Old Unknown Mine Asagi Goma Japanese Natural Toishi Finishing Whetstone

A tested and matched Tomo Nagura is included with the hone, as shown in the photos.

Approximate Dimensions/Weight:
207 mm (8.15") long × 73 mm (2.87") wide × 18 mm (0.71") tall / 670 gram

Stone Details:
Hardness: LV4.8
This is a very high quality, older stone. It is very hard but not super hard. The appearance is very interesting with black and blue dots and swirls covering the stones surface. The back is covered with rich beautiful Kawa. The stone is on the thin side which leads me to believe that it was used for many many years prior to ending up in the previous owners premium collection. Honing on water only is a dream with silky textures and velvety smooth action. Creating a little diamond plate slurry really speeds up the cutting strength while maintaining it's extremely fine nature. As the slurry is broken down and worked, the edge gets progressively more fine and following with a matching Tomo Nagura will yield a comfortable shaving edge. Mikawa Nagura progressions are wonderful as well. A bit of the stone will get mixed into the slurry but the feedback is still very readable and clear for a stone that isn't super hard making it rare in that way. knife polishing is also wonderful on this stone especially for its hardness. There is very little self slurry, mostly just black inky swarf. There is an underlying forgiveness that can be felt when sharpening knives which reminds me of a very high quality eastern mined stone. Kasumi finish is a bright, reflective finish with a touch of haze.

A photo of the stone's polishing ability on a high quality Japanese kitchen knife is shown.