# What's the easiest stone to get a kasumi finish with?



## Dave Martell

*King 800x*


OK it's not the same kasumi finish you get from using natural stones, I get that, but it's all that's needed to get a clean even appearance on most knives. Take for instance - Takeda, Moritaka, etc. Village blacksmith type knives look great with a simple (and quick) King 800x finish. 

I use the King 800x (also) for laying down a base before I move onto natural stones. It greatly speeds up the process to show contrast between hagane and jigane. 

This is one of my most used stones and is without question one that I won't ever be without.


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## gic

Does the 800 work differently than the more common 1000??


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## Dave Martell

gic said:


> Does the 800 work differently than the more common 1000??




100% YES (in caps)


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## Framingchisel

+1 King 800 on all my Moritakas, Kochi, Anyru, etc a darker, less bead blast finish, The heavy mud rolls into the hollow ground areas and blends them in well.


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## ecchef

Moritaka?

Dave...do you need an 'intervention'? :eyebrow:


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## ecchef




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## Dave Martell

ecchef said:


> Moritaka?
> 
> Dave...do you need an 'intervention'? :eyebrow:




Hahahahahahaha


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## Johnny.B.Good

Dave, sorry I can't pick this up from you, but just to be sure, is this the stone you recommend?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005OL3N/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## Dave Martell

Yes sir that's the one.


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## Johnny.B.Good

Thank you for the instant response!

Finally getting serious about learning to freehand sharpen, and figured I should add this one to my arsenal since you speak highly of it and it's so inexpensive.


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## Saya

I am getting great results finishing with fingerstones after ohira suita, and am reading up now to find that last extra bit of hazy polish like on a new shig... 
I have a question about this post though: even if you get the nice kasumi contrast on the king 800, do the next stones in the progression not destroy that finish? or do you stop at 800?
I use mostly nats, and some give haze more than others, who are more prone to polish; it is the last ohira suita and then the fingerstones that really evens out the finish for me.


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## Dave Martell

I find that yes the King 800x finish will be changed but not removed by most naturals. I always go through the King 800x pre-natural stones. 

Try also using cork 'n mud as a last step to making things even out smoothly.


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## Saya

Thanks, I'll try the cork trick also. 
In terms of synthetics, JNS 300 and 800 are also amazing for kasumi, probably because they also produce a lot of slurry


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## Matus

I have just seen this thread brought back to life. I am wondering though how the King 800 would compare to JNS 800 in terms of finish.

Dave, if I may ask - what stones do you use after the King 800?


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## daveb

I've both the King and JNS. My experience is that King does kasumi easier (but wears like a bastard) while the JNS does it better. More even, finish stays better through upper grits, considerably less wear. JNS is also more versatile as a sharpener, a good follower to a more coarse stone. The King dishes too fast (in my experience) to have much utility other than for the kasumi.

JKI Aoto merits a place in this discussion. Nice, even, easy, finish. Does not wear too quickly. But kasumi finish polishes out quickly with higher grit stones. I like the misty kasumi finish and often quit at this point.


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## LifeByA1000Cuts

This kind of overlaps into my recent question about tall bevel blade roads  How much work was it to get the blade road on the moritaka even enough to take that finish, and how did the performance improve? 

Also, will the procedure add an inch to non-Moritaka blades too?


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## daveb

LifeByA1000Cuts said:


> This kind of overlaps into my recent question about tall bevel blade roads  How much work was it to get the blade road on the moritaka even enough to take that finish, and how did the performance improve?



Finish on a Moritaka? The epitome of "polishing a turd"? 



(Sorry - could not not swing on that pitch)


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## Saya

Havent tried the King
The JNS800 is very thirsty but when properly soaked (30mins) it produces wonderful even finish, with lots of slurry, acts like very soft stone but dishes slowly. cuts fast.

I dont know about moritaka question. But JNS 300, JNS 800, then ikarashi, my own field-found Table Mountain stone and then ohira suita plus a little with fingerstones not only corrected grind on a cheaper nakagoshi yanagi, it left it one of the most beautiful finishes i have 

How does one post photos here?


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## LifeByA1000Cuts

If your Nakagoshi is like mine, you will certainly have plenty of opportunity to try finishers due to their, I think, rather rust-prone Jigane. Love them for their, as far as I can judge, 100% staple, no frills, classic design though. Don't get the usuba though unless you want to understand all the entry level usuba problems (and still end up with a rather usable knife).


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## Saya

I bought it to experiment on with different stones and techniques, new handles etc. Grown very fond of it. 

It just got chipped tonight, through total silliness. I am aghast, but I guess this is going to give me more opportunity to practice, which is why I got it...

so back to the 300, 800 etc mentioned above. I will try round the spine and choil also, for fun.


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## JGui

Im sorry but what is the "cork" technique?


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## foody518

JGui said:


> Im sorry but what is the "cork" technique?



Use bits of cork as the method by which to spread mud / slurry for polishing the blade. You can use the end of a wine cork or also things like cork board cut into smaller squares


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## LifeByA1000Cuts

Hey, that way you can also use cut-up deburring cork


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## faverodefavero

daveb said:


> Finish on a Moritaka? The epitome of "polishing a turd"?
> 
> 
> 
> (Sorry - could not not swing on that pitch)


Why the hate for Moritaka? At the very least he didn’t say Takeda NAS...


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## faverodefavero

Saya said:


> I am getting great results finishing with fingerstones after ohira suita, and am reading up now to find that last extra bit of hazy polish like on a new shig...
> I have a question about this post though: even if you get the nice kasumi contrast on the king 800, do the next stones in the progression not destroy that finish? or do you stop at 800?
> I use mostly nats, and some give haze more than others, who are more prone to polish; it is the last ohira suita and then the fingerstones that really evens out the finish for me.


Jigane darkness is out of the windows after about 1’500#grit. Anything higher than 2’000#grit synthetic makes the Jigane way to clear and “thin” killing the Kasumi. Ideally a good Kasumi should have the Jigane as dark as possible and a bright semi mirror Hagane. For a knife that is, not for a sword mind you. 

That’s why I recommend going to one or two medium~soft natural stones after 800~1500 grit on synthetic, to keep the Jigane dark. Maybe finish with a fingerstone or two and that’s it. Talking about polishing not sharpening the very microbevel of the knife tough.


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