Kuromaku Pack

The Shapton Kuromaku is a compelling set suitable for all metals. This series has become a favorite with anglers and hunters, not only because the stones come in a sturdy plastic box, but these whetstones have proven their effectiveness with both hard carbon steel and as a sharpener for fillet knives.

The Kuromaku series is known as a crudely efficient stone. Not the smoothest and quietest stone of all, the Kuromaku is a series of whetstones made initially for Japanese artisans to sharpen hard carbon steel chisels and planer blades. This alone reveals that it is not a low-performance stone.

The package comes with two whetstones. The 1000 stone is perhaps the most talked about in the Kuromaku series. This stone has a true grit of around 800, and that's where the efficiency comes in. From this stone, it's easy to jump to the 5000 stone and finish the knife off. The more powerful Suehiro's Levelling Stone 280 was replaced in the package at the beginning of 2022. With this vast stone, leveling is done reliably.

While the 1000 stone is efficient, remember that an even coarser stone is needed if the sharpened knife already has noticeable bumps and chips. For example, I recommend the SHAPTON Kuromaku 220 stone extension to the kit.