Aizu (the third child)

[Kit Craft]

Aizu the third child:

Okay, so at this point you are probably asking yourself why I am reviewing yet another Aizu. Particularly when my other two reviews were less than glowing. Well, the answer is simple, I just happen to have another Aizu so I might as well review it. Will things go better this time around or will it be much of the same? Stay tuned to find out.

Background:

Aizu, as I have mentioned before is a somewhat lesser known stone but the more people talk about them the more they become known. Rather what I mean to say is that they seem to be becoming popular on the knife forums that I visit. Anyway, these stones come from Takinohara, Minamiaizu, Fukushima and are from a mine that is already closed. I haven’t got a clue when the mine closed but I get the feeling that it has been a while. There are stories and theories about these stones as well as Ikarashi that I talked about in my other threads but I am not going to get into lore again, particularly when it is likely knife geek myth.

Even though these stones are said to be rare, they are easy to find. They can range greatly in price, though. Starting at about $45 and going to $200+. The higher price tag is more the norm and will net you a larger stone. I have only seen these from two sources but one of them stocks them regularly.

Feedback:

So now we get to the good part, how does this stone differ from its siblings? It has slightly more feedback than the little white Aizu that I have, which is enough for me to say that this stone has fair to good feedback. It is chalky in feel and the edge does grip the stone slightly leaving you with readable tactile feedback, something the other stones are slightly lacking. You will skate if you go under and skip if you go over your angle. This stone is softer than its siblings but it is by no means a soft stone and you will not gouge it unless you are trying to and even then you might not.

Visual feedback is on par with its siblings as well, in that it is above average. The stone just stains up with black ink like pools from the word go! Cladding or core steel, it does not matter.

Audible feedback is a little more pronounced as well on this one. It has a sounds like rubbing two pieces of chalk together and I know I have said that about other stones but it is really what I hear. You know that something is happening is the point.

Management:

Mud management is a bit different on this one. It is the muddiest of the three but still not what I would call overly muddy. This one about on par with Tajima in that it has soft pillowy mud but does not make a lot of it. It could use a tomo if using a narrow bevel knife. The mud itself is a bit odd, much like this stone. It is brown from part of the stone and white from another part. It is fairly thick but not like Aoto or Amakusa mud. I guess I would call this moderately thick mud. Anyway, this makes it nicer to use than its siblings.

Water management is easy because this stone is dense and does not absorb much if any water. All you are doing is keeping the mud from drying out. This means a drop here and there to keep the consistency that you desire.

Speed:

This stone is the fastest of the three Aizu to date. They are all quick stones, and not just for natural stones. They cut on par with synthetics in their range or at least close to it. I would say this one cuts about like a shapton glass 3k. It cuts well with all steels that I have tried and as mentioned previously those steels would be White # 2, Blue # 2, SK-4, AUS8 and VG10.

Finesse:

This one is great in this respect. It is finer than both the larger and smaller Aizu. (BTW this is another small Aizu). I would say that the edge quality is easily at the 4k+ level. The other finer Aizu is closer to the 3k level reaching up to the 4k level. This one is closer to the 4k-5k level. The smaller white Aizu is closer to the 2-3k level. So none of them are off by a lot but there is clearly some variance here.

This edge will ghost through just about anything while retaining just enough bite to feel on your nail. When I say that, you can feel the edge plant itself in your nail rather than slice into it subtly. I would say that this is about as fine a tooth as you can get before going into the Awase-to range but then I still have many more stones to try. Hairs just explode off of your arm at this point and paper is simply a joke. It retains more than enough tooth to destroy tomatoes and peppers too.

Cosmetic finish is just okay with this one, which does seem to be one of the two things that is actually consistent with Aizu. In this case if you do not first raise some mud with a tomo you will notice that the scratch pattern is slightly more pronounced but also more shiney and better suited to a progress that is working toward a mirror polish. If you first raise some mud, and I suggest a fair amount, then you will get a more subdued scratch pattern with a little bit of contrast. I hope this shows up okay in the photos but while there is not a ton of contrast what is there has a milky tint to it. Ikarashi is like this as well but much more pronounced.

Hardness:

This is the softest of the three Aizu, which makes it my favorite of the three but that is not relevant to the point. This one is HS24 and again, these numbers mean nothing to me and are confusing as I have stones with lower numbers that should indicate a soft stone but I have found them to be a hard stone. Back to the point, I would say this one is softer than Ikarashi but harder than Binsui so maybe a Lv. 3 or thereabout. Being more muddy makes it seem softer than it is though, which is odd as this is a dense stone.

Flattening:

I have not used this stone a ton but 3-4 sessions each on 5 knives, so a few times and I have yet to flatten it. I should as I don’t want it to get out of whack but there is not visual dishing. That does not mean it is flat, though. If you get one of these I would suggest you flatten often, hell I suggest that with all stones but it is not something you will need to do after every knife unless you want to.

Value:

Is this stone a good value? Well, it is a $45 stone so it is not expensive but it is also small, 140x45x30mm. If this was the only Aizu I owned then I would say yes but it isn’t so I still have to say no. Wait, I did a whole review just to tell you the same thing that I told you in the other two? Yes but I will come back to that. I still feel that Ikarashi or Binsui are safer bets. I will say Ikarashi specifically as it is another stone that I have used more than one of and have been pleased each time.

Vanity:

This stone is wild. It has black flower patterns all over it. There are brown, green and black splotches as well. This stone looks a mess. Almost as if a child was throwing paint at canvas. Much like the other two, the base color goes from green to white when wet. I like it, it is cool and interesting.

Bottom line:

There is a reason that I wanted to write this third review and why I wanted to pick up another Aizu. As the two I had were so different I wanted to try a third and low and behold I got a stone with yet another personality. Now, I know what you are thinking, that all natural stones are different. Sure, that is true and it is often stressed but I am the guy that goes against the grain and says that more often than not ten stones from the same layer and mine will be more similar than different. For the most part that has been my experience but with this mine, not so much. These Aizu stones are inconsistent in feel, looks and feedback. Edge quality seems to be close though which is around 3-4k when compared to synthetics for the most part.

So why is that important? Well, I think for me at least, that it clears up a few things. I have a few friends here on the forums that have been either very happy with their Aizu or very disappointed and I wanted to see if maybe we were just having a difference of opinion or if these stones were really that inconsistent and I think I have found my answer.

So I still think Aizu is a good stone when it comes to putting an edge on a knife and gives about the perfect edge for a gyuto. It is still a stone I recommend for someone chasing perfection that is hidden somewhere between toothy and polished. It is not a stone I would recommend to someone who is looking for a natural for utility purposes, chasing kasumi or someone looking to experience that zen moment that only the feedback of a mud monster will provide. There simply are better feeling, cheaper stones out there that give a better cosmetic finish. None give quite the edge that an Aizu does and that in itself is a statement, or it is to me at least.

To sum this up, I find Aizu to be like a Shapton glass in that it gets the job done and well but it really isn't all that enjoyable to do so.

So, as I have said twice before, this stone may not be perfect but it fills a niche so it will stay on my shelf. All three of them.

[Kit Craft]

Freshly splashed Aizu waiting to be used.



Like I said, it does like to remove metal. This is without first raising any mud so as you can see it is all metal swarf. It cuts slightly slower this way, has a more glassy feel and gives a brighter finish.


This is what it looks like in use after first raising some mud. It makes it a bit more enjoyable to use, for me, and it cuts every so slightly faster. It leaves a bit more contrast this way but you really have to look for it to realize.



This will show you the finished scratch pattern. You can see it does leave pronounced scratches somewhere in the 3k range but they are not deep and they come out easily with the next stone. There is some contrast, though this picture shows it poorly, but it is not pronounced and I find it a poor choice if it is contrast you seek.