# Stone session Aoto vs Aoto vs Aoto vs Aoto...



## TheCaptain (Feb 11, 2017)

Ok, I find myself in possession of an almost embarrassing number of Aoto's. 

My first two I got from Watanabe. Another stone I wanted was already sold and he suggested an Aoto in the same range of hardness. Yea, they can vary that much. I went with his advice and am not disappointed.

Another one was a bargain included in a group of four stones I got from another forum member. It was described as very muddy which wasn't necessarily my experience, so OF COURSE I had to try it out.

When JNS got the famed unicorn Red Aoto's in I considered myself lucky to snatch one. 

I also have the JNS synthetic Red Aoto (2000-4000) and the blue synthetic Matukusuyama around 3000-4000) because, why not?

My beloved Watanabe Nakiri is FINALLY getting a touch dull after 3+ months of home use. That mans' heat treatment is nothing short of sorcery. So I (*Gulp*) decided it's time for a sharpening session.

So here's the family:





From left to right in order of actual listed or my perceived hardness:

#1 Soft, supposedly muddy Aoto from fellow forum member (JNS reject actually)
#2 Softer Aoto from Watanabe Hs 20 on the scale he uses
#3 JNS synthetic red Aoto between 2000-4000 grit
#4 JNS natural Aoto - don't now hardness but placed it in the progress where I felt it belonged in terms of "feel"
#5 JNS synthetic Aoto Matukusuyama 3000-4000 grit
#6 and Finally the second most favored stone in my current collection, a Hard Aoto from Watanabe HS 33 on his scale.

First general impressions, I was shocked at how thirsty these stones are. I've been working with a lot of Aiiwatani lately and while they do like a bit of water, they didn't suck it down and ask for more like the natural versions of these stones.

Second impression on each

#1 - remember I'm a rank amateur but I didn't see this throwing out too much mud. It sucked down the water and asked for more but did a lovely job of roughing up the edge on a not too dull knife.

#2 - Next step - just playing here folks but it felt nice, not as thirsty as the first stone and I actually got a decent edge on this one alone. Plus extra bonus - it became an entirely different looking stone when wet:




#3 - It did the job, but the feedback was flat and it didn't change colors and do cool stuff like the naturals. Great bargain option absolutely but I just love me my jnats!

#4 - for hearing how much softer red stones are I kinda expected this to feel softer than a man-made version, so kudos to Maksim for making an artificial stone that was user friendly or maybe I just got a harder than normal red aoto. I seriously liked working with this stone.

#5 - Sorry, meh. Actually felt like the sharpness took a step back. There was no feedback and it just wasn't "fun" to use. See later notes.

So I went back to the natural red and up to the hard Watanabe Aoto - got a killer edge 

Sorry, but I still get giddy when I can do this. Remember folks - rank amateur here!




So here's my favorite knife after my first try sharpening anything than a german or ginka stainless, I didn't break it, the blade doesn't look too abused, and it's almost as sharp as when Shinichi sent it over. Ok, maybe not but I'm happy with it:grin:




So yea, good Japanese knives are loads easier to sharpen then german (or other) stainless. I don't know why I was so worried about messing things up.

I'll keep my naturals and maybe trade or sell off them when I get the ones I really like locked down. In the meantime I just don't see myself reaching for the synthetics too much. I'm going to play with them a bit more but really don't have THAT many knives to sharpen (SOB) to justify keeping them. 

So if you know of a young (broke) chef or a new (broke) knife enthusiast that could use a few good stones please PM me. It'll be a few months but I have the full JNS medium progression plus a few extra. (300, 800, Red Aoto, Blue Aoto) I also have the JNS 6000 but haven't worked with that one yet.

Feedback appreciated. What am I doing right and what am I doing wrong?

Thanks for listening.


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## Jovidah (Feb 11, 2017)

I suppose this classifies as suffering from Aotism?


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## Nemo (Feb 11, 2017)

I think it's called Aoto spectrum disorder ;-)

Nice work on the Wat, Captain. Nice lamination line contrast.


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## aboynamedsuita (Feb 11, 2017)

Well done Cap'n

Several of us on Instagram have been posting our multiple suitas so there's no problem with multiple aotos either :knife:


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## chiffonodd (Feb 11, 2017)

Jovidah said:


> I suppose this classifies as suffering from Aotism?



lol terrible but well played


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## XooMG (Feb 11, 2017)

Thanks for sharing. I'd love to see a polishing comparison on a cheap knife as well. Aoto are a field I have not gotten into.


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## Badgertooth (Feb 12, 2017)

Great post captain, you are deliberate and considered in your approach. And it's nice to read your early, perceptive insights. Keep em coming. And thanks for making me want a Watanabe Nakiri!
And some more Aotos.


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## foody518 (Feb 12, 2017)

Polishing the wide bevel on the nakiri yes?


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## brianh (Feb 12, 2017)

foody518 said:


> Polishing the wide bevel on the nakiri yes?



Was gonna ask the same. Or just the edge?


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## TheCaptain (Feb 12, 2017)

foody518 said:


> Polishing the wide bevel on the nakiri yes?



Thanks for noticing! Yep that was my secondary objective after getting a sharp edge.


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## TheCaptain (Feb 12, 2017)

Thanks for the feedback everyone it's very much appreciated!


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## foody518 (Feb 12, 2017)

TheCaptain said:


> Thanks for noticing! Yep that was my secondary objective after getting a sharp edge.



IMO I don't really get 'muddiness' with hardly any naturals unless I'm contacting a larger surface area like that. You might get more out of some of these Aotos after that treatment


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