# Eastern Red and Balkan Gray Session; New Stones Pt. 1 (text and pic heavy)



## Smashmasta (Nov 27, 2016)

I got these stones from this site: https://www.griffithshavinggoods.com/collections/razor-honing-stones
Owners name is Matthew and he is responsive and helpful. Some of the best prices and selections for non-Jnat stones Ive come across. Definitely mainly a shaving site, but hes got a number of stones that fall in that sweet spot where knives and razors overlap, and a variety of sizes. He even seems to mine/condition his own stones from his home state of Rhode Island, called an Anchor stone. Dont have it yet, but likely in the future. Please see New Stones Pt. 2 and Pt. 3 for other reviews and final summary. 

*EASTERN RED*
Site says that this stone is likely from Egypt, at least somewhere in the Middle East. It was cheap is cool to have a stone somewhere not many of us investigate as possibly having usable stones. They were apparently previously unavailable in the US. Matthew, or at least who he bought it from, have it graded at 1-3k. I asked what grit system he grades with eg JIS, etc, and he didnt really answer the question directly, but replied as most experienced user would saying that any grit estimation should be taken with a grain of salt. I, and many of us, would also agree (although they can certainly be helpful as a rough guide). Anyways, I would say that the stone is finer than the estimation, more in the 4-6K range. Scratch pattern and edge result was fine, with little to no teeth. 

*Weights and Measures*: 195x70x20mm; 726g; 2.7g/cm3
*Appearance*: Dry - a pleasant red with a purple hue. Pretty cool. Wet - turns a dark brick red. Both wet and dry, the stone had really nice metallic glittery bits that shine brightly under the correct light; pretty cool.
*Smell and Texture*: Smooth texture, again suggesting a finer grit. Its hard stone, probably Lv 4-4.5. Smells just like pottery clay.

*Sharpening Experience:*
- Overall speed was decently fast. Nothing to write home about. Only the super aogami required a manual slurry. Stone gave off little to no slurry, even with the atoma plate, and metal was very finely removed. 
*- SS* (K Sabatier): Resulted in a highly polished edge bevel. Edge was nearly hair shaving sharp. 
*- Shiro* (Yoshikazu Ikeda shiro 3 Nakiri): Similar results with SS, but an even finer edges. Hair shaving sharp, no teeth.
*- Aogami* (Ohishi super aogami petty): Required a slurry. Highly polished bevel edge. No teeth, but not scary sharp. Worst ratio of time spent to result so far, but not like bad, just better stones out there for super aogami.
*- Kataba* (Shimanti aogami 2 deba): I almost didnt try working a single bevel on this stone because its hard and fine; I was worried Id scratch the cladding. But Im glad I tried. You definitely have to force a slurry with a coarse diamond nagura, I used my 140 atoma. But wow, it was crazy easy to get a dense kasumi going. Youve definitely got to be careful not to press too hard as the sumingashi pattern in some parts where I tested pressure became hard to discern, but theyre still there with some buffing. Easier than some jnats Ive used for kasumi finish. Really cool!

*Final Thoughts*: $30 Egyptian stone that works well with everything but aogami (and super at that). All edges were singular in such that they were refined. It polishes bevels to a mirror finish, and was actually awesome to use on a single bevel cladding. Who wouldve thought?

*Pros*: Cheap! Good dimensions. Sparkly! Unique. Definitely usable.

*Cons*: Less than stellar finishes on edges (shiro was the best, as per usual for me), but acceptable enough. Cant really handle abrasion resistant steel very well. 

*TL;DR Buy One - Yes or No?*
Yes - its too cheap to pass up, does offer good results for shirogami, and fine results for SS, and actually delivers a solid kasumi finish. Plus, how many stones from Egypt do you have??
No - youve already got enough stones and dont want to go down a new slippery slope.














*BALKAN MIDDLE GRIT GRAY*
Also previously unavailable in the US, its from the Balkan mountain ranges of Albania - another cool location. This stone is loooong (250mm - maxes out my stone holder). Great size for knives! Also cheap. He estimated 2-5K, and Id agree with him. This stone kicks butt!

*Weights and Measures:* 250x80x20mm; 1003g; 2.5g/cm3
*Appearance:* Honestly a little boring, but you cant win them all. Would probably fall into the colloquial asagi color range. Nothing exciting when wet, either.
*Smell and Texture:* Smells like an old persons carpet next to their wicker chair, haha. Hard stone, with the slightest bit of texture, speaking to its likely lower grit.

*Sharpening Experience:*
- Overall sharpening experience was pleasant. Like the Eastern Red, little slurry was given up, but a bit more so than the Red, especially for the single bevel. With a slurry, there was a slight bit of grit with sharpening, but nothing unpleasant. Things were fast! 
*- SS *(K Sabatier): Wow! No slurry needed, although it auto slurry, but the edge was one of the best edges Ive gotten on such soft steel - it was extremely refined with some high-class teeth. Swerves through paper, making curves no problem. Forced slurry just makes things move faster (although already fast), with similar results. Fantastic!
*- Shiro* (Yoshikazu Ikeda shiro 3 Nakiri): Wow (again)! With no slurry, results were fast ~1-2 minutes) and left a very refined edge. With slurry, things went even faster, and the edge was absurdly sharp. I thought it had some teeth when feel the edge, but it was just so sharp that it was slicing in my callused finger tips and getting wedged in the 1st or so layer of skin, which explains why I was feeling some pull (dont worry, Im totally fine). Hair popping sharp, slides through paper by its own weight. Will actually be a go to stone for shirogami at the least.
*- Aogami* (Ohishi super aogami petty): Needs a forced slurry. But then things get ripping. Formed a bur in 30 seconds. Done in under 2 minutes (short petty, though). Edge was great. Not the best it's been, but better than the Eastern Red. With more go throughs, Im sure I can fine tune things.
*- Kataba* (Shimanti aogami 2 deba): Since I had decent luck with the Eastern read on the cadding, I decided to give Balkan a go. Again, you need to force a slurry, more the better. The stone is hard, and you can get some scratching if theres no slurry lubricating the stones surface. BUT, I was again very surprised by the results. The results (see below) are for the whole knife as things seemed to be moving fast enough to try it all out. Obviously speed was a priority, so streaking is there. But with a more careful run through, youd get a solid kasumi finish brought to you by the Balkans - how cool is that!?

*Final Thoughts:* Ive got 3 more stones to review from Matthew, but this has been the best so far. Its delivered clear results for all steel types, a couple in stellar fashion, and delivers a kasumi finish quickly if youre careful about it. At $36, you have little excuse to not purchase a unique stone that it is huge, and great for knives.

*Pros*: Cheap, and I guess rare (in relation to our jnat-centered knowledge). Wonderful value. Big! Handles all steel types, including the cladding on katabas. 

*Cons*: Slurry required no aogami super. The differences in edges youll get are minor ie, either very refined teeth, or laser-like edge. Kasumi attempts must be started with a dense forced slurry or you can scratch the cladding. But with some practice, I imagine this wont be an issue.

*TL;DR Buy One - Yes or No?*
Heck yes! Almost too good a bargain to believe. And how many Balkan stones do you have??
No - doesnt apply here. Get one.


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## dwalker (Nov 27, 2016)

Well, I'm convinced. Just ordered the Balkan middle grit. I've been looking for something just like this. Thanks for the great review.


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## strumke (Nov 27, 2016)

Of the stones you've tried what would be the recommendation for maintaining the kasumi finish on the blade road for W#2 debas? (I've never sharpened my single bevels yet)


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## Smashmasta (Nov 27, 2016)

strumke said:


> Of the stones you've tried what would be the recommendation for maintaining the kasumi finish on the blade road for W#2 debas? (I've never sharpened my single bevels yet)



I can't say for any shiro katabas, as mine the demonstration was blue, but the cladding is what we're after here anyways; all stones did very well with shiro anyways. I found the Eastern Red, Balkan Gray, and Cretan Gray to be the best on cladding, and pretty much all around. The Eastern and Balkan are the cheapest, and the largest in size.


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## bennyprofane (Nov 27, 2016)

Thank you so much for these amazing reviews! Theyre really a great read and very informative!
I had ordered the Balkan Grey and the Eastern Red, seems I made a good choice. Although that Vermio would also interest me. Just not sure if I can burden my friend with another stone to being back from the states.


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## Smashmasta (Nov 27, 2016)

bennyprofane said:


> Thank you so much for these amazing reviews! Theyre really a great read and very informative!
> I had ordered the Balkan Grey and the Eastern Red, seems I made a good choice. Although that Vermio would also interest me. Just not sure if I can burden my friend with another stone to being back from the states.



Thanks for the kind words. The vermio is cool, but as it says in the review, it's the most 'limited', at least in the knife world. I'd go with a Cretan Gray before a Vermio, IMO. Enjoy you stones!


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## bennyprofane (Nov 27, 2016)

True but I probably have stones in the Cretan Grey grit range and in better sizes whereas I dont have a stone that fine. Perhaps my Nakayama but Im not sure that its that fine.


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## PalmRoyale (Nov 27, 2016)

Ordered a Balkan grey. It's too cheap to pass up.


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## Smashmasta (Nov 27, 2016)

dwalker said:


> Well, I'm convinced. Just ordered the Balkan middle grit. I've been looking for something just like this. Thanks for the great review.





PalmRoyale said:


> Ordered a Balkan grey. It's too cheap to pass up.



Great, glad I could be of some help. Just took it through another go around, and with slurry, it delivers every single time. It's so big you could sharpen a machete, haha


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## dwalker (Nov 27, 2016)

I happen to have a nata that needs some touch up. I might give it a go when it arrives.


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## Smashmasta (Nov 28, 2016)

dwalker said:


> I happen to have a nata that needs some touch up. I might give it a go when it arrives.



Awesome. Let us know how it goes. i'm actually pretty interested to see if it really has the capacity for slightly larger blades/tools.


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## fatboylim (Nov 28, 2016)

Did he have a stone in the +5000 range by any chance?


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## fatboylim (Nov 28, 2016)

Argh, ignore the above I just read about the Crete stones, great reviews!


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## strumke (Nov 28, 2016)

I bought the balkan grey to hopefully let me maintain my shig debas (which I just realized may or may not be W#2, from my prior question). Either way, I'm looking to have something that I can maintain the finish with.


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## Smashmasta (Nov 28, 2016)

strumke said:


> I bought the balkan grey to hopefully let me maintain my shig debas (which I just realized may or may not be W#2, from my prior question). Either way, I'm looking to have something that I can maintain the finish with.



Let us know how it goes. The Balkan, although on the thinner side, is very robust and can definitely handle some debas. Good luck!


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## dwalker (Dec 1, 2016)

The Balkan grey arrived today. I will try to put it through the paces this weekend.


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## strumke (Dec 1, 2016)

Got my grey yesterday... I need to work up the courage to sharpen my debas!


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## chinacats (Dec 1, 2016)

strumke said:


> I bought the balkan grey to hopefully let me maintain my shig debas (which I just realized may or may not be W#2, from my prior question). Either way, I'm looking to have something that I can maintain the finish with.



It's neither W2 nor White 2, it's Iwasaki carbon (Swedish). AFAIK it's only used by Shig and Heiji.


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