Gesshin 1000 Grit Splash-And-Go Stone

Since our 2010 trip to Japan, we have been constantly researching and testing new stones and knives.  We are bringing in our favorites from this testing as Japanese Knife Imports’ new brand- Gesshin.

This 1000 grit splash-and-go stone is one of the stones I have been testing and it has made its way into my regular stone lineup.  In fact, it has become my go to 1000 grit stone.  It’s on the slightly harder side of what I would normally look for in stones for kitchen knives, but it still works very well (and is by no means super hard).  This stone cuts fast and wears slow.  Where it really shines is that I leaves an extremely nice finish on almost every steel I have tested (and on those where the finish is not extremely nice, it is at least as good as other stones in this same grit range).  The edge feels like it comes from a higher grit stone, but still has great bite (as do most naka-toishi).  The feedback is one of the best I have experienced for splash-and go stones.  Also, because it is splash-and-go, it makes this particularly suitable for environments where stones cannot be so easily stored in water (i.e. professional kitchens or homes with strict significant others ;)  ).

This stone should not be soaked for any significant period of time, but is ok for a couple of minutes.  To use, simply splash a little water on the surface and start sharpening.