Gesshin 400 XL Ceramic Stone

The Gesshin™ 400 Sharpening Stone is an extra large version of our Gesshin 400™ .  It's a great coarse stone with excellent cutting speed.  It is one of the most enjoyable to use coarse stones I have ever tried.  The tactile feedback is amazing, and the stone does not feel harsh or overly aggressive at all, despite its fast cutting speed.  It leaves a very smooth looking and even finish, which makes this a great coarse stone for wide bevel and single bevel knives.  Though it dishes slightly faster than some other similar coarse stones, the cutting speed difference when using this more than makes up for the difference.  This is a ceramic stone with a variant of white alumina oxide as the abrasive.  It works well on all types of steel I have tested it on, from simple carbons, to the most high tech and hard stainless steels.  It cuts very quickly and leaves a very even finish.  I have no problem jumping directly to a medium grit stone (1000-2000 grit) directly from this stone.  This stone needs to be soaked at least 15 minutes before use (just until the bubbles stop coming out of the stone).  I leave mine in water all of the time, so it is ready to go whenever I need it.  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. 
This is longer, wider, and thicker than the normal version of this stone by a significant degree.  Its rather like a large brick, but wider.  I thought the extra surface area would be helpful for larger knives or for places that sharpen a lot, and the added height helps out, as this stone can wear a bit when sharpening (but it always cuts crazy fast).