# EU Gesshin stones passaround - register here



## Matus

Hello!

As described & discussed in detail in the *other thread* - here is the official thread for Gesshin EU passaround organized by me and Krakorak (Jan).

*The Following stones are included:*
- Gesshin 400 (soaking stone)
- Gesshin 2000 (soaking stone)
- Gesshin 4000 (soaking stone)
- Gesshin 6000 (S&G stone)

If you are interested to join please just answer to this thread. Once the names are collected I will announce the order. If you have preferences (because of work or vacations) please mention them in your answer. I will do my best to find the right time slot for you.

Those who have expressed their interested in the previous thread will all get PM soon as a reminder, so they do not miss the passaround.

*Rules:*
- Who is eligible: if you live in EU, are an active user here on KKF then you are most welcome to join. 
- Timing: Each user has 2 weeks. That makes it about 1 week to use the stones and 1 week to let them dry (depending where you live the drying of the soaking stones may take up to 5 days). Plus one week to get the stones shipped to next person. That makes it 3 weeks in total per participant. Give or take, as always.
- Shipping: I have packed the stone safely and in such a way (no scotch tape apart from the outer box) that you should be able to re-pack them. The package weights just under 5kg and it should stay that way to avoid unnecessary costs. Please ship the package insured to a value of at least 300
- Should you feel that the stones need flattening and you have the option to do that, than do not hesitate to flatten them. In particular the 400 dishes relatively fast.
- I will include a short note with some information about the stone

I would like to ship the stone to the first participant in about 2 weeks (8th of April)

*No-nonsense-clause:* 
I am fully aware that shipping & handling such a relatively fragile items bears risks. .$hit happens from time to time - should you accidentally damage some of the stones, I will not hold you responsible for a refund or replacement. Just try to handle the stones with care and use insured shipping. In a case of accident just let me know (via this thread) and we will see what can be done. Should the package arrived damaged please check the contents and in case of damage to the stones provide full information to the person who shipped the stones, so he/she can file a claim with the shipping company.

I will not collect the addresses of all participants, just from the first one. Once the order is agreed on, please just communicate your shipping address with the person that should be shipping the stones to you.

If you have any questions or comments - please post them here.

And of course - share here your views on these stones. I am curios how they compare to other stones you guys use.

Let's get the ball rolling


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## RDalman

Sorry but I have to pass on this one. I had "misremembered" these were all S&G.


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## Matus

No problem


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## Matus

(on behalf of) krx927 is IN


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## Devon_Steven

I'm in  

And thanks for the pm about this thread.


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## andur

I'm in!


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## Jovidah

In. Preferably 'last'; I live close to the border so I can actually send the package from back to Matus from within Germany to save on shipping. 

And once again thanks for making this all happen!


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## andur

Good morning! Hahaha  just needed to share this. Woke up today to a nightmare! In my dream I had just received the stones and the Gesshin 400 melted into a pile of mud when I first put it in water. I was so worried about what to do with it, trying to arrange the mud back into a stone shape. Also the 2000 stone was very small, about 2 inches long, didn't know why.


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## Matus

Size has little to do with performance  But for the future do remember, that those red pills are not sleeping pills


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## berko

the blue ones aren't either  im in, but would like to be somewhere at the end to save shipping cost, as im in germany as well.


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## Matus

Sure, no problem


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## Matus

Update: Since I got some nasty gut bug yesterday (I'll spare you the details), the passaround will start soonest on 9th of April - so you guys have still have plenty of time to join


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## Matus

So, so far we have the following 5 names with the following preferences:

Devon_Steven (UK)
andur (? - PM sent)
krx927 (NL)
Jovidah (NL, preferably 'last')
berko (DE, last last as the stones start and end in DE)

Unless more people will join we could start soon - I could ship the stones on the coming Saturday. I will keep you posted.

The board is still open if you would like to join


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## Jovidah

Wasn't mark76 interested? Or was he still too busy?


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## krx927

Matus, 

Just a correction. You should mark me as BE


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## Matus

Oh sorry, of course. Where my mind was when I wrote that ...


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## Matus

So, let's get the ball rolling:

I would propose following order of the passaround:

Devon_Steven (UK)
andur (EST)
krx927 (BE)
Jovidah (NL)
berko (DE)

If everyone is OK with that, than I would kindly ask Devon to PM his shipping address and we can start!


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## berko

:doublethumbsup:


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## _PixelNinja

Sadly these are not really the Gesshin stones I would like to try (not a criticism) and I'm not sure I have the time I would need at the moment. But I do want thank you Matus for going forward with this.


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## Matus

_PixelNinja said:


> Sadly these are not really the Gesshin stones I would like to try (not a criticism) and I'm not sure I have the time I would need at the moment. But I do want thank you Matus for going forward with this.



Yeah, Jon has way too many stones to make everyone happy with just 4 in passaround  But just out of curiosity - which stones would you be interested in trying?


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## _PixelNinja

Matus said:


> But just out of curiosity - which stones would you be interested in trying?


The ones I have had my eyes on for some time now are the Gesshin 600, Natural Synthetic and to a lesser extent (since my understanding is that it is very close to the JNS 6000 which I own) the Gesshin 6000.


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## Matus

The Synthetic Natural is a great stone and for me the perfect finisher. Not quite as hard or fast as the 4000, but very nice feel and if you need to smoothen some wide bevel (though Kasumi finish is not its main strength) it will create just the right amount of mud. The edge it leaves has enough bite for tomato skin, but does not feel coarse. Bite-wise I would put it between the 4000 and 6000 (closer to 4000 though). I love this stone since the first time I used it.

Yes - I found the Gesshin 6000 and JNS 6000 to be very comparable in feel and performance. Both are very nice stones.

You know what - Robin also had interest only in S&G stones - maybe I could arrange for you guys a mini pass-around with the Synthetic Natural if you were interested.

What drives your interest in the 600 - are you looking for a 2 stone sollution? If yes I could imagine that 600 + Synthetic natural _could_ work in a pinch (I have not used the 600, so this is just a guess). I would probably ask Jon before I would go with something like that. But if 600 + 6000 is supposed to work, than why not.


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## _PixelNinja

Yeah. Ever since seeing Jon use and talk about the Synth Natural in his live stream videos I have been curious about it. I would definitely need to gather a bit more information from Jon though, notably if it can work well for micro-bevels and uraoshi sharpening, or if the Gesshin/JNS 6000 are a better suited for those tasks.

Otherwise, regarding the JNS 600, back in the day I was indeed looking for a minimalist setup. I would have got a Gesshin 600 + 6000 but sadly Jon was out for long time and I needed some stones so I went with the JNS 800 + 6000 instead. These days, the reason is more because I am having some issues with my JNS 800 and I might need a replacement.


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## Matus

Yeah, the Gesshin 600 and JNS 800 are going to be quite different stones. My short impression from the JNS 800 was positive - I think it should make great work on wide bevels. Just for the edge I would prefer harder stone I suppose.

The Synthetic Natural could be good enough for uraoshi, but the 6000 might just be better as to my naive understanding one tends to put finer (less teeth) edge on single bevel knives, but I really have basically 0 experience with single bevel knives. You should really talk to Jon. However the Synthetic natural does great job for me with microbevels - I use asymmetric ones as Jon teaches


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## _PixelNinja

The JNS 800 is a great stone, but I have a weird problem with mine in that flattening it revealed a crack going through the middle of the stone lengthwise. And since revealing the crack, the stone seems to not hold water as well as usual. The way this happened boggles my mind. I don't know how it will evolve but that is what I mean by probably needing a replacement.


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## Matus

That sounds like a production problem - give Maxim a call (once he is back from Japan)


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## Matus

The passaround has officially started - the stones are on their way to Devon.

Devon, I will PM you the tracking information tonight.


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## Devon_Steven

I'm looking forward to recieving these stones and I'll post a review of my experience.

As a bit of background, this is the stone set-up I've been using since getting into J-Knives some 18 months ago...







What you see here is:

- Suehero stone tray;
- Naniwa Professional 400 (green);
- Sigma Power Select II 1200 (white);
- Sigma Power ceramic #6000 'Jinzo-renge-suita' (renge/pink);
- iWood #300 diamond plate; and
- a piece of balsa wood.

To this lot I recently added a Shapton Pro 'Moss' #220. I had bought the Naniwa Professional 400 for heavier metal removal, it's a lovely stone, but a bit slow... perhaps because it is (allegedly***) more like a 600 on the JIS scale.

I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of edge the 2000 and 4000 put on my knives. Up to now, I have had the option of 1200 or 6000, but nothing in between, and I read that the inbetweens are to many people's tastes.

It will also be interesting to see how the stones compare in feel to mine (e.g. Sigma #6000 v Gesshin #6000 and Naniwa #400 v Gesshin #400).



***see https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VaTf3MXuwuvH-QLwOci4f9B9Zhkbuu1wjoSCZIUsR-o/htmlview 
which I found here http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/printthread.php?t=856708&pp=40 
and note that there are no sources for these data so I can't say anything about the veracity of the information (nor do I know anything about the forum that it has been posted on)



Steven (in Devon, UK)


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## andur

What's the status?


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## Devon_Steven

Hi Andur,


The status is, I have just finished using the stones (literally, I was tidying up while you were writing your post above).

Apologies for not getting finished sooner, work and childcare committments got in the way.

Anyway, the stones are now drying on a rack in the garage.

I'll pm you in a moment for your address.


Best wishes
Steven


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## andur

Is the drying an important issue with the stones? I mean I've never given any thought to how my stones dry. I finish my sharpening, leave the stones on the dish drying rack and put them away after they are dry. That said, my stones are Shapton Glass ones which you can just dry with a towel and put away, since they don't absorb too much moisture.


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## Matus

The difference comes with splash&go stones versus soaking stones. A normal sized soaking stone will absorb 100 or even more ml of water. Soaked stone has slightly different mechanical properties (so it seems to me) and if stored wet it could either get some fungus on its surface, or cracks as the drying will be uneven. I do not have much scientific evidence for that though.

Splash&go stones absorb very little water (easy to measure after all) and thus dry within a day. Some stones (like e.g. the JNS300) seem to absorb basically 0 water and dry really quickly. 

But we really need a view of someone with more experience here.


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## mark76

In my experience Shapton Pro stones are completely dry after two days are room temperature. That is, when you have not soaked them, but used them as splays and go.

They're nearly completely dry much earlier, but personally I would wait two days before sending them off.


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## Matus

So - where do we stand with the passaround?


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## Devon_Steven

The stones left the UK for andur in Estonia this afternoon. 

I'll write a review when I get a chance. Suffice to say I enjoyed them and now I want something to bridge the gap between my 1200 and 6000.

Anyway, more later...


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## Matus

Thanks Devon


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## Jovidah

Hey all,

Considering I'm currently pretty much swamped in my thesis work I don't think it makes much sense for me to participate in this right now. Since I have some deadlines to reach I don't even get to use my own sharpening stones right now, let alone have any time for playing with 'new toys'. So if it's okay with you guys you can take me out of the list and just skip me.

Regards,
Joris


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## Jovidah

Matus said:


> The difference comes with splash&go stones versus soaking stones. A normal sized soaking stone will absorb 100 or even more ml of water. Soaked stone has slightly different mechanical properties (so it seems to me) and if stored wet it could either get some fungus on its surface, or cracks as the drying will be uneven. I do not have much scientific evidence for that though.
> 
> Splash&go stones absorb very little water (easy to measure after all) and thus dry within a day. Some stones (like e.g. the JNS300) seem to absorb basically 0 water and dry really quickly.
> 
> But we really need a view of someone with more experience here.



Something to consider; I think it makes sense to differentiate between resinoid and magnesia stones instead of grouping them together as S&G. My Naniwa Pro/Chosera stones behave very differently to my Arashiyama.


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## Matus

Jovidah said:


> Hey all,
> 
> Considering I'm currently pretty much swamped in my thesis work I don't think it makes much sense for me to participate in this right now. Since I have some deadlines to reach I don't even get to use my own sharpening stones right now, let alone have any time for playing with 'new toys'. So if it's okay with you guys you can take me out of the list and just skip me.
> 
> Regards,
> Joris



No problem on my side, just please be sure to communicate it to krx927.


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## andur

Stones arrived in my place today! I'll be checking them out and testing soon. 
Wow that 6000 looks very nice!


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## Matus

andur said:


> Stones arrived in my place today! I'll be checking them out and testing soon.
> Wow that 6000 looks very nice!



Thanks for the update - have fun


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## andur

How do grit systems compare between the Gesshin lineup and my go-to Shapton Glass and Shapton Pro?


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## Devon_Steven

This chart has Shapton on it https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VaTf3MXuwuvH-QLwOci4f9B9Zhkbuu1wjoSCZIUsR-o/htmlview

if you can find the particle size (microns) data for the Gesshin stones (on the JKI web site?) you can compare.

Or does the Gesshin line up conform to an existing grit scale?


Steven


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## JBroida

we conform to the JIS grit rating


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## Devon_Steven

JBroida said:


> we conform to the JIS grit rating



Thanks Jon.

Those were nice stones, btw; I will do a write-up soon (I was first in the passaround).


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## Devon_Steven

*What I did.
*
Firstly, I used my new Shapton pro 'Moss' 200 to move the shinogi line on my Itinomonn 210mm gyuto up a little and thin a little around the shinogi area.

I then used the progression of Matus's stones to remove the worst of the scratching from the blade and also re-touch the cutting edge. Quite minimal work with Matus's stones since didn't want to wear them away too much, but a useful way to get a feel for all of the stones in progression.

The second job I did was similar to the job above, but on a very small knife that I received from Watanabe not long ago. It is a 90mm Kuro-uchi Ajikiri (standard line) and I moved the shinogi up a little (again using my Naniwa 220) to facilitate the creation of a hamaguri edge.

The third job was to use the 4000 and 6000 to tidy up the factory edge on my newly-acquired 240mm Tanaka blue #2 gyuto that I found (amazingly) in stock at Metal Master in Japan.


*The 400 (compared and contrasted with my own Naniwa Professional 400).*

The 400 is much more muddy and soft than my Naniwa. It feels like more stone is being removed during the work, although may just be an impression that I got because of the different feel between the stones.

The 400 has a nice feel/feedback; I liked it.


*The 2000 (compared and contrasted with my own Sigma Power II 1200).*

The Sigma Power II feels more aggressive - and it should, it has a lower grit number. However, the Gesshin 2000 does feel a lot smoother to use. At the same time as feeling smooth, it also gives the impression that the stone is doing a good job of removing metal.


*The 4000 (no similar stone of mine to compare and contrast with).*

Similar in feel to the 2000; smooth but you really get the impression that it's doing the job required.


*The 6000 (compared and contrasted with my own Sigma Jinzo Renge Suita 6000).*

These stones I found to be very similar in both feel and looks (aside from the Gesshin's blue colours versus the pink renge in the Sigma).

I like them both, although I can't really offer a comparison to anything as I haven't used a different type of stone in that approx. grit.


*Drying out*

I weighed the soaking stones before use so that I'd know when they were properly dry for shipping onward.

400: 889g
2000: 754g
4000: 1098g (has base)

Not surprisingly - owing to its having a base fitted - the 4000 took the longest to dry out. Even after 10 days drying it still retained about 20g extra water compared to when I received it.


*My conclusions*

Those Gesshins are really nice stones and I'd be happy to own a set like that.

The most significant message for me is that I need a stone to bridge the gap between my existing 1200 and 6000 stones. The reason I say that is because it seemed to take so much less effort tidying the low grit scratches using the 2k, 4k, progression compared with my usual 1200 ---> 6000 routine.


Finally, thanks to Matus for his generosity (and time) in setting up the passaround.


Steven


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## Matus

Thank you Steven for the review and you are most welcome  

Did you try to use the edge after the Gesshin 4000 or did you go straight to 6000 before using the knife?


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## Devon_Steven

I did do some cutting with the 4000 edge, and it was good, but time was pressing and I also wanted to put a 6k edge on so I didn't do much cutting with the 4k edge.

Shame.

Anyway, I was already holding up the passaround and time was against me; _ces't la vie_


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## Devon_Steven

Devon_Steven said:


> The second job I did was similar to the job above, but on a very small knife that I received from Watanabe not long ago. It is a 90mm Kuro-uchi Ajikiri (standard line) and I moved the shinogi up a little (again using my Naniwa 220) to facilitate the creation of a hamaguri edge.



This should read "(again using my SHAPTON 220)"


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## krx927

andur: what the status of the passaround. When do you plan to send out the stones?


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## andur

Stones are tested and drying. Sorry it took me so long, been very busy and just before the stones arrived I'd sharpened everything in the house!
I think I can ship them next week.


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## andur

I tried the stones out on a few knives in a quick session. I'll try to write up my thoughts on the stones. For comparison I've got a few of natural Japanese stones, some Coticules, Gotland natural stones, a full set of Shapton Glass stones, a 3 stone Shapton Pro set, a Naniwa SS 10k, Arkansas etc. My go-to set for a proper sharpening job is the full Shapton Glass up into 16k. If I'm in a hurry to touch up a knife before some cooking at home I'll get out my 1k, 5k, 12k Shapton Pro set and spend a minute or two on each (or stop at the 5k, good bite on a VG10 gyuto). 

So I got the Gesshins and immediately it's obvious they are soaking stones. Might require 5min in the sink before use and they do drink up a good amount of water. Compared to splash-and-go ones it's a good amount of extra time. 

Gesshin 400 - nice big coarse stone. Very quick but also very coarse, compared to a glass 500 it feel coarser, I think it might leave deeper scratches. Also it wears really really quickly and dishes fast. A little bit like the Naniwa 400 but even faster/coarser? Since it wears quickly it won't clog and always keeps fresh particles available but they also scratch my bevels pretty hard. Dishes quickly but is soft enough to lap quickly. For a typical edge that needs refreshing I feel it is too coarse (not necessary). 

Gesshin 2000 - impressive stone. Very nice feedback and good polish despite cutting quickly. When sharpening it feels like a 1000 but the scratches are finer. For a gyuto or single bevel this would be a good starting point, even for quickly setting a new bevel and getting out a small chip. It made a new bevel on my Tojiro DP VG10 in about a minute, very fast in a good way but not agressive or scratchy. It isn't as dishy as the 400 but still dishes even in a short sharpening session. Also it's a pain to lap, somehow dishes quicker than it flattens. 

Gesshin 4000 - Again, good feedback and awesome feeling when sharpening. Feels good and fast, nice slurry. Compared to a Shapton Glass HC 4000 it's quicker cutting, a bit more agressive I feel. Doesn't dish as much as the 2000, easier to keep flat. Makes a nice toothy edge however too coarse for my taste so I'd step a gyuto up at least to the 6000. 

Gesshin 6000 - Splash and go and a good finisher. Doesn't dish, leaves a good grippy bity edge. A good choice for a gyuto finisher. Looks good too! Nice and flat and stable so good for the ura side too. This and the 2000 stand out from the rest. The 2000 as it's very nice and quick, this one is a good finisher that won't dish too easily and leaves a good bity edge. For a chisel or a plane blade it's too coarse and I'd step up a few more stones for a mirror polish. 

Concluding remarks. I'm very happy to have had the chance to test these stones. Don't take my word as the truth about these, it's just the feeling I got from using them. I'm glad I got a chance to try a different set of stones without buying them. In the end testing this set made me more confident about my existing Shapton lineup which I now appreciate even more.
The biggest cons for my average use is the soaking. I'd like to be able to use a stone immediately without the soaking delay. A typical home cooking situation: "oh I need to make a salad quick before the meat is ready" and you can quickly touch up a gyuto on a splash and go stones. With these ones you'll need some soaking, flattening and a lot of cleaning (good amount of slurry produced), plus they need to dry somewhere. 
If one can live with soaking and dishing the benefit is a good stone that won't clog and is a joy to use. They really do feel good when sharpening and get the job done. Dishing is also a problem in my opinion but that's the drawback of a softer stone. 

These are my thoughts only, your methods may vary. I'm happy to have tried them and go back to what I'm used to. 
The stones will need to dry a few days and will be packed and shipped hopefully next week.


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## Devon_Steven

Interesting review andur. 

As for soaking and time constraints, my one soaking stone just perma-soaks so time is no issue. Those Gesshins can go perma as well.


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## andur

Stones are on their way to Belgium! Sorry for taking too long. I hope they arrive safely.


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## Matus

Thanks for the heads up


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## krx927

Small update on the passaround: stones arrived today. Looking forward to test them.


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## Matus

Thasks and have fun


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## krx927

I tested the stones on a few knives. Unfortunately none of my carbon knives was in need of a stone so I tested the following knives, Henckels chef knife, Blazen Honesuki and I just touch up my Takamura on 6000. My goal in participating in this passaround was to see how the stones will compare with my Naniwa Professional (Chosera) and Naniwa super stone (that never gets used any more after I bought Chosera). 

When I receive the stones I immediately put the soakers in water so I cannot comment how much time they would need for soaking.

Gesshin 400
Initially I was impressed by the size of this stone but later found out that this is because of the slightly oversized base on which it is mounted (not original). The stone feels great and also very aggressive. My initial impression was that it is much faster and coarser compared to Chosera. Like everybody is saying it is very muddy and pretty soft stone. In this department very comparable to Naniwa 250 super stone, but much faster. Later I tested it in thinning only a small part of the Henckels. I did the same with Chosera on other section. When comparing results I could see that the scratch marks are approximately the same between the stones, but I did have an impression that Chosera was slightly faster, for sure it is much harder and less muddy. I must say that this is also incredibly loud stone. You can really hear when you are grinding away on the stone. Gesshin definitely wins on the feedback which is way better than Chosera.

Gesshin 2000
Again the first thing that I noticed was the incredible feedback. I could also feel the stone being aggressive. The difference in the feedback over my Chosera was even greater on SG2 steel on Blazen. I really liked this as the Chosera 1000 is giving really bad feedback on this steel. The stone is very fast and I started my sharpening on Honesuki here. I was able to raise the burr pretty fast and there was no need for coarser stone. In its usage it is pretty comparable with my Ch. 1000. Not that it needed lapping I still tried few passes with my Atoma 140. Like Andur wrote it is a pain to lap. I had a feeling I did not get anywhere with it.

Gesshin 4000, what can I say, everything as Gesshin 2000 just finer.

Gesshin 6000, nice looking stone. I just do not know what that paper is doing on the sides of the stone. Despite being splash and go it still gets wet. Was this on the stone originally? Again nice stone with great feeling, much better than Naniwa Snow White that feels a bit rubbery.

I am yet to test the edge on Takamura&Blazen but I think it will cut great and is a perfect finisher.

Conclusion
All in all great stones. I was really happy to try them out to compare them to my Choseras. The biggest con from my side is that they are soakers and in my situation this is not workable for me. But that is just a decision when buying stones and if you are OK to wait for them to soak or you keep them permanently soaked they are very very good stones.
Perhaps the only negative thing is that I could see that 400 was dishing too fast for my taste. For the others I cannot really judge as I was not using them so much/are not problematic in this area. But all 4 of them really shine in the feedback department. This was the thing I was mostly impressed with when using them.

Thank you Matus and Jan for organizing this:doublethumbsup:


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## Matus

Thank you for your feedback  I am glad you enjoyed the stones - that was the main reason for us to organize this passaround after all 

A few words on the 6000 stone. It is a S&G that should either be used without any soaking, or permasoaked. That is also stated on JKI webpage, but I managed to miss that. I have soaked the stone together with the 400 and 2000 in the past and the constant drying started to cause hairline cracks and I was advised to mount the stone to a base and use a combination of lacquer (I have used shellac) and washi paper to cover the sides. I have not done this before and the shellac I bought was probably too thin for the job, so the result is not particularly helping the stone and looks funky.

The 400 was also mounted on a base as it was getting thin and I wanted to give it a little more support for the passaround.


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## krx927

Stones were send to Germany today.


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## Matus

Thanks krx927 

I will be away from 7th till 20th of July, but I suspect that should be OK as the stones are now going to berko.


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## berko

looking forward :lol2:


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## bennyprofane

Is it still possible to be part of the passaround?


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## Matus

The stones are now with Berko. Let me know where you are located and maybe we can figure something out.


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## bennyprofane

Great, thanks! I am in Germany...


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## Matus

bennyprofane said:


> Great, thanks! I am in Germany...



Then just send your postal address to berko. He got the stones few days ago, so you could get them in about 2 weeks. Then once you are ready to send them to me and I will let you know my address.

As simple as this


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## bennyprofane

Okay, thank you very much!


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## andur

We should have more EU passarounds!


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## Matus

I have never this was the last one


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## Devon_Steven

Matus said:


> I have never this was the last one



Never imagined?


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## Matus

Never said


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## Matus

Do we have any updates? I just want to make sure the stones do not come to me too soon as I am leaving for a vacation today and will only come home on 26th of August.


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## berko

i tested em and passed em on to bennyprofane, where they should be now. gonna post my thoughts next week, when i have more time, since im really busy right now. meanwhile a few of the pics that i made:


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## JaVa

I no I'm reeally late in the game and also still new here, but any chance to get in on this? I would love to try them out. Absolutely fine if it doesn't work out. Just thought I'd ask, never no?

...I live in Finland.


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## Devon_Steven

JaVa said:


> I no I'm reeally late in the game and also still new here, but any chance to get in on this? I would love to try them out. Absolutely fine if it doesn't work out. Just thought I'd ask, never no?
> 
> ...I live in Finland.



Damn, they've already been to Estonia!


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## Matus

Berko, thank you, I am looking forward to your feedback 

JaVa, that is no problem actually  Just PM bennyprofane (he has the stones at the moment) and let him know your address. We need to support our new members


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## JaVa

Sweet! I very much appreciate this.:doublethumbsup:

Can't wait to try them out. Though this will probably end up being an expensive experience... :lol2:
Bennyprofane prepare to be PM:d.


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## Matus

Being active part of this community means more to me than most people realize. And I like to help when I can  Enjoy the stones!


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## bennyprofane

The stones are now en route to Finland.

Here are my impressions:

Overall, I really liked all the stones a lot, they give great feedback, are a joy to sharpen on and are fast. They are also beautiful stones, especially the 6000 and the 300. My whole family was impressed by the looks of these stones.

I've tried different kinds of steel on the Gesshin 300 and it always worked very well. My King Deluxe 300 was pretty ineffective for stainless, not so the Gesshin, whatever I threw at it, it had no problems removing steel. It does dish pretty fast and the stone was pretty thin when I received it.

The Gesshin 2000 is a great stone and one I would like to own. It seemed that it can do whatever a 1000 can do but leaves a finer edge and could be also a good one-stop for regular stainless knives. It does clog up a bit but can easily be cleaned with a diamond plate.

The Gesshin 4000 is another great stone, it still feels pretty coarse and is fast. I guess it could be used as a finisher for stainless or coarser finishes or as part of larger progression or for touch-ups.

The Gesshin 6000 was my favourite in terms of looks, it has a beautiful colourful pattern, it feels very smooth and is a joy to sharpen on, although the JNS 6000 seems a bit faster to me. 

Overall, I really liked all of them and would be happy to have them in my arsenal.


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## Matus

Thank you Benny for your feedback, I am glad you enjoyed the stones Having a bit of fun is the main idea behind this little passaround  

Yes, the Gesshin 400 dishes relatively fast - it was already missing about 1/3 of the thickness when the passaround started. That is why it is glued to a base, so that people do not worry breaking it. I plan to use it (or whatever will be left of it) for wide bevel and single bevel knives.


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## bennyprofane

Thank you and JB for making this PA possible, I really appreciated being able to try out these stones.


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## Matus

You are most welcome


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## JaVa

Yesterday I recieved a note from the post that the package has arrived. We left to our summer cottage very early this morning so I'll be able to pick them up monday morning. 

Can't wait. Most of my knives are in need of some tlc right about know.


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## Matus

Have fun


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## JaVa

Finally today I got a chance to steal some much needed and uninterrupted alone time which involved nine knives and four stones. 

My apologies for taking too long, but also many thanks for letting me be a part of this. It just gets a little overwhelming at times trying to balance running a busy kitchen and (possible even busier) household with a super spirited three year old. 

Excuses aside, the stones are drying as we speak and next week will be headed back to home base I believe?

It was fun and very educational getting to use the gesshin stones and I'll share my thoughts about them shortly. I just have to let everything sink in for a while first.


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## Matus

JaVa, while I have little idea what does it mean to run a busy kitchen, but I have a very good idea what does it mean to have s super spirited three year old 

So no need to apologise. First things first. I will be looking forward to your thoughts about the stones.


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## JaVa

So here we go...

I got to a weird start. I had been neglecting my Mac pro for a while and it was really dull. It needed some attention the most so it was first up. It didn't respond the way I thought to any of the stones going thru the progressions. I could see some steel coming of but it seemed like I could not be able to raise a burr. I was completely lost as it was not what I expected. After some trial and error I finally got it sharp and actually the sharpest it's ever been. 

The thing was, the Mac is my most difficult knife to sharpen and on the King stones it gets a big fat burr that you can't miss. On the Gesshins the burr was very fine and delicate so it took me a while to notice it. I just kept trying to raise a burr until I finally realised it probably had been there all along. The feel with the Mac was very neutral, but left a little bit to be desired compared to the King, but I blame the steel on the Mac, not the stone.

After that weird start it was party time. I went thru all my carbon knives and it was all smooth, fast, easy and fun. The same thing happened with the burr. It was very small compared to what I get with the King, but now I knew what to look for. Last up was the HAP40 gyuto and the stones worked well with. The feel was completely on another level then with the King and just I wished I would have started with anything else in the first place then the Mac... Well, live and learn. The Geshin stones made sharpening faster and easier and all knives felt slightly sharper then I can get them on my King stones.

The 400 I used only on two Macs. They were the only ones in bad enough shape to benefit from such a course stone. I share the thoughts of others here. It dishes fast. It does what it's supposed to do, but my experience is very limited and not with such great steel. I would have liked to try it on a carbon knife, but none of them needed it.

the 2000, 4000 and 6000 were all very lovely. The 2000 dished only a little and in a good way. The 4000 dished just very slightly and the 6000 practically not at all. 

For me the soaking was not an issue. I'm used to it. To me it's just one part of a sharpening session. Although the splash and go feature was nice on the 6000. I really liked the added step the 4000 brought to the table. It felt more natural to me compared to a jump from 1000 to 6000.

I really liked these three stones and I just might even end up getting them.

Thanks again Matus for letting me jump in so late. I really appreciate having the chance to experience these new sharpening stones and I learned a lot in the proses.


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## Matus

Hello JaVa, thank you for your feedback - I am glad you had some fun and got all your knives sharp 

Yes, the 400 dishes fast, i guess I am going to get back only the PVC board with some epoxy on it 

Let me just ask - did you always progressed up to 6000 or did you also tested the edge off the 4000?


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## JaVa

I always tried the knives on the board after every stone so yeah. I really liked the 4000, maybe the most of the pack. It would be my first buy for sure. But I like the super sharp feeling you get with 6000 and as the time was limited I wanted to try every knife with every stone so eventually I ended up progressing the whole way. 

Although with the Mac gyuto and petty I eventually backed up to the 4000 which worked brilliantly for them. Like I've mentioned before their edge gets ultra slick and the 4000 was just the ticket to give them the sharpness I like but leave just enough bite.

For most of my knives the 4000 would've probably been the best finish for pro use, but since I had the chance I wanted to push them all the way. Time will tell how they'll hold up at work. The Tanaka B2 nakiri has been great so far. Others haven't been pushed yet.

One funny thing, as the stones were quite fast, I felt I got the knives sharp almost too quickly with no time to evaluate what was going on? :lol2:

Why do you ask?


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## Matus

I ask as personally I prefer the edge I get from 4000 to the one from 6000, as the 6000 sometimes felt too fine for tasks where a little more bite is helpful. But then there is also the wonderful Gesshin Synthetic Natural (which I also have) which thanks to its mix of different grits gives a great combinatin of refinement and bite, feels very smooth, but is not quite as fast as the 4000.


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## JaVa

Yeah, from this experience the biggest take away for me is that I really want a 4000 grit stone. Never felt the need for one before. This opened my eyes for all the possibilities it adds to play with. As a step towards the 6000 or in some cases leave it at 4000, like you mentioned. 

I'm still taking only baby steps with sharpening stones as I've only played around with the King combo for few years now. I do need to step up my game in the coming weeks.


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## Matus

So - the stones have made the full round and arrived today. They look pretty much the same as when they left Germany 6 months ago - just the 400 lost a few millimetres, but that was expected. I would like to thank to everyone who participated for taking such a nice care of them and for making this passaround a very smooth and enjoyable experience for everyone involved. 

I enjoyed reading your opinions and experience. You can be sure that sooner than later I will come up with another one (2-3 knives or maybe a natural stone passaround once I have 2 or 3 stones more), so stay tuned!

Just remember that this passaround started with a little hairline crack on a new Gesshin 4000 and with Jon sending a brand new one to Krakorak


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## _PixelNinja

Nah Matus  thank you for doing this :thumbsup:


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