# Ozuku vs Shinden vs Ohira Vs Honyama Vs Ozuku Asagi



## mqphoto (Jun 14, 2017)

Hi KKF hope you all doing well. 

I want to buy one stone of these but don't know witch one I want, so meny option and no money for all of them.

Ozuku
Ozuku Asagi 
Shinden
Honyama
Ohira

What do you think guys?


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## brooksie967 (Jun 14, 2017)

I'm not sure what your question is! 

Ozuku is a mine. 
Ozuku asagi is a mine with a color.
Shinden is a mine. 
Honyama is.... nothing specific really. 
Ohira is a mine. 

All of these mines have 48 layers of tomae, 8 layers of suita etc etc... 

If you can show us or tell us what you're sharpening as well as give us a detailed list of your current stone collection it might be easier to help you select a stone. Realistically you need to buy from someone you trust that can provide a stone based on your specific desires.

Do you want a soft muddy stone? Do you want a coarser/hard midrange? Do you want a powerful suita? Do you want a stone for razors and microbevels only?

You said no money for all of them but how much money do you have for ONE of them?

Have you checked on the common vendor sites or the BST?


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## mqphoto (Jun 15, 2017)

I did find some Awasedo Ohira, Shinden and Ozuku. 

I only can get one of them and dont know witch one.

That's why I need your advice guys. Also, is it worth to get a Awasedo?


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## brooksie967 (Jun 15, 2017)

mqphoto said:


> I did find some Awasedo Ohira, Shinden and Ozuku.
> 
> I only can get one of them and dont know witch one.
> 
> That's why I need your advice guys. Also, is it worth to get a Awasedo?



Awasedo just means finishing stone. It doesn't specify which type of finishing stone. A knife finisher will be very different than a razor finisher in terms of hardness, abrasive power, etc. 

If you don't trust your seller to provide direction then you need to at least supply pictures but links to the stones would be better. 

The three mines you listed have so many different types of stones that were mined that it's not possible to provide direction based on just the mine.


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## tsuriru (Jun 15, 2017)

I like my Ozuku Awasedo. Probably one of my favorite stones.


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## Sharpchef (Jun 16, 2017)

They are all so different, btw. i like my thuringian awesado.... .....

Tell the guys for what you are using it, after what synthetic stone etc......

Greets Sebastian.


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## K813zra (Jun 16, 2017)

mqphoto said:


> Hi KKF hope you all doing well.
> 
> I want to buy one stone of these but don't know witch one I want, so meny option and no money for all of them.
> 
> ...



While this is generalized and not always true I find that Ohira stones are often softer than Shinden and Ozuku. Let's say you are looking at something from Watanabe, who provides a fair amount of information about his stones, and has a good selection then the Ohiro Tomae (just an example) will typically be at around a Lv 3-3.5 for hardness and fairly quick cutters. His Ohira Suita are typically harder than this and are also quick cutters. 

The thing is, as others have already stated, these stones can vary and different stone dealers seek out different stones to sell for their customers who may have particular needs. An example would be that I find most of the stones from JNS to be on the softer side, at least those intended for knife sharpening and then there are those from Aframes which are typically on the harder side of the spectrum. Again, similar stones from the same mine but with varying characteristics.


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## Krassi (Jun 16, 2017)

Hi!

Actually most stones are pretty similar from all mines. 
You should think of a mountain where they dig horizontal tunnels from different sides.. its still the same mountain whatever the mine name says.. 
big differences are the western and eastern Mountains. Eastern have harder stuff often

but wowowow. hold it.. the mine name only indicates an adress.. there are very good but aslo ver ystandard stones digged out of every mine.

also the mountains have strata or layers.. 

soo actually the only jnat suff that is really needed is a good suita and a good awesedo.. thats it. 

so thats why you consult a stone dealer or in my case read yourself to death for more than 2 years and are able to pick very good stones because your guts tell you to go for them.

actually you only need a very good 1k synthetic stone a very good 6-8k synthetic, and then a very good suita and a very good super fine awesedo.. thats it
everything else is fun fun fun and collectors insanity

i got around.. ehhh lets see 28-30 jnats.. and lets guess.. do i need all of them.. nope  but i like them!! a lot and wont sell them even if my life is threatened (well ok 8 will go but the rest is holy grail funky stuff)

soo the suitas are perfect in a 3-3,5 /5 hardness range and the harder finer stone after that should still be useable for a kitchen knife.. there is a strong degree of stones that are better for razors and hyper hard, so its not so easy to find a good kitchen knife stone.. well with a sharpening system its a no brainer and i can still use the full potential of a 5++++++++ stone that would be impossible to use freehand.

still you gotta make a compromise with a still solid angle so that your blade will stay sharp for a long time and if its a perfect microbevel than a 0-18 degree angle will cut great.. of course the 18 degress per side is solid like a tank and the 0 degrees is a glass canon that is gone after just one cooking session..

sooo i hope this helps you 

Seeya Daniel


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## K813zra (Jun 16, 2017)

I dunno that I could agree that most stones are that similar...I have a lot of stones that have tons of different characteristics. Some are soft, medium soft, medium, medium hard and hard extra hard. Some are not muddy at all, some are somewhat muddy and others are very muddy. Some are glassy, others chalky and others still are gritty. Some leave more polish and others more matte. Some are fast cutters and others not so much. 

I suppose that most are similar in the sense that they are used to sharpen/polish knives and tools. I only have 18 stones if you don't count duplicates, natural stones rather, but that has been my experience thus far.


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## Krassi (Jun 16, 2017)

Yep i totally agree.. what they are not similar is the kind of polishing they do.. some make super hazy finish, some, a mirror and hazy outer layers, some darken the outer layers.. thats really unique.
I actually have very similar stuff in the finishing fine range.. 5 softer type stones, lots of suitas that are super similar and lots of hard stuff.. 
but of course every stone is unique! but its not super duper wuper better than a similar stone.. ok i only got very good stones so its not so far away from each stone.


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## tsuriru (Jun 16, 2017)

K813zra said:


> I only have 18 stones if you don't count duplicates, natural stones rather, but that has been my experience thus far.



They say "The road to hell is paved with good intentions..." or in this case, whetstones


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## mqphoto (Jun 16, 2017)

Ok, thanks all of ya. I have a better picture now still isn't a easy choice. 

Krassi you have PM.


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## K813zra (Jun 16, 2017)

tsuriru said:


> They say "The road to hell is paved with good intentions..." or in this case, whetstones




Hah. I hit the hobby rather hard when I started.


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## Krassi (Jun 16, 2017)

Hahah the road to hell is paved with stones  yep once you start its like crack  even worse.. you want more rocks..more morrrrrreeee ) 
its even worse than kitchen knives for me


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## K813zra (Jun 16, 2017)

Krassi said:


> Hahah the road to hell is paved with stones  yep once you start its like crack  even worse.. you want more rocks..more morrrrrreeee )
> its even worse than kitchen knives for me



I know what you mean. I can't stop buying them...My wife no longer asks what I want for xmas or my birthday as she already knows it will be stones.


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## mqphoto (Jun 18, 2017)

These two Ohiras Im after, and the seller dosent have more information on them. Can you tell me if there are differences just by the color? The lighter color is a softer Ohira than the darker one.


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## Badgertooth (Jun 19, 2017)

There are no guarantees but the colouring of the top stone is what I associate with slightly softer stone than what I generally associate with that grey green colouring of the bottom stone. The bottom looks like classic asagi colouring. If I were doing my diligence based on this picture though I'd be careful of those spots on the top stone. They could be completely benevolent or they could be little deposit of harder materials that have a distinctive crackle and crunch when your edge goes over them. If benevolent you'd still have to be diligent about cleaning everything out of the holes each sharpening session as the mud can coalesce into crunchies which will bite you in the bumbum the next time you sharpen


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## mqphoto (Jun 19, 2017)

Thanks a lot Badgertooth, I will stay away from the brown one. How hard do you think that Asagi will be about? In maxim scale?


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## Nemo (Jun 19, 2017)

tsuriru said:


> They say "The road to hell is paved with good intentions..." or in this case, whetstones



It would be a very expensive road if paved with Jnats


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## Smashmasta (Jun 19, 2017)

mqphoto said:


> Thanks a lot Badgertooth, I will stay away from the brown one. How hard do you think that Asagi will be about? In maxim scale?



IME, especially from Ohira, that asagi will be very hard, probs 4-5. Looks wholly like a finisher. Probably going to be a bit glassy with the feedback, and give a polished super refined edge.


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## mqphoto (Jun 19, 2017)

final question than, is it worth 350$?? Or there is a better choice for 350?


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## Krassi (Jun 19, 2017)

Hiho.. Well its sad that you wont get more Infos from the site and i also think no one from the shop ist a jnat expert and can tell you about those 

there are much better choices for 350! i guess ill send you a pm.


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## K813zra (Jun 19, 2017)

Krassi said:


> Hiho.. Well its sad that you wont get more Infos from the site and i also think no one from the shop ist a jnat expert and can tell you about those
> 
> there are much better choices for 350! i guess ill send you a pm.



I totally agree. If I were to spend $350 on a stone I would go where I could get more info.


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## Krassi (Jun 20, 2017)

for 350 bucks i get a brick size ohira suita..or Uchigumori well put some shipping on top.. its just patience that matters!


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## nutmeg (Jun 20, 2017)

mqphoto said:


> final question than, is it worth 350$?? Or there is a better choice for 350?



in my own experience, a stone from a trusted source is always better over an unknown one. So yes there are better choices.


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## LoneWolfGang (Jun 20, 2017)

One more thing to consider. On a lighter colored stone, its easier to see changes in your mud. Not a game breaker, but a lighter color stone will be easier for a beginner


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