ShaptonHa No Kuromaku Ceramic Whetstone (A-set) Medium Grit (#1000) + Fine Grit (#5000)

If you are new to knife sharpening or even a pro with plenty of experience, you cannot go wrong with these stones in your arsenal. Whether you are looking for a whetstone, ceramic, or glass. The various grits, and SHAPTON offers plenty of them, are considered to be accurate. They range from grit capable of reshaping the blade all the way through putting a mirror finish. I will caution you here? Since SHAPTON makes a variety of stones, do not skip out and follow the instructions on preparing the stones, breaking in the stones, cleaning the stones, 'fixing'; the stones, storing the stones, (you get the idea). The directions for all this? As these are stones from Japan where knife sharpening is an art form, they are written in Japanese. You can find the English translated version on the internet or contact SHAPTON directly to have them available. If you are wanting quality stones and paying the price for them, you need to keep them ready. These are not the most expensive stones out there, but if you're in the market for stones that will work and get quality knife edges right off the stone itself, then you need to start here. The stones are ideal but take a lot of care to ensure they work as advertised and will last. Your only issue here is finding the correct stones to start with. As I mentioned, SHAPTON has a number of stones available and although having the full range available, to start, you only require two or three. And then progress from there. Good stones, good quality, good reputation, and functional as well. Not a bad investment for above high-quality standards

I can not even begin to help you understand just how great these stones are. They changed my whole world when it comes to sharpening. I used a smiths trihone before this. You would think I was using a rock just comparing how sharp I can get these vs the smiths. So the stones are hard. They don't require soaking. They have good feedback. Easy to clean. Slow wearing. I know these stones are going to last me basically forever. But if and when they do wear down I will buy another set. These are seriously that good.I ordered a 2000 grit to help between the 1000 and 5000. But with these and a strop. I get unbelievable edges. I use the sharpal 162n I think it is to set the profile then these to do the shining.Anyway. I say all that to say I wish I could give 10 stars. Jeez they are just so good.DONT QUESTION YOURSELF. JUST BUY THEM. ITS MORE THAN WORTH IT!Thank you shapton!

I own the 1000, 5000 and 8000 grit Shaptons. They are perfectly consistent grit all the way through, don’t require soaking, just a splash of water, work well for both carbon and stainless knife and tool blades and wipe down easily with a cloth towel.The plastic box acts as a stone holder and it’s a perforated case so the stones dry if still damp when put away.These synthetic stones combine the ease of use of a true synthetic with the sharpening capability of a true JNAT (Japanese natural stone). For the average user, the Shaptons are a great setup for any blade.I lapped these stones when they were brand new out of the box on an Ultra Sharp 400/1000 diamond plate. Lapping flattens a stone to dead flat.The Shaptons were not perfectly flat on arrival, they had some low/high spots and I’d recommend lapping them when new and as you use them from time to time.You can see the 3 Shapton stones in the photo with the Ultra Sharp 400/1000 underneath.You can also lap a stone like the Shaptons with silicon carbide waterproof 220 grit paper on a piece of window glass or even plexiglas used as a flat surface for the paper. That eliminates the need for spending $70 on the Ultra Sharp or Atoma diamond stone.I label the stones and boxes by grit with a marker so I can see the grits easily. I use the back side of the stones and leave the printed Shapton stone face labels intact.I like the Shaptons a lot more than soft soaker stones like the Kings which are very soft and can gouge easily, especially with chisels and plane blades.Hard to beat a 1000 grit Shapton stone as a starter stone for home and shop use. Hope that helps!

I originally purchased the Sharp Pebble due to lower price. Big mistake. The Shapton stones just feel way better and more "solid". Excellent sharpening performance.

the apple of sharpening stones

Good sharpening stone set, but priced at the upper limit of what it is worth.

I’m completely new both to owning quality knifes and to sharpening them myself, so you can take my review with a grain of salt. Having said that, these whetstones (I bought 3 of them - 1000 / 2000 / 5000) deliver and I am extremely pleased with my purchase. Even though I’m still learning the proper technique and I do get tired of sharpening by making the same precisely angled movement (as precise as I can make it), I found these whetstones very easy to use and of high quality in terms of what I was expecting after watching around 15 YouTube videos in this topic and what I obtained in my experiments. Some YouTubers say these stones may last a lifetime, it does look like so. If I ever feel the need to buy a higher grade (like a 10000, who knows), I’ll definitely look first at this maker.

Love this, was cheaper than the separate purchase of these two stone. 1000 is good start then move to 5000. It makes great work of dull knife