Tomae Japanese Natural Finishing Stone - 952g

Size: 192mmx68mmx32mm 

Weight: 952g

Additional Information:  This is one of three Japanese Natural Whetstones (JNATs) I discovered tucked away in the back of a display window at a specialist tool shop in Tokyo. The shop owner mentioned that these stones were originally stocked in the 1980s, and he no longer recalls the specific mines they came from.

According to my testing, this is a Tomae stone featuring clearly visible hand-saw marks on the sides. If you look closely, you can also spot some Nashiji (pear-skin) patterns on the surface. It is the softest of the three, with decent sharpening efficiency and the highest level of purity. It produces a beautiful Kasumi (misty) finish and is very user-friendly. This stone is ideal for sharpening kitchen knives or woodworking tools intended for hardwoods.