# best stone for toothy gyuto edge



## obtuse (Jun 25, 2012)

I'm looking for a new finishing stone for my gyutos. I have some in white steel and O1, cpm154, skd11 etc. Currently I'm using a bester 1200 and lightly stropping the edge on a jks 10000 or rika to refine it just a little and remove any large burr. While I'm getting good results, I'm wondering if I can get better results with a stone in the 2000-4000 grit range. I'm looking at the gesshin 4000, but it seems kinda spendy. Opinions?


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## Tristan (Jun 25, 2012)

Maksim's Red Aoto. 

I can't tell if I'm being fully objective, but I prefer the edge it gives my knife over just plain 1K/5K strop. I've tried 1K/5K/Red Aoto strop, and without strop. The addition of the stone seems to make a difference to me.


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## obtuse (Jun 25, 2012)

Does it work on high wear resistant steels?


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## Tristan (Jun 25, 2012)

Strictly as a finishing stone? I've used it on a carbonext and suisin's inox honyaki to date. Worked on both fine, though to be honest I preferred the feedback from the stone when I was sharpening the carbonext vs the inox. 

My experience is limited in that regard, so if anyone else could chip in... maybe Maksim himself? He has a pretty good returns policy if you are upfront with your expectations and he will take you through what to possibly expect. As I understood it, he tries all the stones he uses himself so he can address variances. Hope this helped.


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## Citizen Snips (Jun 25, 2012)

i still prefer the suehiro rika 5k. a strong runner up is the gesshin 4k.

i like the edge that i get in a kitchen for veggies, raw meats, etc from the rika 5k and i always strop on newspaper. i have looked for quite some time for an edge that could shave and still feel toothy. this is what i have found that works the best for me. 

side note, my full lineup is beston 500 or gesshin 400, bester 1200, blue aoto 2k, suehiro rika 5k, kitayama 8k, back to suehiro rika 5k for microbevel, strop on newspaper. i dont always use the full lineup but this is the stone setup that i have been most impressed with


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## Eamon Burke (Jun 25, 2012)

I like the bite off a rika, not bad at all for a 5k. You could try a jnat


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## kalaeb (Jun 25, 2012)

I go from a shapton 2k followed by just a few trailing strokes on the Gesshin 5k and call it good. Pretty reasonable bite.


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## jgraeff (Jun 25, 2012)

I agree with red aoto as well. I usually strop quite a bit after it then finish on takashima and get a very sharp toothy edge that lasts. If I use synthetic before takashima similar edge but more refined and doesn't last half as long.


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## K-Fed (Jun 25, 2012)

While I don't have a red aoto, I do really enjoy the edges off my regular aoto for general purpose cutting. It's got great bite while still feeling refined enough that it doesn't feel like you're cutting with a hack saw. Love the splash n go factor for touch ups too and bring this one to work with me often.


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## WillC (Jun 25, 2012)

I like my chosera 5k, now its broken in it leaves a great balance of polish and bite. To the naked eye the finish can look courser than the choc 1k, but under magnification you can see the scratch marks have much less depth and are very regular. Lots of regular little teeth has got to be good for the effect your after


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## wsfarrell (Jun 25, 2012)

jgraeff said:


> I agree with red aoto as well. I usually strop quite a bit after it then finish on takashima and get a very sharp toothy edge that lasts. If I use synthetic before takashima similar edge but more refined and doesn't last half as long.



+1 on takashima.


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## obtuse (Jun 26, 2012)

Thanks everyone for your responses. I already have the suehiro rika, so if that's close to as good as it gets for a gyuto, maybe I'm set.


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## Eamon Burke (Jun 26, 2012)

Well, it can get toothier by dropping grits, or using certain Natural Stones with certain Steels, but that stone leaves a lot of bite for a 5k stone. 

If it's not aggressive enough for you, you can always strop it a few times on a good 1k stone when you are done.


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## K-Fed (Jun 26, 2012)

BurkeCutlery said:


> Well, it can get toothier by dropping grits, or using certain Natural Stones with certain Steels, but that stone leaves a lot of bite for a 5k stone.
> 
> If it's not aggressive enough for you, you can always strop it a few times on a good 1k stone when you are done.




+1

For toothier edges than my aoto will leave I'll stop at either 1k or 1.2k and strop a little more on the 3 micron diamond before finishing on the 1 micron. Leaves a great edge for slicers and general purpose cutting if you're into that sort of thing. I usually sharpen my sujis this way.


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## Justin0505 (Jun 26, 2012)

So far, my favorite all-around finishing combo is gesshin 4k and then Takashima. It creates an edge that is both refined, yet still plenty tooth enough to bite. However, you could also get pretty good results by just using the 4K and then stropping / polishing the teeth on charged leather or whatever you like. The scratch pattern off of the 4k is just very nice and even. 

If you wanted a one-step/stone finish, then Dave's synthetic blue aoto would be my choice. It's supposedly 2K, but feel finer. It creates a lot of mud and does a good all on it's own of leaving an edge that is both toothy and refined. It's certainly toothier than the 4k & polish combo.


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## Moodymann (Jul 3, 2012)

I can't get my hands on a decent priced Rika 5k in the UK, it's gonna cost me the same amount to ship. What do you think of Naniwa Super 5K and Sigma Select II 6K?


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## obtuse (Jul 3, 2012)

I'm not a big fan of the naniwa super stones (slow, dishes fast, gummy feeling) My choice would be the sigma II even though I haven't used it.


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## Moodymann (Jul 3, 2012)

ha, I was leaning towards the Super:scratchhead: Perhaps sigma be better for carbon Heiji.


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## Crothcipt (Jul 3, 2012)

I have the sigma II on the pass a round. It is a 1.2k and it is a good cutter, very little dishing and no mud. Not sure about the 6k, but if it is line with this one it would be a good stone.


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## TB_London (Jul 4, 2012)

If you're in London you're welcome to try my chosera 5k, king 4k, shapton 4k, or indeed any of my other stone/knives

Getting stones in the UK can be expensive, if you haven't already try looking at Eden web shop, dictum, dieter Schmidt as they have better selection and prices than I've seen locally


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## Lars (Jul 4, 2012)

The edge I get off the SSII 6K is so slippery, that i haven't found a use for it on any of my knives.
I really like my JNS6000 followed by a 10K Super Stone. The edge is very sharp, with a lot of teeth..

Lars


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## Moodymann (Jul 4, 2012)

TB_London said:


> If you're in London you're welcome to try my chosera 5k, king 4k, shapton 4k, or indeed any of my other stone/knives
> 
> Getting stones in the UK can be expensive, if you haven't already try looking at Eden web shop, dictum, dieter Schmidt as they have better selection and prices than I've seen locally



Thanks

I've not looked at Eden or Dictum yet.


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## phan1 (Jul 6, 2012)

I vouch for the Rika 5k. Consistently bitey edge whether your dealing with carbon or generic VG-10.


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