1K Stone Recommendation

[Jeff B]

Jeff, thanks for the pointer. I usually keep my knives fairly sharp. so the 1K is more than adequate most of the time, but do you have any specific recommendations in terms of coarser stones (preferably on a budget)?


Ken, given the embarrassment of choice that Nubatama offers, is there any one stone in the 1K range that you would recommend as an alternative to the Naniwa/Shapton/Chocera?

This again is where I like Shapton. The Shapton Glass 500 is an excellent stone for the money as is the Pro 320. The Glass 500 has almost a cult like following. They both cut good with the 320 being a little faster. If you don't mind a soaker the Cerax 320 is a good low grit budget stone.

[ken123]

"Ken, given the embarrassment of choice that Nubatama offers, is there any one stone in the 1K range that you would recommend as an alternative to the Naniwa/Shapton/Chocera?"

Either the speckled Ume or Platinum 1k. I would pick the regular hardness rather than xhard versions unless you like the hardness of the Shapton stones.

Ken

[lsboogy]

I can't let this go without recommending a Nubatama Bamboo1200 - kind of a more refined big red brick. Very fast 1200 stone, great feel, I like it much better than my other 1K stones.

[ken123]

With the selection of Nubatama stones with their different characteristics there's a Stine for many different needs. The 1200 is a great muddy stone - perfect for single bevels and very flexible. It is quite popular even at the Tsukiji market (in its day). Almost opposite what you would expect using a Shapton. Mastering the 1k means understanding the nuances of multiple 1k stones (and compounds).
---
Ken

[ken123]

---
Ken

[Drewski]

Jeff has a point. Some 1k stones cut fast for their grit due to having a high abrasive density but coarser grit stones are a good alternative - sometimes as coarse as 24 grit or a more comfortable 150 grit. Coarser grits save a lot of time. I'm also a fan of coarse grits too.

---
Ken

Totally! Coarse grits are live savers with friends and family's knives, but I don't have a lot of use for them on my own, except when I chipped one. A 64 grit diamond plate is something that I will never be without.

As for the 1k, I haven't ventured away from Choseras yet, and am pretty satisfied at this point.

[ken123]

I would recommend the Nubatama platinum 1k hard formulation. A less expensive stone would be the speckled Ume x hard formula. Send me a pm for details.

---
Ken

[yummycrackers]

Dear all, I thought I would write with a quick update. I ended up getting a set of second-hand Nanohone stones (400, 1K, 3K) from a fellow forum-member and just had the chance to use them for the first time today. Definitely much harder than the King stones and less muddy (which is a bonus when you're sharpening in the kitchen). The coarser stone came in handy for a few cheaper Western knives that had taken a bit of beating in recent weeks and the gyuto sharpened up very nicely on the 1K and 3K. Finished it off on a leather strop and it was good to go. Many thanks to all of you for your suggestions and hopefully I'll get a chance to try out the Shaptons, Naniwas and Nubatamas in the near future to compare. From what I understand, a muddier stone might be preferable for single-bevel knives, and since I was thinking of getting a deba for fish butchery, that might have to be the next addition.

[ken123]

I see a 1200 in your future:)

Ken

[jacko9]

jacko9 talks about the Nubatama 1k, but I'm a little unsure of which one. I recently added a new 1k stone to my collection & that was a Nubatama Platinum, which comes in three flavours those being normal, hard & extra hard (I think, Ken correct me if I'm wrong here).

Mine is the "hard" and at first, I thought that someone had sabotaged my Atoma 140 flattening plate, as it just seemed to skate across the stone with very little effect. I'd hate to see what the "extra hard" would be like.

So, while it may take some work to flatten, it hardly dishes, cuts like crazy, leaves a good consistent scratch pattern, while feedback is maybe a bit muted. I've sort of changed my thinking a little with stones because with the 150# to about 1k stones, I'm generally looking to remove steel to quickly establish a bevel / edge etc & so am prepared to trade that off against a bit of a reduction in feel & zen. From 1k onwards, for me it's about just refining an already established bevel / edge and I'm looking for greater feel & zen from the 1k to my 10k stones.

The 1k Nubatama Platinum comes in two hardness levels medium and hard. The 1 k Nubatama Speckled ume comes in 3 hardness levels - medium hard and extra hard. The extra hard is ideal as both a bevel setter and for precise edges on the back sides of chisels.
I like your description of how the xhard feels!

Ken

The 1K stone I use has to be the Nubatama Speckled ume since I bought it from Ken because of the extra hardness level that I use for the back side of chisels.

[Radar53]

Jack ~ what's your experience in terms of flattening the Speckled, especially if it's the extra hard? I've got a number of Shapton Glass stones, which are pretty hard I think, but the Nub Plat 1k hard was a completely different beast to flatten. It was like my Atoma 140 just felt like it was "skating" across the surface.

[ken123]

The Hard Platinum 1k is a hard slow wearing stone. If the 140 isnt fast enough to flatten it I do have plates to 46 grit which will flatten most anything. You might want to soak the 1k a bit before going at it with the 140 plate. I do have several stones that a 140 or 150 works on them quite slowly.

Call / text if you still have trouble.

Ken

[Radar53]

Hi Ken thanks for your reply. I've found that the Plat 1k hard also seems to benefit from a good soak (maybe 5 minutes) prior to sharpening. And purely by co-incidence have found that flattening immediately after sharpening was somewhat easier than my initial "splash & go" attempts. I flatten my "work horse" stones pretty much after every use, so it's no drama now. But that first couple of flattenings certainly got my attention ...............

[FisherMAn1298]

I asked Ken this question that yummycrackers posed on Feb. 25th. His instant reply was Nubitama 1k Platinum Hard. I can tell you it's amazing! Far and away the best stone i ever used. It took off steel on the first stroke, by the time I hit 15 strokes per side I had a rope like burr, almost like barb wire. Very large size for so little number of strokes. I'm in love with this stone! It's the King!