#749 Shoubudani Iromono Namazu Easy Buttery Soft 2.5-3 Hard Lv 3+ Fine 990Grams

Easy, soft, self slurrying Shoubudani with a buttery feel, it leaves a hazy but not scratchy kasumi finish. Great for knives that need a little extra bite or for pre-polishing before an extra fine LV4.5+ stone.

This stone has had a few hard scratchy bits picked out, one as a hard seam along a namazu and another as a hard pebble like spot at the end of another namazu spot. Priced accordingly. 

sealed with cashew lacquer

154x81x32mm 990 grams

Shoubudani:

A ‘Higashi-mono’ (Eastern Mine Stone), Shoubudani is well known for producing a wide range of stones with different hardness and fineness. The Shoubudani mine produces some of the higher quality natural whetstones that are akin to Nakayama mine stones in their beautiful finish.

Iromono:

Iromono is a term that represents a broad range of colors, usually purples, oranges, yellows, and greens. Usually the colors are shown in swirls and waves. A lot of nice Shoubudani and Ohira polishing stones feature Iromono color palettes.

Namazu:

Translating to ‘cat-fish’, this aesthetic quality looks like white blotches on the stone. Usually this quality has a great sharpening feel that is smooth and tactile. In extreme cases of Namazu where the stone is very hard, it can be scratchy with too much pressure.