# Shapton vs Chosera



## slash

Whats your take on these two... the Shapton Ha no kuromaku line. Would like some reviews on these cheers.


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## berko

shapton is faster and harder then chosera. shapton is real splash n go, chosera benefits from soaking and has better feedback.


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## Benuser

Not so sure about the Shapton series that's meant, most of us know the Pro or Glass series. No, don't soak Choseras, wet them, and wait a few minutes. Soaking is unnecessary and leads to serious problems as cracking.
That being said, Chosera users like the great response. The higher grits don't dish a lot, the lower ones are extremely fast.


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## slash

Yea sorry ben... i think they are the Pro's but i may stand to be corrected.


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## Benuser

After some searching, I'm indeed quite sure these are the ones most of us know as the Pro series -- up to 30k...


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## Roger

I don't know about the Shaptons but I really like my set of stones from Naniwa, 800 grit + 3K professional stones, 10K 20mm super stone. It's my first set and I'm very happy with it, very nice to use on all of my knifes, stainless or not.


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## riba

Got a Shapton GS 6k and 8k, and a chosera 400, 1k (and SS 10k). I enjoy sharpening on the naniwa's more due to the feedback.


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## Benuser

Was that about the Naniwa SuperStone or the Naniwa Chosera??


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## slash

Come on guys! So not many shapton and chosera users. It's not just for me...other users could benefit From this info too.


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## masibu

Chosera stones were actually my first stones. I actually don't dig them that much although I want to go back to them again and give them anothet chance. The 1k is awesome, pretty smooth feeling and feels quick to sharpen. The 3k gets barely any use and I dont really like the feedback of either that or the 5k at times. They seem a bit temperamental, which is why I want to go back and try them out again. I only have coarse shapton pro stones and the feedback is pretty good although they were pretty messy surprisingly. Used them for thinning out some blades and found them to dish a bit although they did cut well. 

Im more of a fan of the sigma power stones- the 1200 in particular although I also use the baseless 6000 grit regularly and d own a 13k. The 400 grit isn't so great and feels pretty soft in composition surprisingly.

I'm not sure the differences between shapton pro and chosera would be enough to warrant the price differences. Chosera stones seem very expensive for what they are and there are other cheaper alternatives that I seem to prefer using. I would like to try the finer shapton pro stones to draw comparisons but I like the sigma powers I have already so I don't know if it would be worth the expense.


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## slash

Is that the sigma select ll ?


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## Ruso

I have one stone of each, but they are different grits so it is a hard comparison. Bottom line, none of them are my favorites. I find chosera to be slow for the grit and Shapton to wear faster then I thought. Feedback is better on chosera.
If I had to buy another one either/or. I would go with shapton pro. Mainly because it is cheaper.


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## slash

Ruso said:


> I have one stone of each, but they are different grits so it is a hard comparison. Bottom line, none of them are my favorites. I find chosera to be slow for the grit and Shapton to wear faster then I thought. Feedback is better on chosera.
> If I had to buy another one either/or. I would go with shapton pro. Mainly because it is cheaper.



What is your favorite at the moment?


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## Benuser

Ruso said:


> I have one stone of each, but they are different grits so it is a hard comparison.


Which Chosera, and which Shapton?


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## labor of love

Ive only owned 1 chosera, and that was the 400. The feedback was wonderful but was way too slow for me. Ive used 600 and 800 grit stones that cut faster. The most popular choseras seem to be the 3k and 5k, and both are very expensive.


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## Benuser

My favourites are the Chosera 800 and 2k. Wasn't impressed that much by the 400 and 5k.


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## masibu

I use the sigma ceramics, not the select 2 version though as it seems to be a softer, harder cutting stone meant for those high wear resistant steels which I don't use


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## slash

Does anyone have experience with the 10,000 chosera?


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## chinacats

slash said:


> Does anyone have experience with the 10,000 chosera?



You sharpening razors? SB's?


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## Benuser

After reading reviews I bought the Naniwa Junpaku 'Snow White' 8k instead. Never had the Chosera 10k, so can't compare myself.


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## slash

chinacats said:


> You sharpening razors? SB's?



No china... just curious,to see if you would benefit from it for yer ole honyaki yanagiba or gyuto.


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## slash

Benuser said:


> After reading reviews I bought the Naniwa Junpaku 'Snow White' 8k instead. Never had the Chosera 10k, so can't compare myself.



Are you enjoying the snow white?


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## Benuser

Absolutely! I was always a bit sceptical about those high grits, I felt some loss of bite after the Chosera 5k. But the Snow-white provides a toothy edge after just a few strokes. Hard but with lot of response.


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## Roger

So far I don't feel like my 10K Super Stone gives me an over polished edge, even if it's very good at giving the mirror finish. It's thumbnail gripping sharp, even on my stainless steel knifes. I really like that stone. If I want more tooth I can always do some light passes on the 3K.


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## Ruso

The price of Chosera 10K is quite prohibitive IMHO. The reviews I've read were very positive, but I cant justify $250+ on a stone. 
I have Naniwa SS 10K and I quite like it. It leaves nice mirrorish polish and leave some bite if not used excessively.


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## Keith Sinclair

slash said:


> Does anyone have experience with the 10,000 chosera?



I bought a 10K used Chosera with a fair size chip in the side, from KCMA years ago. I used it as a polishing stone for a while I soaked it too long (didn't know better) and developed hairline crack patterning across the surface. Did not affect sharpening.

I prefer the feedback of the Gesshin 8K. Also like my Kitayama 8K either great for single bevels.


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## slash

O.k so sticking with choseras... i have read that the 5,000 grit are prone to breaking in half, do you find this to be true?
Why.. is it because they are left in water to long or is it just in their nature to be fragile.


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## masibu

I suppose it could be oversoaking as I did try soaking my 5k stone a while back (not even for a long period, like an hour or so). The cracks could be from drying out too fast or something


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## Roger

Don't soak the Naniwas, splash or spray them.


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## Soccerman

You can't get a good feedback like Choseras from Shapton, I have some shaptons and choseras, I love choseras, the frictional feeling on the choseras is so good.


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