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Writer's pictureNathan Lee

Japanese natural stone #3 - Natsuya (I) COVID special

Updated: Sep 26, 2022

By Nathan Lee - KIRU sharpening 14.01.2022


Got tested positive for COVID this week, got quite a bit of time off work taking pics at the backyard lol, don't mind me posting.


  • Stone pics


  • Close up details


  • Slurry pics


  • Sharpening video


  • Finish

Truth be told, I didn't do a good job on darkening the Jigane and cleaning up the core of my Takobiki, the Kasumi finish looks dull and weak in the 3K video. It normally looks closer than the first video of Kiridashi, brighter core and darker Jigane, but it is what it is, cbb going back and clean up and refinish as I am quite happy with the 8K + Natsuya finish, it will probably stay this way for a while.


  • Feedback

Feedback is loud and clear, especially on the wrought iron Kiridashi from above video. As soon as I put pressure on different part of the blade, the stone will tell me if I am sharpening on the wrought or hard steel, and since it's so loud due to the grit range this stone is at, you can hear what the stone is doing very clearly.


  • Sharpening feel

Sharpening feel is not buttery at all, not even close to it, feels very chalky and sandy, but still pleasant. It feels like a coarse stone, might feel even coarser than some of the coarser synthetic stones I have (Glass 500/Pro 600).


  • Edge

Edge is one of the biggest appeal to this stone, other than the easy Kasumi finish. If your knife is nice and thin behind the edge, this stone will give your knife an edge full of teeth and glorious cutting feel, and bites through tomato skin with no effort whatsoever.

If you're looking for keen and refined edge, this stone would not give you what you wanted.


I think this type of stone is a gateway drug for someone that wants to get in Jnats, cheap price, comes in good size, easy to learn, looks cool and most importantly very available!

  • Characteristic of the stone (on a scale of 5)

Hardness - between 3-3.5

Fineness - 2.5-3

Speed - 4-4.5

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