# When you bought your first JNAT.....



## Patrick Gilmartin (Aug 20, 2019)

What did you choose? Why? Do you wish it had been something else? I am curious about getting into them, but unsure of how to start, so I'm interested in knowing how others started.


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## kayman67 (Aug 20, 2019)

This should be interesting. 

Don't start guessing. It will be a very expensive game. Get the stones from a trustworthy source.


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## Barclid (Aug 20, 2019)

I tried a couple stones in person from one of our other forum members and then I bought a shiro suita from Watanabe.


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## GoodMagic (Aug 20, 2019)

My first Jnat was a Ohira Tomae, from CKTG. It was horrible. I really just wanted to try a natural stone. My second and all remaining stones were purchased from JNS. I started with a soft suita stone from Takeshima, and followed with two Suitas from Ohira. I also purchased a red"aoto" , a suita from atogayama, and koppa from Hideriyama. Although I use all, they are all way more expensive than the synthetics that I rely on for daily sharpening. I don't regret these purchases, but all of my naturals are used way less than my synthetics and are not really necessary in my line up. If I had to do it over again I would get some uchi fingerstones and one really nice finisher (Ohira and or Nakayama). I am thinking of an aizu, but at this pont cant really justify another stone.


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## McMan (Aug 20, 2019)

Aoto.
I wanted something forgiving, useful for sharpening (I.e. not crazy hard), and pretty standard in terms of quality (I.e. no crazy hit-or-miss quality range)—and something sub-$200. 
Aoto checked these boxes. Had I got a better or more specific j-Nat as a first, I would have been in over my head and faced with a steep learning curve.


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## DisconnectedAG (Aug 20, 2019)

Hakka. From a post in BST. Let with the seller who is a super nice dude and was even open to me teying the stone before buying, but bought it anyhow. Went on look and feel plus the seller's description of the stone's properties.


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## tgfencer (Aug 20, 2019)

Honestly, can't remember now how I started out, except that it was from vendors/forum members. That's definitely the way to go to start with in my opinion, especially if you can find a deal (unfortunately you just missed a 15% at Bernal that could have been a good opportunity). 

A few questions for you to consider as you try to decide what you want: How much polishing will you be doing? Do you use wide bevel or single bevel knives? What grit will you be looking for? How confident are you at sharpening or handling harder stones? What size stone do you want? 

Your price point will also impact your choices considerably, however price doesn't necessarily correlate to quality (ie a more expensive stone may just be bigger or rarer than a cheaper stone that is of equal quality). Follow your instincts, the size of your wallet, and when you get down to trying to find something to buy, always ask questions (which a knowledgeable seller should be able to answer for you).


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## SeattleBen (Aug 20, 2019)

I talked to a number of folks and ended up with an aoto that I do like. As someone else said above here I don’t use my naturals as much as my synthetic stones but I do like the three I have and will buy more.


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## tgfencer (Aug 20, 2019)

I guess I should also reiterate the point that jnats won't magically make you a better sharpener and they aren't a substitution for proper technique. But definitely get one, they're a lot of fun.


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## Elliot (Aug 20, 2019)

My first was from the illustrious @Badgertooth -- and an Aizu at that. 
From there, it was alllllllll down hill. 

I have a lot more stones now, but still think that an Aizu is a good place to start. Gives a mean edge and also a very high contrast finish if you're working toward kasumi polishing. And, perhaps most importantly when you're starting, it ain't gonna set you back a honyaki.


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## Marcelo Amaral (Aug 20, 2019)

The first one i remember using was a lvl3 atagoyama from JNS. Very different from the other Atago i've got a couple of years later from a member here who got it also from JNS. This first one is fine for its grit and very forgiving, feels like sharpening on butter, while the other one is much harder. Both great stones.

Thanks Maksim for a great first stone suggestion!


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## childermass (Aug 21, 2019)

After trying some european natural stones (Coticule, Dalmore blue, etc.) I bought my first Jnat from Watanabe. It’s an unknown stone that used to belong to an old sharpener from a market in Niigata. A pretty challenging stone and I‘m still struggling with it but will keep it because of sentimental reasons.
After that I started to get into medium grit and Suita stones and went down that rabbit hole really quickly [emoji4]. Bought almost all of them from well known vendors or forum members, some off japanese auctions but that started later when I began to know what to look for.


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## valgard (Aug 21, 2019)

Patrick Gilmartin said:


> What did you choose? Why? Do you wish it had been something else? I am curious about getting into them, but unsure of how to start, so I'm interested in knowing how others started.


I got a clean ohira uchigumori, on the softer side, decent size and shape. Perfect first stone that threw me down the rabbit hole. I broke the stone in half trying to harvest finger stones from the back side, that was a hard moment. Any soft-ish, clean, decently sized finisher would have done a fantastic job as first stone.


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## Xenif (Aug 21, 2019)

My first stone was a 5++ hard Asagi, which was almost completely useless with kitchen knives. My second stone was a 2 or softer Tomae /w namazu, it is so soft so muddy only thing was really good for was making an OK kasumi. The next 15 stones were in bewteen those two disasters. You live and you learn right !?


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## metamorpheus (Aug 27, 2019)

My first was an Akapin I got on ebay from a smaller seller in Japan for $140 or so. It gave me a taste for the refined toothy edge with my Kurosaki AS. I preferred that edge over the SS 5k. I dont sharpen with it anymore, but I still use it in a polishing progression.
I use my naturals more than synthetics for sharpening. My hard brick sized Aiiwatani with an Ohira Suita nagura is my favorite for finishing/maintainence. My other two that I like for finishing and maintainence are a Narutaki Maruichi from aframes and a shobu suita from Badgertooth. I keep the edge going with these for a long time before I have to drop back to synth. I'll use a Kohetsu 800 to set the bevel, remove as much burr on that as I can, and then it's back to naturals. Works well on my carbons and R2, which is all I use.


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## K813zra (Aug 31, 2019)

I did about two years of reading and then bought half a dozen stones from a few sources. The prices were right but most of the stones turned out to be so-so. Within the following months I had a few recs from here and a few boxes (a few dozen stones) found their way to my doorstep. Since then I have slowed down considerably (almost to a full stop). 

Do I wish I had done something else? Spent less money? Bought fewer but maybe better quality stones from the get-go? No, really I don't. Because if I had done that I feel that I would have had a lesser experience over all, learned much less and met fewer good people along the way. 

Now, having said that, I was in it for the journey. If one were in it simply for a sharp knife (or aesthetically pleasing finish etc) it would be, imo, an entirely different story. You want a ride, play around. You want results and nothing else matters, buy once. Were I looking to buy just one stone without having to put much effort into it I would highly consider vetted used stones from BST from a well known seller who is good at giving descriptions and who will provide plenty of photos and feedback. There are more than a few forum goers around here who are like that so it should be no problem at all. 

As an aside, my first stone was an aoto of questionable origin. I still have that stone and I still like it, a lot. It is the second cheapest stone I have ever bought fwiw. It is a semi soft stone that leaves a 'meh' finish on a blade road but for practical use it leaves an edge that is very satisfying to use (gyuots and other double bevel knives). Somewhere in the 2-3k range if compared to synthetics.


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## PalmRoyale (Aug 31, 2019)

My first one was an Aiiwatani from Yahoo Auctions of course. I didn't really know what I was looking for back then but I got lucky because I really liked it. Since then I've tried many jnats from different mines and layers. These days there are 2 stones I really use, my Ohira suita and an Okudo habutae suita.


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## ared715 (Oct 5, 2019)

I took the plunge at Coutelier in New Orleans on an Asagi. Hard stone but on the courser side of what I had expected... Great contrast and mean edge though... I think i uswd it for a good year and a half and one day I was lappimg it and after I was finished I picked it up and by accident trying to clean it I broke it into three pieces... I was devistated until I could think clearly and realized I had set myself up with a great nagura and a **** ton of fingerstones!!! I was amazed at how I could use every single little piece and after that I was even more addicted to sharpening as the nagura and finger stones made kasumi finishing that much easier/more enjoyable... Ive been futher and further down the rabbit hole since with all of my internet tabs on knife/stone sites and my bank account/wife hating my guts!!! Haha


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## Badgertooth (Nov 4, 2019)

Watanabe - Maruoyama shiro suita; still one of my absolute favourites.
Such a gentleman too


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## Matus (Nov 4, 2019)

I think that my first stone was Hideriyama lv 3 from JNS. But I sold it as I was not really able to use it back then. Then some cheaper stones followed that are not really worth mentioning. Later I got a really clean Ohira Asagi (ca lv 4, originally from Watanabe ). I still gave it even though I do not use it often. It is a top quality stone.

what was a game changer was when I got to try a really nice Ohira Suita from JNS. Later I got one myself and have not regretted it. Also got a very clean Aizu and lovely Natsuya of unknown origin.

If I - with my limited experience and skill - should advice a beginner: get a clean, nit too coarse medium grit stone like Aizu, Natsuya, Aoto (fine one) and learn to get a good edge off it. It is a cheaper way to start that with a nice Suita. If you like the experience, then get a clean Suita in the next step.

Important: only get stones from a reliable source - either a vendor like JNS or Watanabe, or an experienced KKF member (we have quite a few that go through lot of stones and have a lot of experience)


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## jaeysehn (Nov 4, 2019)

My first and only natural stone so far has been a hideriyama (around lvl 3) from JKI. It was already pre-mounted and seemed to tick all the boxes I needed. Gave a decent Kasumi, great edge with enough bite for kitchen use, and didn't break the bank. Have considered getting a suita of sorts (shobudani or ohira) but can't justify the cost. Also have considered some Aizu but seem to be a little harder than what im comfortable with. Perhaps just need more practice with harder stones.


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## LostHighway (Nov 4, 2019)

I'm awaiting delivery of my first JNAT, an Umajiyama from a well known fellow member here. I was somewhat influenced by Shinichi Watanabe's expressed belief that synthetics are the way to go, at least up to around 2k, and that JNATS are most effectively used as finishers and pre-finishers. My knives aren't really candidates for extensive cosmetic polishing but everyone needs a good functional edge. A couple members including K813zra were very generous in offering suggestions as to size, potential stone options, and hardness (lvl 2.5 - 3.5, no harder, was the consensus range). As someone still transitioning from EdgePro to freehand I have a great deal yet to learn. I suspect I may eventually buy a Natusya or Aoto despite Watanbe's view and perhaps another JNAT that can finish in the 4k to 8k range but I don't ever see myself going down the road of $5oo+ stones. I also remain very curious about JKI and JNS synthetic faux naturals and may give one of those a try.


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