# What are Shapton glass stones especially good for?



## dafox (Aug 24, 2020)

I posted this in another thread, thought if move the conversation here.

"I've been using Shapton glass on my R2 and SRS15 knives but have not been happy with the edge for tomatoes and peppers, just the other day I used the Chosera 3000 on them and liked it better. I have been using the SG stones as that's what I heard the Takamura brothers use and because I thought they would be superior with more highly alloyed steel, but besides not liking the SG 4000 grit edge on vegy skins I also dont like how much they load up. The Choseras on the other hand dont load up and feel so much nicer to use", and i like the edge better.

What are Shapton glass stones especially good for?


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## nakiriknaifuwaifu (Aug 24, 2020)

They dish very little and look cool. Convenient, but I like the feel and performance of softer stones. Also, I like the coarser ones for PM and SS since they're a bit tougher to sharpen for me. I haven't used anything above the 2k though.


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## Ruso (Aug 24, 2020)

Who knows. I have similar experience with couple SG I tried. I guess some people like how thin they are for easy storage and transportation. I see them as a good on a go kit option.
They also suppose to be good stones for high alloyed steel (R2 and SRS15 are not it), but I yet to test this. However, to be honest, if I want fast, splash and go, thin and with bad feedback stones for wear resistan steels I better invest in Venev diamonds.


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## labor of love (Aug 24, 2020)

Meh. I like shapton glass 4K more than chosera 3k. But I haven’t sharpened r2 with either. Either way Takamura seems to really like 5-6k edge more anyway.


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## dafox (Aug 24, 2020)

labor of love said:


> Meh. I like shapton glass 4K more than chosera 3k. But I haven’t sharpened r2 with either. Either way Takamura seems to really like 5-6k edge more anyway.


Mmm, I need to give that a try.


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## labor of love (Aug 24, 2020)

If you’re specifically interested in r2 taka I loved it the most off the gesh 6k or arashiyama stone.
Chosera 3k has world famous “good feels” but I dunno I didn’t really dig it.


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## Rangen (Aug 24, 2020)

Before this forum reformed my knife collection, I found the glass stones incredibly useful, over many years, for getting a good edge on pretty much any basic steel. Euro knives, things like ATS-34, they performed beautifully, cut with a comfortable speed, dished slowly, provided great feedback. Can't say enough good about them. Good for Hitachi white steels, too.

Lately I haven't touched them. My blue steel and R2 steel knives haven't been on them. They might do great, yes, but I'm really enjoying the Venev-Tsushima-Suita-Asagi sequence for these knives, and have not experimented.


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## Rangen (Aug 24, 2020)

For tomatoes and peppers, you have two choices: a toothy edge, not over 2000 grit, spending time on the stone or strops to get every last bit off burr off of there, or a seriously scary edge, which will not last long, but is great fun to use while it does, and will devolve to something good anyway. I've opted for the latter. I like sharpening.

I've been pretty stunned to learn just how deep the "getting rid of the burr" rabbit hole goes. It takes a lot of time on the stone to really get there.


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## Ruso (Aug 24, 2020)

Rangen said:


> Before this forum reformed my knife collection, I found the glass stones incredibly useful, over many years, for getting a good edge on pretty much any basic steel. Euro knives, things like ATS-34, they performed beautifully, cut with a comfortable speed, dished slowly, provided great feedback. Can't say enough good about them. Good for Hitachi white steels, too.
> 
> Lately I haven't touched them. My blue steel and R2 steel knives haven't been on them. They might do great, yes, but I'm really enjoying the Venev-Tsushima-Suita-Asagi sequence for these knives, and have not experimented.


I wonder what other synthetic stones do you compare SG too? They are okay stones in their own right, but in comparison to other stones, especially the soakers, they are just meh.


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## Rangen (Aug 24, 2020)

Ruso said:


> I wonder what other synthetic stones do you compare SG too? They are okay stones in their own right, but in comparison to other stones, especially the soakers, they are just meh.



Not enough, probably. There have been Naniwa and Bester stones, didn't like the feedback. King, dished too quickly. Not much else.


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## dafox (Aug 24, 2020)

labor of love said:


> If you’re specifically interested in r2 taka I loved it the most off the gesh 6k or arashiyama stone.
> Chosera 3k has world famous “good feels” but I dunno I didn’t really dig it.


I'll give the Arashiyama 6k a try.


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## zizirex (Aug 25, 2020)

Chosera 3K is the only one of a kind stone. the only Chosera that is really good and worth it (and probably 800). Other than that, it's just overpriced brick with marketing gimmick. SG overall is better than Chosera, and much worth it for home and professional (cook & chef, not knife fixer.). Not prone to cracking unlike Chosera (even though I never have a problem with it)

I want to try Naniwa Hayabusa and Fuji, I want to see how good is their cutting speed and contrast.


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## labor of love (Aug 25, 2020)

Hayabusa makes for a wonderful wonderful 4K edge and it’s super cheap but it’s clog city.


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## M1k3 (Aug 25, 2020)

In my opinion they are great with simpler steels. Around R2 steel carbide levels, specifically vanadium, they start to slow down. Steels beyond that in carbide levels, they start to really choke.

Advantage to them is they dish slowly and are splash and go. Dry pretty fast. And short/compact (which could be a disadvantage to some).


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## inferno (Aug 25, 2020)

best part imo is that they dry fast. and works fast on almost all steels, at least all common ones. dont seem to dish very fast either.


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## labor of love (Aug 25, 2020)

Someone talk me into getting a sigma power select 6k or SG 6k


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## M1k3 (Aug 25, 2020)

labor of love said:


> Someone talk me into getting a sigma power select 6k or SG 6k


Why not both?


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## big D (Aug 25, 2020)

labor of love said:


> Someone talk me into getting a sigma power select 6k or SG 6k


MTC has their sale so you save even more by getting both and FREE SHIPPING!
Did I do Good?
D.


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## labor of love (Aug 25, 2020)

big D said:


> MTC has their sale so you save even more by getting both and FREE SHIPPING!
> Did I do Good?
> D.


Yeah man, that’s why I’m asking, Lol.
Last week I received sigma Select 400 and 1k...quite happy with both. It’s a really great sale and I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about it/taking advantage of it.


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## big D (Aug 25, 2020)

labor of love said:


> Yeah man, that’s why I’m asking, Lol.
> Last week I received sigma Select 400 and 1k...quite happy with both. It’s a really great sale and I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about it/taking advantage of it.


You have/used shaptons and now got these, base your choice off of which you like better. I would go with the sigma simply because I want to try a different line. Just remember you have to have 125 in the cart before discount to get free ship.
The blurb claims it is similar to the Aryishama but faster for whatever that is worth.
D..


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## labor of love (Aug 25, 2020)

Yep.


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## captaincaed (Aug 25, 2020)

I think they're AlOx, so higher alloy steels might respond better to diamond or SiC.


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## Benuser (Aug 25, 2020)

zizirex said:


> Chosera 3K is the only one of a kind stone. the only Chosera that is really good and worth it (and probably 800). Other than that, it's just overpriced brick with marketing gimmick.


Those sweeping statements don't make much sense IMHO, as the different stones within both the Chosera and Naniwa Pro series have a very different character. I wonder whether you've been able to try all of them for some time and can substantiate your judgement.


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## Qapla' (Aug 25, 2020)

zizirex said:


> I want to try Naniwa Hayabusa and Fuji, I want to see how good is their cutting speed and contrast.


I like my Naniwa Fuji 8000 so far, though I haven't built much skill with it yet. So far I've only ever used it on a white-1 gyuto and on single-bevel knives (white- and blue-steels), so I have no idea how it performs on PM-steels.

What I currently know:
* It is not a magnesia stone like the Chosera/Pro/Gouken-Arata stones are. (Sadly, I've forgotten the specifics about the type of stone it is.)
* It is splash-and-go, and dries quite quickly.
* Out of the box, it has a strong chemical smell.
* It's a hard stone. Usable both as is and with diamond-plate-generated slurry. Don't expect to "play in the mud" with it much at all, though.
* Seems to me to be very much "bright-polisher" and not "kasumi-contraster" on basic-carbon-steel awase single-bevel knives. (No idea how it'd perform on a awase knife of ginsan or VG-10 or the like, or how useful it is on honyaki's.)
* I like it for "touch-ups" on said white-steel gyuto. Not sure how to measure or compare its cutting-speed though, as I do not at this time have any comparable extra-fine-grit stones.

Hopefully in the future I can give more informative answers.


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## labor of love (Aug 25, 2020)

I’ve only used 400 800 and 3k choseras. Still own the 800. I could live without them. But I don’t mind having the 400 and 800 laying around.


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## esoo (Aug 25, 2020)

I bought the SG 6K to replace the SP 5K which had no feedback. Other reason I bought it was that I didn't have a stone holder, so the Glass fits nicely on top of my SP1K box. Nice stone that put good edges on blades as far as I was concerned.

Then my co-worker lent me a Rika. I now have a Rika and stone-holder. The SG6K puts a fine edge on the blade, but I just prefer the Rika edge.


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## adam92 (Aug 25, 2020)

I brought the SG 220,500,1k,4k around one month ago, work perfectly with my r2 takamura, AS, Blue 1 & SK4.

SG work better with my R2, compare with my old cerax 1k. 

For Arashiyama 6k, it didn't work well, I don't like it, prefer SG4k. 

for single bevel knives, cerax 1k & SG1k similar speed, but I still prefer 1k, water hold on the surface better than cerax, I'll have to refresh the surface quite often, even I soaking long time before I used, which is really annoying to me.

Overall, SG all work well for me, didn't regret at all.
Hope it help.


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## Wander Vanhoucke (Aug 25, 2020)

I sharpen a lot of knives for restaurants and I have the glass 500. What I like about it is that it's a splash and go stone, so no waiting around. Also it's fast, like really fast.


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## adam92 (Aug 25, 2020)

Wander Vanhoucke said:


> I sharpen a lot of knives for restaurants and I have the glass 500. What I like about it is that it's a splash and go stone, so no waiting around. Also it's fast, like really fast.


That's true, i love the 500 the most.


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## Robert Lavacca (Aug 25, 2020)

labor of love said:


> Yeah man, that’s why I’m asking, Lol.
> Last week I received sigma Select 400 and 1k...quite happy with both. It’s a really great sale and I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about it/taking advantage of it.


I’ve had the sigma 400 in my cart from MTC and another coarse gessh in my cart at JKI for a few weeks. I’m like that GIF of the really heavy kid trying to decide between the two different snacks in his hands. I think i’m going to go with the sigma 400. Seems like a great stone. I feel like I have so many gesshin stones already but they’re usually my first choice. Been wanting to try that 320 from Jon since January.


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## inferno (Aug 25, 2020)

labor of love said:


> Someone talk me into getting a sigma power select 6k or SG 6k



the glass 6k is about as nice as it gets for a carbon finisher imo. i have the gray 6k and its going nowhere. ever.


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## kayman67 (Aug 25, 2020)

SG are synthetics that require surface maintenance. Depending on grit and various factors, more or less. This is especially known and taken care of by razor sharpeners. At first, it doesn't really seem that necessary, but it makes a difference and kinda stacks if you don't.
Shapton did try to make various tools for maintenance, but they are too expensive for most people to even consider them. From razor realm, the most popular plate is DMT 325. Between us, not the easiest plate to use with SG. I like various dressing stones better. Shapton has one as well.

There are other things to consider, but this is number one.


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## inferno (Aug 25, 2020)

i dress/clean all my glass with a "glass stone 7" 500 grit. or a rust eraser.
or simply rub them against each other. its seems to work perfectly well. 

i recently got the naniwa pro nagura to try out. but i have not tried it yet.


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## labor of love (Aug 25, 2020)

Robert Lavacca said:


> I’ve had the sigma 400 in my cart from MTC and another coarse gessh in my cart at JKI for a few weeks. I’m like that GIF of the really heavy kid trying to decide between the two different snacks in his hands. I think i’m going to go with the sigma 400. Seems like a great stone. I feel like I have so many gesshin stones already but they’re usually my first choice. Been wanting to try that 320 from Jon since January.


I like it, but I’ve only used it once since I got it.


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## zizirex (Aug 25, 2020)

Benuser said:


> Those sweeping statements don't make much sense IMHO, as the different stones within both the Chosera and Naniwa Pro series have a very different character. I wonder whether you've been able to try all of them for some time and can substantiate your judgement.


I might be overstated, I have tried almost every line except the 5k and 2K. I kinda regret bought the 400 and I tried 1K is not that good, SG500 and SG1K is way better in term of cutting feel, feedback and speed(1K speed not big different though)


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## inferno (Aug 25, 2020)

i think the naniwa pro 2k is very good. finishes at 3k and thats kinda all you want or need for most SS blades. 

i also didn't like the 1k naniwa pro. its too messy and its not really fast. gave it to my brother.
400 haven't tried. i feel i got my bases covered here though. i dont really know what i would do with the 400. i have diamonds and 220ies and now 120 shaptons to get **** done. and then i might need to remove those scratches before a 1k. i rolled the dice on the bester/imanishi 400 though. really liking the imanishi 4k (kit 4k most like the same stone).


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## Matus (Aug 25, 2020)

Travel


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## Up_dog128 (Aug 31, 2020)

Dafox, do you have the SG hr or hc series? I've got the hr (500,2k,4k) and I haven't experienced the loading problem. They get covered in tons of dark swarf as they cut so fast, but I haven't really experienced them glazing up or slowin down. The 500 is great for light thinning and resetting bevels. They're great for sharpening at the farmers market, cuz I only need a couple stones and I can sharpen any steel that I'll encounter, quickly, and without a bunch of messy mud. Another strength is that I can cut precise bevels without having to flatten too often, which is great for woodworking tools. All that said, I've never put powdered steel on the higher grit stones, so I can't really speak to your specific situation. The 500 handled Sg2 just fine.


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## dafox (Aug 31, 2020)

Up_dog128 said:


> Dafox, do you have the SG hr or hc series? I've got the hr (500,2k,4k) and I haven't experienced the loading problem. They get covered in tons of dark swarf as they cut so fast, but I haven't really experienced them glazing up or slowin down. The 500 is great for light thinning and resetting bevels. They're great for sharpening at the farmers market, cuz I only need a couple stones and I can sharpen any steel that I'll encounter, quickly, and without a bunch of messy mud. Another strength is that I can cut precise bevels without having to flatten too often, which is great for woodworking tools. All that said, I've never put powdered steel on the higher grit stones, so I can't really speak to your specific situation. The 500 handled Sg2 just fine.


Thanks, I've got the HR series.


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## Rangen (Aug 31, 2020)

I'm going to underline the Shapton SG affection I expressed earlier in this thread, because, while I have mostly started using a JNat sequence once the under-1000 grit issues are worked out, I decided to take a newly-acquired TF Nashiji Gyuto through a Shapton sequence.

Started with the 500, then 1000, then 2000, then the 6000. Did some deburring on each, except the 1000, only because I forgot. At this point, I had a startlingly sharp, but slightly dirty edge. Some deburring on the 16000 (an amazing deburring stone, short, gentle edge-leading strokes, at a slightly elevated angle, anywhere you feel resistance, until it smooths out), and I had an astonishingly good edge. A big part of that was TF; I'm starting to think that my knife drawer will be TFs and specialty knives before too long. But the Shaptons did their part, admirably.


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## 29palms (Sep 10, 2020)

I use SG 1k & 4k for quick touchups and they dry quickly.


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