Naniwa Aotoishi sharpening stone grain 2000, IR0260

Very nice stone. The surface has a smooth velvety feel that makes it easy to use; i.e. it’s difficult to make mistakes that set back your honing. I use it both as a splash-and-go stone, and as a stone where you build up a good slurry and polish. The stone is very generous in building up a slurry, especially if you help it a bit with a dressing stone. It’s a great stone for beginners thanks to its forgiving nature. I use the “bottom” side, the one without the Japanese letters, and that side was actually surprisingly curved with the center being the high area. I am in no way fuzzy when it comes to levelling stones and I can easily achieve great razor sharp edges even if the stones are not perfectly level, perhaps because I build up hamaguri grinds. But in this case, I had to level the surface. One star deducted for that. You can use this stone as a touch up stone on an edge that isn’t damaged when you just feel like sharpening a knife, and you can use the stones as a finishing stone where a light touch makes the stone respond like a 4000 grit stone. Mirror polish is within reach then, and makes me question the reasoning behind stones with grit 6000 or greater. It is also a fun stone to use, I like it.

The stone is fine. Arrived slightly chipped at the corned. Not a big deal, but I would have packed it better.