Middle range stone. Your preference.

[albsat]

Hello there,

Another question on stones, but for those 3000 - 6000 grit.

Which one is your preferred stone for this level of grit? Why?

Cheers

 

[Legion]

Coti + slurry.

I can dial it how I choose.

 

[Wid]

Synthetic would be a Chosera 3K

Natural probably a coticule with slurry.

If not that it would be a Coe Bethesda Black.

 

[captaincaed]

Interested in this as well. I'm not in love with current setup. It's OK, not brilliant. Jki 3k, naniwa Hayabusa and naniwa 5k pro.

For naturals I think a Dalmore blue isn't bad, or a good washita/soft Ark.

 

[Christian1212]

Shapton glass 6k for synthetic. Tenjou on my jnat for natural. Other than jnat edges everything is normally synthetic until finishing (maybe a natural prefinisher if doing an ark edge).

 

[Stapelfeld]

I like my shapton 5k synthetic, it's a workhorse, I don't think i've ever read anything bad about them.

For Jnats I like my tsushima Black Nagura, gives me a range that I would consider in the synthetic world from 3k to 6k.
That being a natural it will depend on the user as well.

 

[LJS]

Naniwa Chosera 3000 then Shapton pro 5000 for me.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Lately I've been loving my Shapton Pro 5k. I was thinking about getting a 3k to smooth out the transition from bevel set but I don't think I will unless I have money burning a hole in my pocket.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

The job of a mid-grit stone is to transition from grinding/bevel setting, (cutting a flat bevel, to the correct bevel angle and bring the bevels to meeting) to polishing and removing all the deep bevel setting stria.

Which stone grit, or brand you use, does not matter all that much as long as it removed the deep stria, a 2k stone even works for this as does, an aggressive 8k.

That one stone is faster, smoother or leaves a finer finish does not matter because you will not be shaving off this stone.

I typically use a vintage King S-3 6k, from an 800 or 1k, then an 8 or 10k that leaves a mirror finish/no stria and then, finish on a natural.

No need to over think this, no one will ever know or can tell which transition stone you used, if finished properly.

We are really fortunate now, compared to 25-30 years ago, there are so many great aggressive and finishing synthetic stones available at very affordable prices.

 

[Koop]

Japanese Tsushima nagura with slurry. This covers the mid-grit razor hone for me.

 

[lightfoot]

My go-to is definitely the Shapton Kuromaku 5K although it seems to be developing something unexpected on the unused side.

No issues on the working side though…

 

[JPO]

Shapton glass hr 3k and 6k. These two stones is all I need when I follow up with a natural stone.

 

[LJS]

vintage King S-3 6k

I have one of these from the late 80’s maybe early 90’s - after many years of use it is still polishing steel. A good bit different than the other kings of that era (and now)

We are really fortunate now, compared to 25-30 years ago

Big golf clap to this! The synths people won’t consider now, were the best then

 

[Frank Shaves]

I have Shapton HR 3k and 4k stones that I like.

 

[Kyle89]

Shapton kuromaku 5k

 

[Mr Bedlington]

Chosera 5K, the perfect progression jump to my 10K SG-Kouseki 10K 1 micron.

 

[captaincaed]

vintage King S-3 6k

I picked one up based on some scattered comments here. Never heard of the differences with the older variety but I was impressed. The current King 6k is probably my least favorite stone, and I’d have never thought to try the older one.

 

[JPO]

I also like my Morihei 4k for this grit range. This is made with a mixture of synthetic and natural abrasives.
Why? It feels like you are honing on a natural stone, like a mid range jnat.
It's also a splash and go stone.

 

[sd_baker]

SP5k

 

[Eshebert]

Synthetic - Cho 3k, 5k
Tsushima nagura is a fun hone if not doing Mikawa Nagura progression.
But my preferred is Coti on slurry.