Products»Whetstones»Naniwa whetstones»Chocera Pro»
Naniwa
Chocera Pro 400
62,00 €
(49)
The Misunderstood Coarse Stone
by Sami P., 22.5.2024
When I talk with customers every day and answer their questions, the same topics keep coming up around coarse whetstones. I often notice that people are hesitant about coarse stones and generally assume that many whetstones are too coarse for their needs.
With a small caveat and a bit of common sense, I'll say this: a coarse stone can never be too coarse – but it can certainly be extremely uncomfortable to use.
A common concern is that aggressive grinding removes too much material and may create an uneven edge profile. Another widespread assumption is that removing the scratches left by a very coarse stone is difficult.
There is some truth behind these concerns, but the real truth usually reveals itself during sharpening: you realise the stone wasn't as effective as you imagined, and the scratches are surprisingly easy to remove with a 1000 grit stone. The toughness of the steel plays a major role in sharpening – this is why a coarse stone is always needed when doing repair work on any decent quality knife.
Products»Whetstones»SUEHIRO whetstones»
SUEHIRO
Debado LD-21 #180
56,00 €
Available in stock
(26)
A coarse whetstone is soft – and for good reason
"At this point I should clarify that we are talking about quality Japanese whetstones. Let's set aside the cheap, often Chinese stones that are practically unusable due to their softness and inefficiency."
I frequently come across comments about whetstones being soft and wearing down quickly. The easy answer is: that's exactly how they should work – otherwise effective sharpening simply won't happen!
Coarse stones come in many varieties. There are even stones with a sandy, almost crumbly feel that are incredibly effective, though getting the most out of them takes a bit of learning. The best example of this is the Imanishi WZ400. It's a large, powerful and heavy stone that holds up well over time despite being soft. This stone is a perfect example of how a coarse and soft stone works at its best: when you first start sharpening with it, it feels like nothing is happening. But once the surface opens up, it feels as though the brakes suddenly engage – and you can clearly sense the metal being removed.
Now let's look at examples from the harder end of coarse stones – the Shapton Kuromaku 120 and 220, for instance. These two are great examples of effective, coarse stones that work well with all types of steel and are relatively hard. That said, even these will show deep scratches when doing intensive tip work on a knife.
So as a basic rule: a coarse whetstone is always at least somewhat soft, and that's entirely intentional. Softness brings efficiency. If a soft whetstone feels strange to use, it's worth considering the Atoma 140 diamond stone – that gives you a hard stone to work with.
Coarse stones differ in speed
This isn't just a challenge with coarse stones – it's the biggest challenge in the entire whetstone world: you need to know which stones work with which blade steels. That's what makes this such a constantly evolving field of learning.
I once came across an interesting comment: a customer assumed it didn't matter which 400 grit stone they used – grit is grit, after all. In principle that's fair enough, though actual grit levels can vary quite a bit from the stated grit depending on the manufacturer.
The big difference between different manufacturers' 400 grit stones, however, comes down to how well they bite into different steels. Standard so-called European knife steels can be sharpened with almost any stone, as can most carbon steels. But when you start approaching the toughest steels in the knife world – powder steels, for example – the differences between stones become very apparent. Examples of powder steels include Elmax and S35VN, commonly found in quality outdoor and folding knives.
A thin-bladed kitchen knife made from, say, SG2 steel can be worked with a number of different stones. But when you want to reprofile the bevel on a knife made from Elmax steel, you'll need to put in considerably more work – and the differences between stones quickly become obvious.
If you want a 400 grit stone that reliably gets the job done, Naniwa Chocera Pro 400 is worth serious consideration.
Is a 400 grit stone coarse enough?
I personally tend to start sharpening completely dull or rounded edges with 180–220 grit stones. I also reach for them when a knife has visible marks, chips, or missing pieces. A 400 grit stone is sufficient for sharpening blades that are just ordinarily dull. However, if you want to keep the number of stones at home to a minimum, I would rather go with a 180–220 grit stone as the coarsest option, then jump to 800 grit and from there move on to something like 3000–4000 grit.
Which coarse stones does hiomakivi.fi recommend?
I personally use a wider variety of stones at the coarse end than I do at the fine end. I'm constantly trying to get a feel for which stone works best with which steel.
Below I've picked my current favourites in the 180–400 grit range.
TOP 5 favourite stones
1. Naniwa Chocera Pro 400 – the undisputed number one in its class, a clinical performer. Consistently reliable regardless of steel type. Not the fastest, but the most versatile.
2. SUEHIRO Debado LD-21 #180 – currently my absolute top pick in the 180–220 grit range. Bites well, but requires a little more practice to get everything out of it. Sufficiently large, thick and durable.
3. MinoSharp Green - Rough 240 – perhaps the least well-known coarse stone in my selection. Incredibly effective with an interesting feel.
4. IMANISHI WZ 400 Marble – the most distinctive feel and experience of any coarse stone I've ever used – and I mean that in the most positive way.