Shoubu Karasu Suita

Size (mm) / Weight

228x84x36.5 / 1,685g

Performance

Hardness / Fineness: 3 / 4

This stone easy to use and an ideal fineness for polishing and sharpening of kitchen knives. It will work up a slurry if you'd like and refine if lighter pressure is used. It is fast and will leave a well contrasted kasumi polish. The generous surface area makes it ideal for both sharpening and polishing. 

Aesthetics & Other Notes

This suita has a dark gray base color with oodles of karasu and thin, benign gold lines throughout. Some splotches of namazu as well. The thin layer of kawa on the back is exceptionally spectacular. I see no major lines on the stone that give me reason to think there will be any toxic material in this stone. 

Shoubu (菖蒲谷, Shoubudani, 菖蒲谷)

An Eastern mine well regarded for its suita. While this mine may not have the same caché as Ohira or Nakayama in the West, stones from this mine are generally very high quality. Wholesales prices for Shoubu suita are some of the fastest increasing of all stones.