KATABA news letter Vol.5 - How to choose whetstones ?

By sharpening with whetstones, you can enhance the knife’s performance without excessively wearing down the blade. We can say it’s the best way to sharpen knives.

Do you want to try sharpening by yourself? When you choose your stone, you need to know about a bit about whetstones.

Whetstones have the number of the grid size. The lower the number, the courser the stones are. Conversely, the higher the number, the finer the stones are.

Typically, they can be divided into 3 types by their grit size.

Ara-to (course stones #80-#400) mainly used to repair chipped edges.

Naka-to (medium stones #400-#3000) most commonly used in home kitchens. 

Shiage-to (fine/finishing stones #3000-) used to prolong high cutting performance.

Ideally having one of each types, but if you choose one, you must have Naka-to. Around #1000 is recommended.

Combination stones would be a good option. You can get two different grid stones in one.

We offer a wide range of options at our store. Please visit us and talk about the best one for you.