# Hideriyama



## mqphoto (Jul 31, 2017)

I'm thinking about buying a hideriyama stone and I'm wondering over if any here have some experience of what kind of edge it leaves? I know well that every tone is unique in it's way but overall? 

Thank you for your help


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## TheCaptain (Jul 31, 2017)

Kinda surprised no one else has chimed in yet so I'll bite.

I have an irregular shaped hideriyama from JNS that is slightly smaller than a dinner plate. It's a lovely little mud puppy that does a fantastic job on my kasumi finishes and gives a slightly more refined edge than any of my Aoto's. In all honestly, even though I have plenty of finer finishing stones, I often find myself stopping with either my Hideriyama or my Hakka. 

Now I mention mud puppy, for me it's, like, perfect in this regard. I have some aoto's that are a bit too muddy for my taste (they love to suck the blade in). Thus I find myself tensing up a bit when I use them and have to be aware and relax. No such thing with my Hideriyama. It's just a really nice mid range stone.

It seems to be pretty forgiving for beginners. I got results that made me very happy after my first few tries. I think it's a worthy stone for a jnat lineup.

To be honest, for me where it really shines is not the edge it gives, but the finish on the bevel.


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## Marcelo Amaral (Jul 31, 2017)

My Hideriyama seems to have similar grit than a hakka i tested (not sure if it was a typical hakka though) and just a little bit finer than JNS' Takashima. Mine is harder than the hakka and the takashima i talked about, seems to be as hard as a harder green aoto (atagoyama). It doesn't produce slurry quickly and although not necessary, it feels like a nagura is a good idea. It's not a hard stone, though. It doesn't come even close to something like a hard ohira.


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## mqphoto (Jul 31, 2017)

Thank you Captain =)


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## K813zra (Jul 31, 2017)

Hideriyama is great for contrast as long as you do your work on the previous stone. If you don't then it will bring out any errant scratch, unlike Oouchi which seems to hide scratches well but does not leave as good contrast, imo. 

Mud moster? No way! This is a moderately muddy stone, at best, even on cladding! Nothing like a soft Aoto, Monzen-to, Natsuya, soft Amakusa etc. I like muddy stones, though. Anyway, on a narrow bevel you will give very, very little mud from this one and okay mud from a wide bevel. Said mud is nice to work with, though, as it is a medium thick mud that is not too chalky and not too sticky. It does require a few drops of water here and there or it dries out and loads up. 

Cutting speed is slower than nearly every other Awase-do I own. I find this particularly true on stainless core steel. Cladding is another story, it cuts that just fine. So this one is a polisher not a workhorse. Again, maker sure you have gotten everything you can out of the previous stone if you want the best from Hideriyama.

The edge is a bit odd in that it has aggressive bite but very little bite, if that makes sense. 

Feedback is wonderful, to me, and is a mix of chalky and creamy depending on what you do with the mud and if you make any. It is glassy to the touch, with your fingers but lay an knife edge on it and it has a nice crisp grip too it. That is something that I find missing on a lot of stones in this abrasive range. 

So, it is a comfortable stone to use and leaves a better than average edge on carbon but an okay edge on stainless. It leaves a better cosmetic finish than it does and edge, though there is nothing wrong with the edge. Again, this is just my opinion. I think as an all around stone I prefer my Oouchi but not for wide bevels and not in terms of feedback. 

Hope that helps some.

PS: I forgot to mention that it is not a hard stone but not the softest either. I would say it is harder than both Oouchi and Takashima stones that I have tried. It is still in the lvl 2.5 range, though so not hugely different.


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## brooksie967 (Aug 1, 2017)

Trying to provide a baseline for a stone from a large mine is nearly impossible. Too many layers to do this.... 

I've had a few examples of hideriyama as well as aoto and hakka etc. My favorite hideriyama was a 4lb square slab of white suita with gorgeous pink renge that slurried like bubblegum. Mud monster? Absolutely. Contrast? Quality! Toothy? Yup! Amazing slimy smoothness. 

I've played with other hideriyama that are nothing like this. They were tomae, harder, slower, not quite as fine.

Hideriyama does produce typically softer stones; I've never had one that I'd finish a razor on though I did test and the suits made smooth edges....

I'm rambling but my point on all of these threads is that typicality stones are unique and that we can't throw stereotypes at them.

I think the only exceptions I would say are tsushima.... A tsushima is a... Is a... You get my point.


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## K813zra (Aug 1, 2017)

I still think the "no two stones are even close to being alike" thing is overrated. Sure they differ but it is not like comparing an Atoma 140 to a Kitayama 8000...


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## Marcelo Amaral (Aug 1, 2017)

Do you still have that hideriyama, Brooksie?


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## TheCaptain (Aug 1, 2017)

mqphoto said:


> I'm thinking about buying a hideriyama stone and I'm wondering over if any here have some experience of what kind of edge it leaves? I know well that every tone is unique in it's way but overall?
> 
> Thank you for your help



Where are you located? I'm in the Chicago area and am totally up for having an in-person stone session some time. You could try out 4 types of Aoto, 2 Hakkas (ok - one is a sliver), and a Hideriyama side by side to get a feel for the differences.

I also second no two stones are the same. The difference in feel/muddieness in my Aoto's was a bit surprising - but I now know there can be quite a range. Still, they are all in the same ballpark.


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## TheCaptain (Aug 1, 2017)

Marcelo Amaral said:


> Do you still have that hideriyama, Brooksie?



Ditto - and can you share where you found it?


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## K813zra (Aug 1, 2017)

TheCaptain said:


> Where are you located? I'm in the Chicago area and am totally up for having an in-person stone session some time. You could try out 4 types of Aoto, 2 Hakkas (ok - one is a sliver), and a Hideriyama side by side to get a feel for the differences.
> 
> I also second no two stones are the same. The difference in feel/muddieness in my Aoto's was a bit surprising - but I now know there can be quite a range. Still, they are all in the same ballpark.



You know, that is a good way to put it and I agree. A lot of stones are really in the same ballpark even if they have slight nuances. I think the differences are often exaggerated, though. That or I have been very lucky when it comes to consistency in stones.


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## mqphoto (Aug 2, 2017)

Thank you for the suggestion but unfortunately I live in Sweden =(. But I did buy one anyway =)


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## brooksie967 (Aug 2, 2017)

I don't buy might get it back.
I got it from Takeda way back!

People seem to forget about 48 layers of tomae, 8 of suita. If one seller gets a lot of stones from one location, sure they'll be very very similar.


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## K813zra (Aug 2, 2017)

brooksie967 said:


> I don't buy might get it back.
> I got it from Takeda way back!
> 
> People seem to forget about 48 layers of tomae, 8 of suita. If one seller gets a lot of stones from one location, sure they'll be very very similar.



I guess that is a fair point that I didn't think about. I do typically buy my stones from one person. Not always, but typically. It makes sense that it would have something to do with it.


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