Gesshin 1000/6000 Combo Ceramic Stone

The Gesshin™ 1000 Grit Extra Large Sharpening Stone is a great Nakato (middle stone).  Like this rest of the Gesshin™ stones, I have been testing this one for quite some time now.  This stone is a new addition to our lineup. As a soaking stone, it has great feedback, cuts fast, and works well on a variety of steels. Its a medium hardness stone that can work up mud pretty easily. Being that it is not a super hard stone, it does dish while in use, which is part of the reason we offer this in the extra large size. This extra large size makes it nice for professional kitchens, where many people use the same stone. Likewise, some home cooks and professional sharpeners may prefer the larger working surface area. Stones this size tend to last for a very long time.  This stone should be soaked for about 10 minutes before use.  It can be stored in water with no problems.  If you do leave your stone in water, please change the water regularly.  When drying out this stone or any others, do so out of the sunlight in a well-ventilated area.

The Gesshin 1200 is a resinoid based stone with a white alumina oxide abrasive.   This stone is on the soft side, very fast cutting, and leaves a nice even finish. The edge has a good amount of bite for kitchen use, though many people choose to follow up the grit range with something higher grit. This stone works great for single bevel and double bevel knives alike. It cuts very well on all kinds of steel I have tested it on, from white steel to ZDP-189. It works best when you allow the togidoro (mud and swarf from sharpening) to build up a tiny bit. This stone easily cleans up scratches from coarse stones (400-600 grit), and I have even used it directly from a 220 Gesshin stone before with no trouble.

Like all resinoid based stones, this stone needs to be cared for carefully, especially when considering drying.  Resinoid based stones are not very porous, which often causes them to be marketed as splash-and-go.  However, some water does soak in.  My preference is to soak this stone permanently, as soaking helps soften the stone, increases cutting speed, and reduces loading on the stone surface.  If you do soak the stone, or if you think any water has soaked in, and you decided you want to dry the stone out for any reason, you will need to make sure the stone dries as slowly as possible, to help make sure the outer part of the stone does not dry more quickly than the inner part of the stone.  Making sure the stone dries in a cool, well-ventilated, dry area, out of direct sunlight is best.  It also helps to wrap the stone with a damp towel to slow the drying process further.  If unaccounted for, drying too quickly can cause cracks to develop in the stone. If cracks do develop, mounting the stone to a base can help extend the life of your stone.

The Gesshin™ 1500 Grit Sharpening Stone is a very different kind of stone from most that I have seen on the market.  These stones are entirely splash and go... they require no soak whatsoever.  Just a splash of water and they are ready to go.  In fact, its very important that these stones are not soaked, as they will fall apart.  You will notice that the stones are lacquered on all sides but one.  The non-lacquered surface is usable surface (the opposite side from where our logo is).  Because of the way these stones are bound together, they are a bit more brittle than the other stones we have in stock.  It is very important to round the corners of the stone before and after flattening to prevent chipping along the edges.  Initially, the stone surface will show some small pock marks and swirly textures.  It is not necessary to completely flatten this all out, though it will eventially flatten out over time.

We highly recommend flattening the stone before initial use.  The top layer of the stone needs to be removed for peak performance.  This can be done by either flattening or using the stone until that layer is gone.

This stone makes an excellent daily medium grit stone.  It is fast cutting, slow to dish, and provides an excellent edge, with a solid amount of bite.  The polish this stone leaves also looks like a much higher grit than the 1500 grit would suggest (the edge is, however, clearly 1500 grit in feeling).  Though it does not leave contrast between hagane and jigane, it does leave a very consistent and even polished edge.  The alumina based abrasive works well on a wide variety of steels.  The surface of the stone will look as if it is loading up while sharpening (i.e. it becomes blackish), but as you add water, you will notice that the stone does not load as it cuts.