# sigma power 120



## chinacats (Jan 10, 2017)

I just received this stone from Stu (Tools From Japan) and thought I'd make mention of it here. This stone cuts FAST! It even comes with a warning about how much damage it can do...it rips steel away! Doesn't really dish so much but will glaze...in fact it comes with a few bottles of Silicon Carbide (60 and 120 grit) just for cleaning the stone...basically it takes a small bit of maintenance but seems well worth it as long as you keep the stone from glazing...anyway, with shipping from Japan I believe I paid right at $20...and Stu got it to me in about three weeks (pretty remarkable as it was during the Christmas rush and he's notoriously slow to ship). For those who do any significant thinning or just want to knock it out quick this may be something you'd enjoy. I don't believe diamonds could outperform this stone, especially for the cost. FWIW, I will be following this with either a 220 pink brick or 320 cerax depending on which cleans up the scratches better and really wouldn't want to go straight to a 1k'ish from here without at least another stone or some sandpaper to ease the scratching.

Stone not recommended for faint of heart or new sharpeners because it removes so much metal so fast.:viking:


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## foody518 (Jan 10, 2017)

Nice! Always glad to read and learn more about the Sigma Power stones. Super nice price too. What level of speed difference exists between this 120 and something like a 220 pink brick?


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## malexthekid (Jan 10, 2017)

Thanks for the review... I recieved a japan made cleaver for christmas the feels great but is just a tad thick so was thinking of doing some thinning but didnt want to waste my pink brick on it. And spend $100AUD+ on an atoma. So this might do the trick.


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## labor of love (Jan 11, 2017)

How thirsty is it?


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## chinacats (Jan 11, 2017)

If suggest that it's much quicker than the 220 pink brick. It's also quite a bit more thirsty...and again will load like crazy if you don't follow the directions for cleaning with the SC.


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## Marek07 (Jan 11, 2017)

Thanks for the write-up chinacats. Sounds too useful to ignore and too cheap to resist. I want one. I even need one. Damn! I bought one.
Veni, legi, emi.


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## Ruso (Jan 11, 2017)

Interesting, thanks for sharing!


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## Dave Martell (Jan 12, 2017)

I'm always on the lookout for fast cutting yet slow wearing extra coarse stones....because..... they don't exist. LOL 

So yeah I need to try this one. Thanks for the tip Jim!


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## aboynamedsuita (Jan 12, 2017)

Lee Valley sells these stones but for some reason they only carry as low as 240 . Too bad because at that price it'd be nice to have.


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## Marek07 (Jan 13, 2017)

aboynamedsuita said:


> Lee Valley sells these stones but for some reason they only carry as low as 240 . Too bad because at that price it'd be nice to have.


CAD$29 delivered to your door. Ain't gonna break the bank.


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## osakajoe (Jan 13, 2017)

I use the sigma 120 all the time. Same thoughts. Once you get a few millimeters into the stone it really works well. Just needs a lap here and there. FYI you got a good deal on price. Stu hadn't changed his prices in 5 years. His prices should have been adjusted now after New Years.


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## foody518 (Jan 13, 2017)

Even now, it's just under $20 (with current USD -> JPY conversion) before shipping. With the cheapest shipping options it's still under $30

What are the dimensions? Stu's got 200x50x25mm for the normal sized one - is the width a mistype?


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## chinacats (Jan 13, 2017)

Sounds about right but I can check it when I get home. My suggestion is that it's plenty large...I tend to work at angles and in addition, it removes steel so fast that is nice to not cause random unwanted scratching. I do believe there may be a larger size but it is fairly expensive in comparison.


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## Dave Martell (Jan 13, 2017)

aboynamedsuita said:


> Lee Valley sells these stones but for some reason they only carry as low as 240 . Too bad because at that price it'd be nice to have.






Their Sigmas are Select II which don't go down below 240x. 




I believe the one we're talking about here is called C#120 
&#12471;&#12464;&#12510;&#12497;&#12527;&#12540; &#12475;&#12521;&#12511;&#12483;&#12463;&#33618;&#30757;&#30707;

The larger version is C#120 &#29305;&#22823; (Extra Large)
&#12471;&#12464;&#12510;&#12497;&#12527;&#12540;&#12288;&#12475;&#12521;&#12511;&#12483;&#12463;&#33618;&#30757;&#30707;


_*Note - this is a black carborundum stone - not green carbide (GC)_


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## labor of love (Jan 13, 2017)

Sigma power 240 is a good stone...I wore mine down to about 6mm and want to order another one. As long as you soak it and work up a little mud it doesn't get very thirsty(comparatively).


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## Dave Martell (Jan 13, 2017)

labor of love said:


> Sigma power 240 is a good stone...I wore mine down to about 6mm and want to order another one. As long as you soak it and work up a little mud it doesn't get very thirsty(comparatively).




Is that the GC#240 or the Select II GC #240?


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## labor of love (Jan 13, 2017)

Dave Martell said:


> Is that the GC#240 or the Select II GC #240?



Select. The blue one.


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## labor of love (Jan 13, 2017)

Double post.


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## osakajoe (Jan 13, 2017)

Sigma had more than one line. The gc is part of their ceramic called line for chisels and carpentry tools. Has soft and hard stones. The select is in the knife series for powder steel use. However they look the same just the gc is not as wide. Almost like a smaller version f it 

The 120 is technically called oribest (green box).


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## Dave Martell (Jan 13, 2017)

Thanks guys!


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## aboynamedsuita (Jan 21, 2017)

Well I pulled the trigger last week I only went for the smaller size but hope to not really need to use it. I plan to do a progression on my moritaka test knife starting at 120 up to >10k and document with microscope pics eventually


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## panda (Jan 21, 2017)

i hated my sigma 240, it was fast as f*** but was worse feeling than DMT! gave it away to labor and he somehow used up the entire stone.


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## aboynamedsuita (Feb 7, 2017)

Got my stone today, I have to re lacquer one of my Choseras so once that is taken care of I want to do an entire synthetic progression then jnats


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## rick alen (Feb 12, 2017)

A little OT but, is laquering something you typically do with splash'n'goes?


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## aboynamedsuita (Feb 12, 2017)

rick alen said:


> A little OT but, is laquering something you typically do with splash'n'goes?



Doing the sides and bottom of the magnesia bonded choseras seems to prevent issues. There are some posts about it somewhere. I tried doing the nagura too and it took like 5 layers before I found notice as it kept absorbing it. I don't plan to do the sigma stone


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## leansmancave (Mar 5, 2017)

I just pulled the trigger on the larger sized one. If this is a only-once-in-a-lifetime purchase then why not. I opted for the wider working surface and I also intend to use it for flattening other coarse stones. 

I have a question for those who have used it for a while. How do you exactly lap the Sigma Power #120 with Silicon Carbide?

Thank you.


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## chinacats (Mar 5, 2017)

Just pour some of the sic onto a flat surface (glass, tile, etc) give it a light spray of water and then rub the stone until the gray turns back to black. Seems glassmakers use varying gross if it so replacement should be easy and inexpensive.


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