SUEHIRO Flattening Stone #280

Suehiro Flattening Stone – longer, higher-quality and more effective

A whetstone always wears the most in the middle during use. When the surface becomes dished, controlling the sharpening angle gets harder and the result suffers.

Regular flattening and truing is therefore an essential part of sharpening. I recommend checking and flattening the stone after every sharpening session. This way the stone is cleaned, flattened, and ready for the next use. 

A flattening stone is simply the most important maintenance tool for anyone using whetstones.

The Suehiro flattening stone is:

✔ Coarse enough (#280) for efficient material removal
✔ Long and stable to use
✔ Works excellently with most synthetic whetstones

A grit number alone doesn’t determine how effective a flattening stone is. The structure, binder, and abrasive quality matter a lot. In practice, Suehiro #280 has proven to be highly effective – often even more effective than nominally coarser alternatives.

How to check whetstone flatness.

✔ Draw a pencil grid on the whetstone surface
✔ Wet the stones
✔ Rub with the flattening stone until the lines disappear evenly
✔ Remember to apply even pressure

When the grid has disappeared across the entire surface, the whetstone is perfectly flat again and ready for precise sharpening.

Grit: #280
Length: 205 mm
Width: 53 mm
Thickness: 27 mm