# finishing stone after chosera 400-1000-3000



## Rasoir (Jan 8, 2015)

I want to finish my white steel single bevel deba and yanagi.

Obvious and expensive progression would be chosera 5000 and then chosera 10 000

Do you confirm the 5000 is a necessary step before the 10 000?

Do you have a good recommendation for another single stone in the 5-10 000 range that would nicely follow after the chosera 3000 and decently finish my knives? 


Alternative question : is that a stupid idea to leather strop a single a single bevel white steel knife instead of using a super fine stone ? Did anybody try ?

Many thanks


----------



## Benuser (Jan 8, 2015)

Get a Naniwa Junpaku Snow-white 8k instead. Hard, leaves a bity edge, great response though.


----------



## krx927 (Jan 12, 2015)

I was following beuser's advice and bought same choseras like you did (400/1000/3000) and then the Snow White which is much cheaper than chosera 10000. I couldn't be happier!

Thanks Bernard


----------



## Benuser (Jan 12, 2015)

Glad to hear it turned out so well.


----------



## Rasoir (Jan 12, 2015)

Thanks. Sounds perfect. I would have just followed your advice ... But I have some trouble finding this 8000 SW. In Europe it appears to be out of stock in the main web shops I know... Any suggestion ?

I intend to finish my new yanagi with this stone stone... Until I can find one, do you think I can use my loaded balsa or leather strops ? Or do you think a single bevel yanagi should only touch two things : stones and (raw) fish?

Cheers


----------



## Jpox (Jan 12, 2015)

I can't really help on the synthetics as I don't go over 2k with them. Over that I go with a botan or soft ohira for finishing.
I always use bare leather for my kitchenknives,Japanese tools and straight razors (both Japanese and western). The leather gives a great smooth bite... It really feels as though the leather straightens the last particles.
Good luck with your hunt

Cheers


----------



## daveb (Jan 12, 2015)

I've a couple 6K synthetics, to go higher, e.g. yanagiba, I go with naturals.


----------



## Vangelis (Jan 12, 2015)

Get in touch with Maxim from JNS, he is having a lot of nice stones - his own line and of course naturals. Just tell him what are you looking for, chat a bit and I am sure you can find what are you looking.


----------



## krx927 (Jan 12, 2015)

Rasoir said:


> Thanks. Sounds perfect. I would have just followed your advice ... But I have some trouble finding this 8000 SW. In Europe it appears to be out of stock in the main web shops I know... Any suggestion ?


Amazon de


----------



## Rasoir (Jan 29, 2015)

Many thanks. I followed your advice and bought the naniwa snow white 8000 from amazon.de
It is the exact stone I needed.

thank you everyone !


----------



## krx927 (Jan 29, 2015)

Glad to see you are satisfied.


----------



## Dave Martell (Jan 29, 2015)

I'd like to add a few things to this discussion....


1. The Chosera 10k is a great stone to finish a yanagiba edge with. It compliments the rest of the Chosera line nicely but I've never got a great edge from it unless I first used the Chosera 5k. IMO these stones should be a paired set. 

2. For anyone going to buy the Chosera 5k, I warn you to buy the base mounted version and if you already have an unmounted version then I advise mounting it on something to keep it stable when it breaks/crumbles. The Chosera 5k is VERY prone to cracking and breaking.

3. The Naniwa "Pure White" (aka - "Snow White") 8k stone is almost as well known as the Chosera 5k for cracking/breaking so I advise to either buy the based version or make sure this one is mounted as well. This stone is a very nice finishing stone although I find it a tad to hard for my personal tastes when working wide bevels. 

4. You can indeed use a strop on single bevel knives - HOWEVER - do so ONLY on the bevel side. You can achieve a wicked edge on a yanagiba by stropping the bevel side and working the flat back side on a super fine finishing stone. I caution that you really have to be careful when doing this though, you can easily turn a hamaguri (clamshell) edge into a rounded over edge if using soft leather, fluffy felt, or being overly zealous with your motions.


----------



## designdog (Jan 29, 2015)

I wonder how the Chosera 10k would do following a Rika 5k, a JNS 6k, or a Gesshin 8k?

The Chosera 5k is my least favorite stone, due to maintenance issues. Mine crumbles off in chunks, and the edge digs into the stone in use.

Gone completely over to Jnats anyway...


----------



## krx927 (Jan 30, 2015)

Dave Martell said:


> I'd like to add a few things to this discussion....
> 
> 
> 1. The Chosera 10k is a great stone to finish a yanagiba edge with. It compliments the rest of the Chosera line nicely but I've never got a great edge from it unless I first used the Chosera 5k. IMO these stones should be a paired set.
> ...



Thanks for your insight! Luckily my Show White is base mounted...


----------



## Rasoir (Feb 1, 2015)

Thanks to take the time for this exhaustive answer. I had read somewhere on the forum that ch5000 and ch10000 had to be paired (probably one of your older posts). And I got this excellent advice to get the 8000 Snow White instead. I couldn't choose from amazon.de with or without base. Luckily mine came with one.

I'm very satisfied. 3000 -> 8000 doesn't seem to be a too big jump. And since I had in mind to lightly strop and the end of the session the 10000 was not absolutely required. Surprisingly the ch8000 seems to absorb more water than the 3000.

Thanks for the stropping advice. I'll keep the ura side away form the strop. For the bevel I've used 1micron diamond loaded balsa followed by bare horse leather. 10 light strops each. Wonderful results.


----------



## Rasoir (Apr 30, 2016)

Hi everyone 

A bit more than a year later I have to ask for another advice. As a regular home cook I am very pleased with the results I get from the chosera Snow White 8000 as a finishing stone ..... But it started to crack after a couple of months, and it is getting worse and worse. The crack network is now reaching the bottom of the (based) stone, so I guess chunks will come of soon. Folowing the forums advices I NEVER SOAKED THE STONE, NOT EVEN ONCE. Only used gentle amount of sprayed water. 

A shame because other wise this stone fits perfectly to my needs, leaving just the right amount of bite for my taste.

I want to replace it by another one last stone (following cho 1000/ 3000) easy to purchase in Europe . 
Any suggestions ? Does anyone know and enjoy soapstone. Which grit would you recommend


----------



## Tobes (Apr 30, 2016)

JNS 6000 from Maksim, I use it after the chosera 3000, sometimes I jump to it straight from the 1000. Very cool stone!


----------



## Matus (Apr 30, 2016)

The answer depends on what kind of edge do you prefer (or what amount of bite)


----------



## Benuser (Apr 30, 2016)

With all due respect to Dave's huge experience and knowledge, I'm not so sure whether the base with magnesia bound stones is the solution or the culprit. Without one the stone will dry more regularly. Cracking I've seen with the Junpaku was only very superficial, as the craquelé on an old painting.


----------



## SolidSnake03 (May 1, 2016)

Agree with Benuser on this in that my 800 is my most used stone and no problems with cracking. Same with the 400, 1000 and 3000 set I used to have. All baseless, actually the only stone I've had problems with is the 3000 I re-bought but now has a base. The base one is developing the micro cracking that everyone is mentioning.

All stones were treated the exact same. After use I dry them on a cookie sheet so even drying all around except on the base version since he base blocks the bottom


----------



## krx927 (May 2, 2016)

That is funny. I do not have absolutely no issue with my Snow White. After year and a half the stone still looks like new without any cracks...


----------



## Rasoir (May 3, 2016)

I love the edge left by the snow white. I used to strop before. Since I've purchased the SW , I prefer to use it alone as a finisher every month or so on each knife to refresh a minimal secondary bevel. 
every 3 to 6 month I refresh the primary with chosera 1000 then 3000 and then put a new secondary with the SW. this also helped me to aliviate chipping issues. 

i only have cabone steel : 

4 eden kanso blue 2 (industrial)
3 Takeda blue super
2 Tojiro white 2 single beveled


I only use them on an end grained cutting board. So far this light sharpening protocol was enough to maintain a shaving edge on almost daily used knives.


----------

