# Whetstone...Tatara? Gourmet Tool? Shapton Pro?



## TheSon (Feb 9, 2019)

I need to get some whetstones...My searching has brought me to a few, but I need more insight. Maybe none of these are right, but I'm looking at the Tatara 1k/6k, Gourmet Tool 1k/6k, and Shapton Pro series. 

The Shapton Pro sprouted from the finish-sharpening card that came with my Takamura Chromax knives. They were finished with a Shapton Pro 2k, 5k, and 10-micron paste bovine strop. 

I'll be maintaining my new Takamura Chromax, Geshhin Stainless, and Shun Premier knives. 


I don't plan to use my Work Sharp pivoting sharpener for these...


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Maybe 1 micron paste as 10 microns is I believe coarser than 5K. CKTG has the Iminishi 1/6K, at $55. That and a King 300 will have you around $80.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Well I see no one else chimed in here, so I'll add, perhaps too late, that the Shaptons are very good stones, as are the Iminishi. I chose the latter because their combo is a full-sized stone (unlike many combos) and a bargain. The King 300 isn't the fastest cutting in the class but it is inexpensive, and doesn't leave deep scratches.

A more pricey route would be something like a Shapton Glass 220 (very fast, only for serious big thinning/repair jobs), Shapton Pro 400, and some higher grits in those or Niniwa Pro or the Geshin (top notch high-grits, can also supply the lower grits, nice diamond flattening plate, etc).

Hope you're enjoying the Takamura!


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

Whatever you decide on be sure to understand whether they are soakers, or splash and go. It makes a huge difference in performance and longevity. My first stones were a Beston 500, Minosharp 1k and a King 6k. I still use the 1k and 6k and replaced the 500 with a Geshhin 400 and a green brick - both are permasoakers. For quick touch ups I use Shapton Glass 1k and 4k and a Mac ceramic rod. YMMV.


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## TheSon (Feb 9, 2019)

hmmmmmm


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Similar to Mike I am still using a soft, fast dishing humble-origin 1/6K stone, a Shun item to be precise, grossly overpriced at $100, but I was completely ignorant back then. But fact is it works, and is fine for home use, though I still feel the need to put together some strops for the diamond slurry I bought, over a year ago now, just no great sense of urgency to it though, a 6K finish works pretty good when done right. Had I known better I would have got a Geshin 220, 400, 2K and 8K, and diamond flattening plate to go along. But now I've grown content with what I have and, again, just don't feel the urgency. Low-grade stones are not at all the anathema that low-grade knives are.

I never use rods anymore, there's really nothing much stopping a home cook from stropping on a stone for touchup, and it works better than rods, even the fine translucent Arkansas stone with a rounded edge that was my "rod." 1K for my Vic and assortment of soft stainless for rough work, the 6K for all the hard steel. Rods are really too coarse (except the Ark) for my tastes here, and potentially damaging for the hard stuff.


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

Here is a neat strop setups by Salty from KKF:


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## TheSon (Feb 9, 2019)

On CKTG, I have the Imanishi 1k/6k combo, Shapton Pro 1k, and 6k stones in my cart. I don't figure it's bad to have variety. While I'm there, I'm strop shopping. When I get them, I'll begin with the old knives to get proficient.

I'll get a King 300 from Amazon and use it also for flattening. 

EDIT: I'll get the 5-piece Richmond 3x11 strop kit.


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## TheSon (Feb 9, 2019)

rick alan said:


> Maybe 1 micron paste as 10 microns is I believe coarser than 5K.


Yes. I didn't see the "." in "1.0 micron paste."

And I messed up. I got a 1k and 5k Shapton Pro. They were done with a 2k Shapton glass and 5k Pro. I don't know where I thought I saw 1K Pro. grrrrrrrrrrr

I also didn't realize that a regular old flattening stone is wrong. I read the paperwork that came with the Shaptons, and I'm supposed to use fine (at least 1k) and polish to a shine. The one I got is Nordstrand, and it says 60.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Don't fret, I never heard of any real need to "polish" a stone, except Arkansas, the 60 will work, you won't need to use it for a while, you can always get a 400 grit diamond hone which is what most everyone uses for fine stones, have fun.


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## TheSon (Feb 9, 2019)

Ok...how about this King 300? Not supposed to sharpen alloys on it because it will clog. Carbon steel only. Now I don't want to use it.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Not true, it works fine on stainless, and is for thinning, not sharpening.


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## phaedrus (Dec 23, 2004)

The Shapton Pro stones are very good. They're very hard in feel/texture and don't require much of a soak. They'll work with just about every steel, too.


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