Antique Narutaki Kiita

Dimensions (mm) / Weight

211x63x40 / 1,434g (stone & base)

Performance

Hardness / Fineness: 4 / 5

This stone is one of the most enjoyable but hardest to find - supple yet extremely fine. Paired to the right blade it will self slurry, but typically just creates a creamy black slurry rather than mud. Yet, despite the feel, it is extremely fine capable of creating keen yet comfortable final edges on razors. An excellent very fine finisher for simple carbon knives as well. It also excels at polishing as you can more easily achieve a very high level of refinement compared to a harder stone more typical of this grit. There is a pale grey line running through the stone that can be felt if slurry is not properly managed. 

Aesthetics & Other Notes

The stone is a deep, espresso-crema orange a color that is mirrored in the color of its forced slurry. There is a smattering of nashiji pattering on the surface as well. And, of course, lovely hand sawn sides. The stone is glued to the wooden base.

Narutaki (鳴瀧, 鳴滝)

An Eastern mine producing finishing stones prized by togishi for jizuya. Confusingly, the same term often is used to describe the region where Eastern mine stones are produced.