I'm fairly certain that the set pictured above was cut for me. I have a Hapstone R1 that I mainly use for edc/pocket knives/folders and I thought it would be fun to have a set of training wheel Nubatama Platinums for it. I'm only just getting started with them but so far, I've been really pleased. Ken did a great job creating these specialty pieces. Unlike other stones I own for this system, these are cut very beefy, which I expect will increase their service time . . .
Nubatama Platinum, Ken Schwartz-cut ~8mm (left) Edge Pro ~4mm (right)
Keeping in mind that I've only sharpened a few hundred knives in my life, these stones have really stood out so far. I don't let my knives get very dull, so using the 600, 1k-hard and 2k (along with some compound+ stropping), I was able to sharpen my #1 edc, which is a 20cv blade, to an edge like it's never seen before. I think next time, I'll take it up to 3k and see how it differs.
By sheer coincidence, just a few days after the stones arrived, a cousin showed up with a literal grocery bag full of Henckels stainless knives ranging from dull to neglected. They were so dull, that reaching blindly into the bag of loose knives posed zero safety hazard. Needless to say, these knives were no match for the Nubatamas. Some of them were so dull, that I broke out the 150. Clearly, that was overkill but it was a pleasure just how few passes were needed to re-establish their edges. With most of the others, I started with the 320, then went on to the 600 and the 1k hard (followed by some compound+ stropping). I figured with steel this soft, going beyond 1k would have been diminishing returns. When they were done, I joked with my cousin that his knives were now so sharp, I was tempted to keep them. Not really, but I'm certain that when he eventually gets them back, he'll have never seen any of these knives in better condition.
That bottom line is: so far, so good. I really like these stones. They cut well and there's nice feedback, too (which can be tough to detect with the R1 because the rod isn't entirely friction-fee). Limited sampling so far, but they seem well suited to handling a fairly wide variety of steels. I'm now seriously considering buying a few in full-size, too. And Ken makes it easy. He's a pleasure to deal with and his old-school,
let's have a chat about it approach is also really nice.
