Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Finishing Stone Pro Sharpening Stone

Much cheaper than other Japanese stones, man-made or natural, for what you get. You'll be easily paying this much for a Japanese man-made stone for a single grit stone above 5000. You get 3000 and 8000 grit, which are critical for mirror shine finish. Very easy to work with and if you use it along with the 250/1000 sharpening stone, they will get you knives like a sword. I'm pretty certain that both 250/1000 and 3000/8000 are man-made since you don't have to soak the stone....just a splash of water would do it.

They are made in Japan and despite what others said, in my opinion, Nagura stone is a must. I think a lot of other people use Nagura stone for grits lower than 5000 (and you're supposed to use them for 5000&UP) hence the improper usage. For those not familiar, Nagura stone is for creating a slur, evening out the fine grit stones, and removing metal residue trapped on the stone. After a few strokes, the stones will have gray color deposits (from the knife blade). You can use Nagura stone apply in circular motion will remove the residue and get your stone to sharpen again rather than your knife sliding across it (you will hear and feel this).

Most of the sharpening is done on 250 grit (reshape the nicks and the bade/cutting bevel). The 3000/8000 get used for only about a few minutes per side (vs some time close to an hour on 250 grit with neglected knife).....so this item will last a LONG time.

I've been using this to keep my Henckels Pro S, Miyabi, and Shun knives sharp. From the softer German steel, to the harder Japanese steel, it works great. These are rebranded Naniwa Super Stones and the dual surface makes it a great value for people that don't need to sharpen that often since it saves you from buying separate stones and each side will still last a very long time.

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