Background:
I will start off by saying that my stone seems to be the Japanese version and that I have also had the American version of the stone but not at the same time. Off the top of my head I could not tell you any differences between the two. There seems to be a story on the net somewhere, but I do not recall where, that some sort of formulation change was made due to the differences in humidity from country to country which to me seems silly and unlikely. Japan has a variety of climates in and of itself...Regardless, it seems that nowadays most US vendors carry the J-Shatpons including Mark, who has an explanation on each stone's page. For all intent purposes I will refer to this stone as the SP1k for the remainder of the review.
Before I get into the review I figured that I would give you some of my thoughts on the SP line in general. These stones are well known by many sharpeners around the globe. They are known to be hard splash and go stones that have okay to muted feedback depending on the particular stone. I am personally a big fan of the SP stones 120-2000 and the 8000 grit stone. While I do feel that there are stones out there with more immediate feedback I do not feel that this particular stone is muted in feel and I will try to describe that as best I can. Point is, this is a heads up saying that this is one of my preferred stones to use and is a staple in my lineup. Even still, I will try to describe it as accurately as possible with as little personal bias as I can.
Measurements:
Weight: 560g
Length: 210mm
Width: 70mm
Thickness: 15mm
Feedback:
The tactile feedback on this particular stone is fairly obvious. The bevel clicks onto the stone and you can feel it right away. As you sharpen, or rather as I sharpen, I can feel the bevel along the stone every step of the way without any deviation. The feel is a bit abrasive in a way that makes you think that the stone functions more like a 700-800 grit stone and I believe effectively it is the same but more on that later. The feel in use is a bit sandy but starting to get chalky. Hard and responsive yet medium coarse with a sandstone like grind as metal is removed. If you go over your angle you will come to a dead stop without skidding or gouging. If you go under you will feel steel being quickly chewed away from the blade road or table, depending on the knife and the pitch will become higher.
Audible feedback is medium loud and low. It has a coarse becoming fine abrasion sound. Something akin to chalk on a sidewalk. As you finish up the pitch will become slightly higher and sound almost hollow. If you go over your angle you will get scraping noise like metal being dragged down a road. Going under gives you more of that “Zizz: noise like wobbling a very thin aluminum sheet pan, you know, like for cheesy storm sound effects in a movie.
Visual feedback is very noticeable and immediate. This one will give you a large pool of what looks like metal fillings atop the pools of water when sharpening a narrow bevel. With wide bevels you will cover the whole stone in black ink like swarf and mud within a pass or two on one side.
Management:
Water management is quite easy with this stone. While it is a splash and go stone it is not nonporous. It will actually take in some water if you dip it in a tub or run it under the tap but not a lot at once. However, if you let water sit atop the stone and watch it, it will suck it in! However, a single (healthy) splash is enough to get you started and a few drops here and there to keep you going. Nothing difficult here.
Mud management, well, if you are using narrow bevels there is none unless you make it with a diamond plate. If you are using wide bevels, particularly knives with soft cladding, there will be a fair bit of it to deal with. The mud is about 75% metal swarf and 25% slurry or mud created by the stone. This mud that is created is fairly thick but the water and swarf mix is thin and ink like. When they mix, the result is a medium thick mud that works well on cladding for lubrication and helps feedback a fair bit. It also seems to help make the scratch pattern finer than a clean stone but not a lot. Contrast is slightly, and I mean every so slightly better with mud too. However, you can keep the stone clean if you wish and particularly if, and you likely are, you are moving to another stone afterward.
(This should show you some speed. This is after a single pass on one side on a narrow bevel gyuto.)
Speed:
This is a quick stone or at least quick enough. It is coarser than 1k or at least it seems so yet maybe not loads and loads faster. I can raise a burr on AEB-L (61hrc) in a single pass, which is about 10 scrubbing motions from tip to heel and back. So basically like 20 stropping strokes. A nice small but consistent burr. Takes a little longer on VG-10 and maybe a stroke or two less on White #2. This stone is fast enough to do some basic maintenance such as routine thinning but not something massive like flattening the blade road on a wavy out of the box single bevel. You could but it would take too long and it would waste stone.
As such I would say it is a good starting point for sharpening, setting bevels and micro chips as well. A very useful and versatile stone. It also works well to convert the scratches from a coarser stone such as the latte 400 that I reviewed before this. It is even fast enough to overwrite the scratches of the pink brick 220. That speaks just as much about the 220 as it does about this 1k, though, and they work very well together!
(This will give you an idea of how quickly it removes cladding and mud creation.)
(This should give you an idea of the consistency of the mud.)
Finesse:
As I have already alluded to, this stone cuts like an 800 or so grit stone and it feels like one too. It does leave a very aggressive edge too. It feels and acts coarser than a Chosera 800 but many people compare that stone to a 1200 jis so maybe that is not a fair comparison and maybe the SP1k is a true 1k, but I think it really is not an issue one way or the other. What I can say is that it leaves a fairly fine scratch pattern. It is still noticeable but not deep and not visually appauling. The finish itself is matte but becoming shiny. It does leave some contrast but maybe not defined at this point. It is matte with some scratches on the cladding and slightly shiny but still matte on the core.
Talking about the edge, well, it is clean but vicious. What I mean to say is that you can get a clean burr free edge with a little work but you will have loads and loads and loads of bite. This is the type of edge that tomatoes run screaming out of your kitchen over! Hard fat on raw meat does not stand a chance at all. You can push cut single ply free standing newsprint off of this stone. You know, where you fold it in half and then unfold it then stand it up and push down the crease? Well there are videos of this. You can cleanly slice paper towel as well but you can feel a slight resistance, the bite. Tomato drop tests and hands free tomatoes etc, all of that stuff should be fine after this stone. Really a good all around edge for Moly steel or similar. Follow this with some stropping on newsprint or unloaded leather and you have a very nice edge!
(Here you should get an idea of the scratch pattern. Still visible but much finer than before.)
(A contrast shot. Not great but you are likely not going to leave it here either. The texture alone I would not like for cutting.)
Hardness:
This is a hard and fairly dense stone but it does not feel ultra hard in use. In fact if feels much softer than a Shapton Glass 1k. There really is no noticeably give or elasticity to the stone but it just does not feel like glass. It is more dense than the latte 400 but less so than the SP2k. To give you an idea of the density, it is ¾ the weight of a Kitayama 8000 but only half the size. I think you will be okay with this stone regardless of your preference for hard or soft stones as it feels very middle of the road.
Dishing:
You can do a few narrow bevels that just need refreshing or some light thinning on a wide bevel without flattening. What I mean to say is that you should not have to flatten partway through a session however it does noticeably dish after a single session of bevel setting on a knife. You can work the whole stone etc for a few knives but it is best if you keep it flat after each session, maybe not each knife but after each use. Because these stones are hard enough that if you let it valley out it will be a beast to flatten again.
Conclusion, it does dish but not quickly.
Vanity:
It is a boring orange stone with some flecks here and there. Nothing more to say.
Value:
The Value of this stone is tremendous at $45. Low cost nets you splash and go and quick to cut but fine enough to finish for basic utility. It is not that there are not other stones in this price range that work well, because there are but all of its attributes at this price make it, imo, a stellar deal.
Bottom line:
This is a fast cutting, fairly fine fishing stone that is easy to use and is splash and go. It is not too hard and it is not too soft. It is also easy on the wallet. It can be used as a one stone solution in a pinch as well. It is my go to workhorse and I used one with my tools and outdoor knives before getting into kitchen knives. Over the years nothing has been able to take its place and I don’t think anything will come along and best it any time soon.
Who might like this stone? Someone who values a dollar. Someone who values practicality and utility. Someone who likes hard fast cutting stones that are splash and go. Finally, someone who likes edges with some bite left in them, if you are leaving the finish at this point. Great for butchery, imo.
Who might not like this stone? Someone who likes soakers and soft very muddy stones. Someone that likes smooth edges every step of the way. Someone who feels that feedback, above all else, is king. This stone has fair to good feedback but many best it. I guess if you have a reason to want a slower cutting stone at this rate you might prefer a different stone as well.
Everything said and done, it is a practical stone.
Notes:
One of my older stones this has been tested with loads of steel. AS, White #2, Blue #1 and 2, 1074/84/95, A2, D2, VG-10, R2 and who knows what else that I have owned...Seems to work well with all but better on the non alloy steels. If you do a ton of more complex tool and PM steel maybe consider a glass stone in its place.
