Whetstone Sharpening Stone SHAPTON Ceramic KUROMAKU #320 by Shapton

This is a good, even excellent, whetstone. For, it does the job, gives reasonable feedback (i.e. one can feel what one is doing), does not have any problem with slurry, and it does not seem to wear especially fast. I have used it with success on low-carbon knives and medium-carbon knives. I have not tested it on any very high carbon knife, though I imagine that it would work on such a knife. Other reviews here say that it does.The price is pretty good.I add the following (and in so doing I echo somewhat one of the other reviews). This remark of mine will concern medium or high-carbon knives, i.e. hard knives. If one is changing the angle of such a knife, and/or perhaps is the knife is really blunt, then one needs a coarse stone, like this one. For, under those conditions, using a less coarse stone makes it hard to get the knife sharp. (Still, what counts as less coarse? Perhaps 400 grit and above. Certainly 800 grit and above. But I'm talking about standard synthetic stones here. Matters might be different with diamond stones. As to natural stones, some of them are very hard, but at least most such stones will have a grit north of two thousand, which, for the sort of work at issue, will take forever.)I would not try to use the whetstone atop its box - as shown in one of the photographs provided by the seller. I imagine that that would work badly. One needs a proper whetstone holder. For _storing_ the stone, the box is fine, though I prefer the Naniwa boxes. (Incidentally: to my knowledge, Naniwa does not do a stone in the 300-400 grit range, at least not within its more serious lines of stones.)

Very effective. Use to reprofile edges that can be finessed with the 1000 grit stone etc.

Nothing has had a bigger impact on my sharpening journey than the Kuromaku 320. It's not suitable for your only stone, but prior to buying the 320 I was really struggling to raise a consistent burr. I started on a King 1000/6000 combination stone, and I could get a knife sharp, but it took a long time and they weren't as sharp as factory sharp. The reason for this was I just couldn't get a consistent burr the full length of the blade on that 1000 stone. I'd be grinding away for ages and could barely detect anything. My stones were dished and my knife wasn't sharp.Buying the Kuromaku 320 completely changed the game. It would take no longer than a minute or two to raise a burr on each side and after the burr was removed, I had a knife that was at least as sharp as most factory edges. Being an obsessive, I generally move on to a 1000 and then a 6000 afterwards, but you could leave it at 320 and have a workable edge.The splash and go works really well, the stones don't dish easily at all. And the storage container that the Kuromaku range comes in is beautifully designed and will serve as a stone holder while you sharpen. I can't recommend the Kuromaku line highly enough. I also own whetstones from King, Cerax and Shapton Glass as well as some diamond plates. If I was starting again, I'd just pick up two or three Kuromaku. The 320 would be a must buy.

Review for 320 Shapton Ceramic Hone. Very nice stone. Used for sharpening straight razor as part of a set:32010005000800012000Arrived in standard amazon packaging with no extra protection considering the fragility of the item, I would of expected a bit more protection inside the parcel.However stone arrived safely with no damage. Shapton stones are well worth the money.

Great quality product from Japan. I have a few stones. Ranging from cheap to higher end. These range of stones are exactly where I see my sharpening skills, based on the investment I want to make. The feel and feedback is really nice, you do feel the quality. Hard wearing with no sludge. Many YouTube reviewers rate these stones and I can see why. A solid quality product, at a reasonable price point with good economic sense due to their hard wearing construction. Splash and go!

Spot on.

Used to reprofile a old knife, 30 to 40 strokes each edge and it was where I wanted it. Finished with the Shapton 1000 and it's now sharper than it's ever been.Great stones should last a lifetime.

Fantastic for fixing a blunt edge quickly. Great in combo with my green 2k