is the hobby that I have grown most fond of.

I still have a few more reviews to do but after four more I will be taking a break and spending time with my other stones. I have spent 6 months +/- with all of the stones I plan to review and would like to spend that much time with the others before drawing a conclusion. The thing is, my opinion has changed one and again while using these stones over time. I feel like it takes time to get to know where the stone fits in my sharpening lineup. I think Tajima will be up next.
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by ken123 »

I also use the mud on a balsa strop. I have also tried it on nanocloth which is impressive. I also made a nanocloth belt on a 1x42 belt grinder. Motorized aoto :)

If you like lots of mud the Monzen has your name on it! There are a few harder aotos. They are a bit harder to come by but give a finer finish (Saeichi), closer to the Meara.

I have a few Tajima, but they are the smaller stones. The full sized Tajimas are a fond memory :( One of the problems with naturals is that they are a finite supply :(

I also do find the criticism for aotos [from others] missing the point. They don't always yield flawless kasumi finishes, but the purpose is a working edge for a knife that is being used - and for that it excels!

---
Ken
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by Kit Craft »

ken123 wrote: Wed May 10, 2017 5:04 pm I also use the mud on a balsa strop. I have also tried it on nanocloth which is impressive. I also made a nanocloth belt on a 1x42 belt grinder. Motorized aoto :)

If you like lots of mud the Monzen has your name on it! There are a few harder aotos. They are a bit harder to come by but give a finer finish (Saeichi), closer to the Meara.

I have a few Tajima, but they are the smaller stones. The full sized Tajimas are a fond memory :( One of the problems with naturals is that they are a finite supply :(

I also do find the criticism for aotos [from others] missing the point. They don't always yield flawless kasumi finishes, but the purpose is a working edge for a knife that is being used - and for that it excels!

---
Ken
Yeah, I meant that the Tajima will be the next up on the review list. I think it was me who got the last full sized Tajima from you this past Christmas.

As for the Monzen, I do seem to enjoy the muddy stones.
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by Jsgillis86 »

A Monzen, you say?  She's a ton of fun.  Just be prepared to set aside all pending responsibilities and get lost in mud-land for a good, long while.  That stone always sucks me in.  Damn black hole stone...  Butchering edges though.  Butchering edges for days.

Anyways man, props on this.  Naturals aren't an easy thing to write up on.
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by Kit Craft »

Jsgillis86 wrote: Thu May 18, 2017 11:46 pm A Monzen, you say?  She's a ton of fun.  Just be prepared to set aside all pending responsibilities and get lost in mud-land for a good, long while.  That stone always sucks me in.  Damn black hole stone...  Butchering edges though.  Butchering edges for days.

Anyways man, props on this.  Naturals aren't an easy thing to write up on.
Yeah, I have been wanting a Monzen for quite some time and need to take care of that. I will have to give Ken a call at the end of the month.


Thanks man, I have not really done much in the way of review writing so this has been an experience for me.
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by easilver »

Great Review. I love my Aono Aoto also. I use it as the first finishing stone after a 2k synthetic stone and before a Meara natural. What do you use to flatten your Aono?

Love how clean and neat your stone looks. Mine is more of a mess.
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by Kit Craft »

easilver wrote: Fri May 19, 2017 11:38 am Great Review. I love my Aono Aoto also. I use it as the first finishing stone after a 2k synthetic stone and before a Meara natural. What do you use to flatten your Aono?

Love how clean and neat your stone looks. Mine is more of a mess.
Hahahah, my stone only looks like that for photos. :oops: I like to keep the used mud on it so that I don't have to use the tomo as much on touch ups. I do clean it off and start over at the end of the week, though.

I just use my CKTG plate for flattening but that is not often needed. I typically keep up with it using the tomo but every now and again you feel that it is getting wavy and needs more aggressive treatment. The good thing is that this stone flattens easily and does not take long. While I do not worry much about grit contamination I have yet to try using my Omura as a flattening stone for other naturals as has been suggested to me. It just seems too soft for that. Someone also once suggested picking up a harder amakusa for that duty but it would be more like having a stone fixer. The hard, and I mean really hard amakusa seem to only come in smaller sizes. Well, I see one out there that is like 6 kilos but shipping alone would be more than the stone is worth, imo. :lol:

As for the stone itself, I am not sure how anyone could not love this stone. I do rather enjoy my Tanba as well. I picked one that was known to be very soft and muddy. That one will get a review in the near future. I find it to be slightly finer than the aono, yet is much softer which goes against the norm from my limited understanding. The difference between the two stones is not huge though. The aono leaves more visible scratches BUT it also leaves better contrast. Much as I want to try all of the mid grit stones I am side tracked with aoto stones specifically at the moment. :oops:
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by halfdana »

Very nice review Kit!
After being away for a while I'm glad to return to see you decided to write reviews of your med-naturals :)
This one made want to give an Aoto a try.
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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by ken123 »

While I do have large Amakusa, I'd stick with an atoma 140 for flattening. The Amakusa is a good coarse (arato ) natural.

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Re: Aono Aoto

Post by Kit Craft »

halfdana wrote: Tue May 23, 2017 5:19 pm Very nice review Kit!
After being away for a while I'm glad to return to see you decided to write reviews of your med-naturals :)
This one made want to give an Aoto a try.
Thank you and yes it is an enjoyable stone. Good to see you around and hope all is well. Stick around, I have a review coming in the next few weeks that we have talked about, oouchi. I just want to spend some time with it.
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