King 1000/6000 Combination Water Stone Hone

King Ice Bear Japanese Combination Waterstone - 1000/6000

This is a very good quality artificial (man-made) waterstone that performs very well on straight razors as well as knives, and is a good alternative to the ubiquitous Norton combination stones.  It is brand new in it's card box and shrink-wrapped in plastic film.  The darker side is around 1000 grit, the lighter around 6000 grit.  Dimensions are 205mm x 50mm x 25mm (8" x 2" x 1") - a great size for razors.  The stone must be soaked in water for some minutes before use.  During use, the odd spritz of water may be necessary.  It may be used with or without a slurry - a slurry hastens the cutting action of the stone, using just water will give a keener edge than using a slurry.  The stone does not come with a slurry stone, but I have excellent artificial and natural ones in the shop.

The 1000 side is excellent for metal removal, such as in removing nicks and nibbles from bevels, and for bevel formation.  It cuts faster than the equivalent Norton stone, in my opinion.  The bevel it produces is relatively smooth, and by using a slurry, thinning the slurry with water until you have just water, then using a creamy slurry on the 6000 side there is not too much of a leap between the grit grades.  Refining the bevel on the 6000 grit side leaves a nicely polished edge - it is really all that is required for knives, but a higher grit stone would be necessary for most users to produce a keen shaving edge (although some people have had good results using a chrome oxide coated strop or paddle after the 6000 side).

The 1000 side wears quicker than the 6000 side and will require more frequent lapping, but this is easy to do and the frequency is not as often as required by some other man-made waterstones.  I have used these stones extensively and have nothing but good things to say about them.  They can be kept submerged for extended periods of time (mine are often submerged for months at a time with no signs of deterioration) and they are very dimensionally stable, unlike the Naniwa super stones and Shapton glass stones.  I sharpen many razors every week and in over two years of use have not worn one of these stones out, so they last a long time.

As well as razors, they can be used for:

• plane blades,
• chisels,
• gouges,
• cooking knives,
• fishery knives, and
• thin blades of all descriptions.

One of these stones followed by a thuringian, barbers hone or coticule is all you really need to keep a razor in good condition, reset the bevel and repair minor damage to the blade.

Packaged weight will be around 850gms.