Kuromaku

Shapton Kuromaku – Professional-grade whetstone for demanding use

The Shapton Kuromaku series (also known as Shapton Professional) is a high-quality Japanese stone line that has earned a solid reputation especially among woodworkers and hand tool sharpeners. In addition to knives, these stones are also perfect for sharpening puukkos, chisels, and plane blades.

The main strengths of the Kuromaku stones are speed, durability, and user comfort. These “Splash and Go” stones require no soaking – just add a little water to the surface and you’re ready to sharpen.

Top features of Shapton Kuromaku:

• Efficient sharpening: very fast cutting and precise results
• No soaking needed: the stone absorbs minimal water and is ready to use immediately
• Durability: slow wearing, so flattening is rarely needed
• Feel: harder structure offers a stable and controlled sharpening experience
• Forgiveness: tolerates small angle errors – excellent even for home users

Each Kuromaku stone is color-coded by grit and delivered in a sturdy plastic case. The most popular base stones for home users are:

• #1000 (orange) – versatile all-around stone for basic sharpening
• #5000 (wine red) – for finishing and maintaining sharpness

You can also see these stones in use in the video below, starting from a coarse #120 stone and progressing to finer finishing. 

Shapton Kuromaku 120 korjaa tehokkaasti lohjenneet veitset