Kitayama Fine Grain Sharpening Stone - #8000

Kitayama Fine Grain Sharpening Stone - #8000

To obtain a truly sharp edge, you must hand sharpen your Japanese knives with Japanese water stones. The process of sharpening on a stone is not unlike sanding wood; the whetstone scratches away material from the blade in stages to shape and polish the metal to an acute edge. Water stones come in a broad range of grits, from very rough to fine, for this purpose. They are referred to as water stones as water is the lubricant adding the sharpening process. <br><br> Fine and super fine (#3000-8000) stones will remove surface scratches created by the abrasive action of the medium stone and will polish the edge to a precision mirror-finish. A fine stone is absolutely essential to hone traditional Japanese blades. <br><br> Our standard synthetic sharpening stones, made from materials such as Aluminum and Silicon Carbide, are versatile and easy to use. They are suitable for a wide variety of knife steels. With use, a synthetic stone will become slightly concave in the middle and, as a flat surface is necessary for sharpening, they need to be leveled out routinely with a stone fixer. Synthetic stones must be soaked in water for 10 minutes before use.