# Stone ~300/400 grit



## Ruso (Sep 5, 2014)

I am looking to get a 300-400grit stone and after some thinking I will most likely order one from Japan because of shipping/duty reasons. Even though JNS or JKI offerings look very appealing. 
After looking around I am in between Shapton pro 320 and Sigma Ceramic 400. Any first hand experience with either or; or both?

Thanks,


----------



## masibu (Sep 6, 2014)

I have a sigma 400.. It's a fairly muddy stone and was caught off guard with the dishing when I first started using it. I don't really use it much-- I have diamond plates and a beston 500 that sees more use for anything coarse. I recently acquired a shapton 220 grit (not sure how different the 320 would be in use) which feels a bit harder and it's quite aggressive. It does start to mud up pretty quickly though so I guess a bit of dishing is bound to occur.


----------



## daveb (Sep 6, 2014)

Nothing to offer on Sigma or Sharpton but. The 300 S&G from Maxim is my favorite coarse stone. I have, when sharpening someone elses's knife, started and stopped there and it is a quite servicable edge. I know it must wear but not seeing much.


----------



## Dardeau (Sep 6, 2014)

I used Dave's when he graciously loaned it to me and it was very good. I would have bought one if they had not been sold out at the time. I got another S&G 300 grit stone, the Suehiro dual density, which I like about as much.


----------



## psfred (Sep 7, 2014)

I use a King Deluxe 300 grit from Stu (toolsfromJapan.com I think) that works very well. Low wear, cuts fast, leaves a good scratch pattern easily removed. He has since recommended other stones, and a Gesshin 400 is probably equivalent. Haven't tried any others, so can't suggest anything else other than stay away from the Naniwa Super Stone 220 -- wears fast, makes mud like crazy, and doesn't cut much faster than my King deluxe 300.

Lots of choices out there, but what made my mind up was the low wear rate. I sharpen woodworking tools, and for those an absolutely flat stone is a requirement, as the edge must end up dead square. Fast wearing stones are a real headache no matter how fast they cut. 

Peter


----------



## osakajoe (Sep 7, 2014)

I use the sigma 400 a lot but it's more of my bridging stone from a low 110-240 grit stone to a medium grit. It works well there. But as said above if you plan on using it as your main low grit work horse it will dish and get muddy.


----------



## Ruso (Sep 8, 2014)

Thanks all. Looks like sigma is out. 
I am kinda contemplating the JNS 300 now once again. It's all your fault, daveb  I just need to add something else from JNS to get the free shipping.:scratchhead:


----------



## masibu (Sep 8, 2014)

I've been trying a few different approaches lately for coarse work and I find the coarse norton india stone has been doing alright. I think you might have even recommended it to me a few months ago. I found that it stopped cutting as effectively pretty quickly but I have been trying out using some of my other coarse stones as a kind of nagura. 

I was hoping by doing that I would have the benefit of the hard surface of the oil stone that requires little flattening but sharpening using primarily the grit of the stone I rubbed it with. It seems to be working reasonably well but I haven't tried it extensively enough yet to make solid claims. I have a 60 grit stone which feels awful to sharpen on but the sandy slurry it leaves on the norton feels like it's certainly doing something to whatever it is I'm fixing. I have also tried using a pink brick on it which seems to have some benefit also. If you still have that norton and any other coarse stones laying around it might interest you to rub them together and see how it goes..


----------



## Ruso (Sep 8, 2014)

masibu said:


> I've been trying a few different approaches lately for coarse work and I find the coarse norton india stone has been doing alright. I think you might have even recommended it to me a few months ago. I found that it stopped cutting as effectively pretty quickly but I have been trying out using some of my other coarse stones as a kind of nagura.
> 
> I was hoping by doing that I would have the benefit of the hard surface of the oil stone that requires little flattening but sharpening using primarily the grit of the stone I rubbed it with. It seems to be working reasonably well but I haven't tried it extensively enough yet to make solid claims. I have a 60 grit stone which feels awful to sharpen on but the sandy slurry it leaves on the norton feels like it's certainly doing something to whatever it is I'm fixing. I have also tried using a pink brick on it which seems to have some benefit also. If you still have that norton and any other coarse stones laying around it might interest you to rub them together and see how it goes..



Thanks for the input.
Yes indeed, I recommended Norton India Coarse and I still do. BTW when it stops cutting (its loaded) just pop it up in to the dishwasher and it will clear it. The old method of cleaning the oilstones is to boil it. Just make sure its wrapped in cloth so it does not touch the surface of the pan/pot.

However, Norton India Coarse is quite a low grit, I believe around 180. Sometimes, I just do not feel like going to 220 or lower grit but the knife would benefit of sub 1000 work. So I was thinking something in range of 400 would be perfect to fill this gap.


----------



## Benuser (Sep 8, 2014)

I use a Chosera 400 after carborundum or coarse automotive sandpaper on linen. I must add the Choseras are relatively affordable in Europe.


----------



## daveb (Sep 8, 2014)

Ruso said:


> I just need to add something else from JNS to get the free shipping.:scratchhead:



Been there, done that - more than once. :angel2:


----------



## Benuser (Sep 8, 2014)

Sorry guys, just overlooked that crucial aspect.


----------



## masibu (Sep 8, 2014)

Ruso said:


> Thanks for the input.
> Yes indeed, I recommended Norton India Coarse and I still do. BTW when it stops cutting (its loaded) just pop it up in to the dishwasher and it will clear it. The old method of cleaning the oilstones is to boil it. Just make sure its wrapped in cloth so it does not touch the surface of the pan/pot.
> 
> However, Norton India Coarse is quite a low grit, I believe around 180. Sometimes, I just do not feel like going to 220 or lower grit but the knife would benefit of sub 1000 work. So I was thinking something in range of 400 would be perfect to fill this gap.



Yeah I've tried boiling it and popping it in the dishwasher. I have found that scuffing it up either with a diamond plate, the concrete outside my house or using nagura methods are generally more convenient and faster. 

Whilst not a 300 or 400 grit stone, I do feel that my beston 500 does a reasonable job. Its pretty hard, doesn't dish a lot and the feedback is pretty good to me. Great for sharpening up trashed knives and easily followed up with a 1k.


----------



## Ruso (Sep 10, 2014)

I ended up ordering Shapton Pro 320. $45USD shipped, hard to beat.

Thanks all for helping.


----------



## Matus (Sep 10, 2014)

The JNS300 is fast, hard, slow dishing and not thirsty. Worth the additional tax IMO. Gesshin 400 is also very fast, but dishes faster than the JNS300 and is more muddy (you will get plenty of much actually). I like it a lot too (my main coarse stone now and I will use the JNS300 once the Gesshin 400 will be all used).


----------



## Soccerman (Sep 11, 2014)

I think you need to consider how fast the stone wear, because around this grit, most stones are fast to wear. you should consider how fast it cuts as well. 

My chosera 400 is a very good one, cut fast and low wear compared to shapton





Ruso said:


> I am looking to get a 300-400grit stone and after some thinking I will most likely order one from Japan because of shipping/duty reasons. Even though JNS or JKI offerings look very appealing.
> After looking around I am in between Shapton pro 320 and Sigma Ceramic 400. Any first hand experience with either or; or both?
> 
> Thanks,


----------



## Ruso (Sep 11, 2014)

> My chosera 400 is a very good one, cut fast and low wear compared to shapton



Honestly, its hard to believe that chosera 400 cut faster then shapton pro 320. I have chosera 800 and it feels more of 1000+grit speed and finish wise. 
It definitely can wear slower, since the 800 I have is very wear resistant. 

Anyways I already made a purchase  I will see how it goes. Based on what I read it's a decent stone the least.


----------



## Keith Sinclair (Sep 11, 2014)

I have the green Chosera 400. Don't use coarse stones very much, I do use the Chosera when I want to do some thinning on a quality blade it seems more ware resistant than other low grit stones I have used. Just as you said Ruso seems like a higher grit. 

The Shapton Pro's are Splash & Go. Use the 2K as a touch up stone. With the exception of a couple naturals from JNS ,been buying my stones from Jon like the Gesshin soakers a lot. Now I just got a couple splash & goes a 600 and a 1200. Haven't used them yet, nice large wide stones. I will give my impressions when start using them. Anyone else use Jon's splash & Goes?


----------

