Naniwa vs Shapton stones.

[Insnekamkze86]

Hello there I'm looking at trying to buy a set of stones for sharpening my knives at work and at home. And was wondering if anyone could give me any advise on what I might try and get.

I'm currently look for a 3 to 4 stone set. With a low medium fine and extra fine grit. Like a 320,1k,5k, and 8k stone grits. I know I want splash and go stones. So the lines I'm looking at are the naniwa super stones and the Shapton pro stones. Would be using on steels such as aus8, Aus10, some German steels and when I get a new knife soon aogami super.

I maintain my knives really well at work so I would hardly ever use the 320 or another low style grit stone and mostly would use a 1k and up for touch ups.
But would be nice to have a corse stone just in case.

I know these line of stones is like apples to oranges but was curious if anyone has used bothines and could give me feedback on their take of using them and if there was one better than the other.
Thank you for your time.

[arthurfowler]

Can’t offer views on a comparison as I don’t own any Naniwa stones. There are far more experienced sharpeners than me but if you wanted 4 Shapton Pro stones, I would drop the 8k and get the 2k stone as this would be a good finishing stone for some German steels and I really like to finish suji’s for general carving on the 2k pro.

[Jeff B]

I don't particularly like the Naniwa Super stones. They seem to load fast and are too soft for me, they will gouge easy for a novice sharpener. They seem geared more for the razor sharpening community.
The Shapton Pros are some of the best bang for the buck stones out there and just plain work. You will rarely if ever need to polish up to 8k, I would skip that stone for now.

[Papou]

Own both and no complaints with either , but if its Naniwa your after the Chosera stand out a tad more for me than the Super Stones either stands out differently depending on the Knife your working on.
Allthough some may say the Suehiro Cerax may be a tad on the softer side they work nicely for most blades ..

[Insnekamkze86]

Thanks you for the responds. The chosera stones are nice from what I've seen but way to expensive for me right now. I was looking at the Shapton pro ones that are labeled differently on Amazon since they're coming directly from Japan and are 10 t0 30 dollars cheaper but are the same thing from what I've read.

The stones I'm currently using is a tri oil stone set from Norton that's a house stone at work that someone else left. I'm able to get decent results but the oil is a pain to deal with and I can feel that I can only get so far with the super corse feeling stones and the fine Indian stone.

And all the research I've done is that I've come to the consensus for a splash and go water stone that will give a super sharp edge. And Shapton brand I've always had a eye for but never could buy them not im able to but have no experience with a stone that can get anything scary sharp.

I wasnt looking at the glass stone because they were so much more than the pros and I thought I would be fine enough off with the pro stones instead.

But I've also read that the naniwa brand was the be all end all when it comes to water stones. Which I hear great things but I keep coming back to Shapton stones, but was curious how the grit measument was different since I've read that naniwa suppose to have a higher grit matrix then Shapton when creating a edge on a knife.

[lsboogy]

I might take a different tack on the idea insne - maybe start by buying a couple of 1K whetstones of different makes. A 1K is kind of the basic stone for sharpening, and will probably suffice for most until they get really good on a 1K. You could try a soft and a hard stone, or 3 different ones even for less than the cost of the set you are looking at. Find out if you like soft or hard stones, and try soaking them for different amounts of time and spraying the slurry off at different times as well. Some of us like a very heavy mud on the stone while we are sharpening, some like a little, and many like to spray their stones off every few strokes. Decide on what works best for you at 1K, sell the others on the classifieds here so you won't be out much $$ at all, and move into the other stones as need be

I spent 30 years with just a 1K and an 8K stone - bought and was given others, but that was my basic progression for most of my adult life. How I learned to sharpen in Japan - and all I needed for many years until I got into more nuanced parts of sharpening.

You might also call mark and talk to him, and also could call Ken123 - they are both very good sources of knowledge and will not steer you wrong. Sharpening is personal- what you think you might like may not be what you end up deciding to use. Figure out what works for you before jumping in whole hog in one swoop

[Jeff B]

...I've also read that the naniwa brand was the be all end all when it comes to water stones...

There is no such thing, it's all personal preference.

[Insnekamkze86]

I know why I was asking for opinions and experiences with either set of stones.

[slickmamba]

Any of them will do just fine, especially with such soft steels. Either will do fine with harder steels too. I agree with Isboogy, just get a low grit(300-400) and a mid range (1-2k) for now with your current softer steel setup. If you are set on getting a full set, I'd prob say shapton pro for now over the naniwa SS, but I would drop the 8000 and get a flattening plate. You don't need to go that high for a great edge, even with AS.

[Papou]

All good advice given above , what i have problems with some of the splash n go stones is load up being left embeded in the stone whilst sharpening !!??.Fine blade partiocles (Swarfe) which can be a pain in the butt to remove.
While ive read that with the softer wetstones (Soaking ) the abrasive in the stone is meant to break away (if that is the right term to use ) and mix with the lubricant being the water to create a Slurry/sharpening mix if you like making the stone cut faster with better feedback ??.
True or false is debatable but but it is the feeling i get with waterstones that one has to soak awhile..
So yes while some of the Splash n go stones get great reviews being one or two here n there i still tend to swing with the softer soaking stones . Mind you its what works for me and others my feel differently with what works for them ..

[Insnekamkze86]

The only soaking stone that looked interesting to me was the naniwa 2k green brick of joy for sharpening. The Cerax seemed like good soaking stones too. But personally I would rather deal with splash n goes instead of soaking. But the green brick of joy sounds tempting after seeing reviews about it.

[Radar53]

Here's an alternative suggestion from left field. Have a look at the Kohetsu 800 brick & Kohetsu 2000 (bottom of the page here <https://www.chefknivestogo.com/cerax.html>).

These are great stones and have gotten really good reviews on this forum. Good price, cut quickly, don't dish very fast, good feedback, good finish. These would last you a long long time and provide a good base to add coarse & finer stones to.

Just a thought ..........

[Insnekamkze86]

I take a look at them then since I've never seen them before

[Insnekamkze86]

Here's another question should I try and get a edge pro setup with Shapton stones, or go with a set of water stones like the naniwa chosera or Shapton pros, including a 140 grit flattening plate?

[Papou]

Think Radar 53 gave you some good advice , if you want freehand sharpening that is ??..

[lsboogy]

I would think the biggest peice of advice we could all give you is welcome to the rabbit hole. We all wander through various stones and techniques, but the journey is required to learn how a person sharpens. No path is correct or incorrect for all, rather you may end up like many of us with dozens of stones and a few favorites - there is no "best" stone or technique, more rather just what you think is best at a given point in your journey.
Many people love shaptons, I can't stand them (own many and will never sell them), and many folk love a stone that has permasoaked. I like a 15-100 minute soak soft (really soft) stone - it works for me, but you will probably find something you like better.

[Radar53]

I read in your original post "I maintain my knives really well at work so I would hardly ever use the 320 or another low style grit stone and mostly would use a 1k and up for touch ups." I assumed from this that you were already using freehand stones and were a comfortable with that, which is why I suggested freehand stones.

After 20+ years using the EdgePro, I can't believe that I'm, saying this, but if my above assumption is correct, I would suggest that you stick with freehand stones at this stage.

I agree with Isboogy in that everyone develops their own preferences over time and with experimenting. Having said that, I think you are wanting to get started with some good, solid, stones that will help you in determining the sorts of properties that work or don't work for you. Pretty much most stones that Mark sells will assist that journey, which is reassuring to know, but doesn't narrow down what can look like an overwhelming selection.

In the numerous reviews (including from some very good sharpeners) on this forum, of the Kohetsu stones, they seemed to tick most boxes for most people, so I figured that would be a good, safe place from which to start. They will certainly do the job you are looking for with ease. Edit : I have them and love them!

As your experience with stones increases and if you decide that they are not really your cup of tea, then you will have no trouble selling them on the "Classifieds" part of this forum and I doubt that you would lose much of your original investment either.

At some stage you just have to hold your breath and put a stake in the ground.

Hope this helps

[Insnekamkze86]

Thanks for the input. I think I might stick with trying to get the Shapton pros right now. I just heard so many good things about naniwa that I was asking to see if the extra money was worth it.

[Stnakamu]

I am just starting too I started with the Naniwa 800 chosera, Shapton Pro 2000, Shapton Pro 5000. I am pretty happy with my set up. I think I am gonna get Naniwa 400 chosera next. I know it’s so hard to decide what to get etc. I feel like this hobby is taking all my money. It’s also very confusing nobody wants to spend money on something crappy. I don’t think you can go wrong with either brand.

[nakneker]

Lots of good advice above. I was where you are now a little more than a year ago. Since then I’ve tried most of the synthetic stones. I have a set of Naniwa, Shapton pros and glass, Suehiro debados, cerax... I had the Kohetsu Stones, a set of nubatama stones, the green brick of joy etc. I wanted to try every stone I could get my hands on, I like trying them and seeing what I think. You could take any set of stones mentioned and get a great results. If your after splash and goes my favorite set is the Shapton glass just because they are so easy to handle, easy to travel with and require zero soaking. If had to choose between the Shapton pros and the Naniwas I’d go with the pros, the 2k being my favorite stone in that series.

I would tell you it doesn’t matter so much which stones you choose though, there isn’t a bad choice in the stones your looking at. I would second what’s already been said, I would drop the 8k and do something like 320, 1k, 2k and a 4-5k. It took me awhile to learn to spend more time on the course stones, especially your first stone. That’s where the work is being done, every stone after that initial stone is polishing the scratches out. Amazing edges can be had off of 1k-2k stones. When I started I was impatient and would move too quickly to the higher grits prematurely. I’m rambling now though....grab a set of stones and practice technique, technique trumps brand of stones. Practice will yield results.. whether it’s Naniwa or Shapton Pro, the magic is in the learning. Whatever you decide I hope you update us and if you get stuck there’s a whole bunch of nice guys that would be glad to help right here.

Last thing. I made the mistake of watching too many of those gurus on you tube. My favorite videos and in my opinion the best learning videos can be found right here too. Peter Nowlan has a gift at teaching basic sharpening principles to build, he has a sub forum here. There is a lot of info in those videos that is easy to understand and well covered. Mark does a great job too, I used both of those guys videos and watched them multiple times, very good resources.