ShaptonK0701 Blade Black #120 Rough White

Let the slurry build up until it's like wet mud. Unlike diamond stones that show up gritty but lose most of it after five minutes -- if you want a 320-grit diamond stone you have to buy a 220-grit -- this water stone keeps its grit. And unlike diamond stones, it doesn't constantly clog up, which diamond stones do even with a honing liquid to lift out the swarf.You may need a piece of sacrificial steel to get the slurry going. (I'm using the iron from the cheapest block plane they had at Home Depot.) Or maybe not.Warning: When it shows up, you'll feel the surface and be disappointed. It's not sharp like #120 sandpaper. I think the surface wears as you go, and the slurry holds the grit that does the work. I was disappointed until I was flattening a spokeshave iron. I was growing increasingly frustrated, but then all of the sudden I heard it start to grind or cut, and in a few minutes the stone did what it would have taken a few hours to accomplish with my DMT 220-grit diamond stone. Obviously, this stone is for heavy work.Because these stones are splash-n-go, they're incredibly convenient. If I knew then what I know now, I'd have only bought these, and have a progression of grits. I got the Shapton 12,000-grit stone for Christmas, and I couldn't be happier with it.Do they stay flat? Yes and no, depending on what you need. If you're sharpening an iron for a smoothing plane, then you need to worry about the smallest variations; if you're sharpening knives, you have more room to play with. I have an el-cheapo dressing stone, so I use that and my other stones against each other and it seems to be working fine. (I think you can get flatness with just three stones, but the cheap dressing stone is helping by making a bridge between this stone and the higher-grit stones.) I flatten with every use, so it takes very little time -- and is oddly satisfying.Will diamond stones outlast these Shaptons? Sure. Why not? Will diamond stones last a lifetime? Yes, but only if you plan to live as long as a large-breed dog. A coworker has a set of DMT stones with the diamond clearly worn off much or most of the surfaces. He happily sharpens away on surfaces that are part diamond, part exposed steel, but that's okay, because diamond stones are just the super-duper bestest!Are there better stones that these Shaptons? Sure. Why not? If you find them and the price is right, buy 'em. This is about getting the best you can afford, not brand loyalty. Until then, my long-term plan is to collect a functional, if incomplete, set of these. I am very satisfied.

Overall great stone, will last for long time, works well for my uses, it is fairly flat so that makes sharpening much easier.

Shapton stones are the best I have ever used. I've used water stones, diamond stones, and oil stones. I'm an old man with a lot of experience. I sharpen things on almost a daily basis. Knives, plane irons, chisels, carving gouges etc.I soaked this stone for a out 5 minutes, then dressed the surface before use. It cuts quickly, doesn't glaze over. I use it to take tiny nicks out of chisels and irons. I've used it about two dozen times and haven't felt the need to flatten. A great product at a good price.

Stars are for the quality of the item.I have ordered this item for sure 4 times, only to have it have the delivery date pushed out for as long as a month and then get notice I’ve been refunded as it was not able to be delivered, after waiting weeks!I just kept reordering it and eventually, after months of waiting, hooray, it arrived. 🙄🙂I by does this all of a sudden happen?Lack of human contact is why, Buck up Mr. Bezo’s, you know you can do better.

This is an excellent stone for grinding an edge. It is aggressive and cuts steel efficiently and fast. It is even much faster than my 300 grit diamond stone. Unlike my Norton 200 grit water stone, this stone is hard, holds it form well, and doesn't wear out like the Norton stone. I am more than happy with it.

I really like the stone, it works fast and doesn't dish fast, down sides are than its very very hard so you need a diamond plate to flatten it and even then it takes a while even for a very slight dish. Because its so hard when you flatten it it becomes quite smooth so it doesn't cut as fast and it's also not great for thinning because it's so hard

I watched a lot of youtube videos from Burrfection and Ryky did many videos about the shapton pro 120, I finally pulled the trigger and bought this stone. I had a few knives at home that were chipped, and they were cheaper knives from the a typical Asian Market. Instead of throwing the knives away and buying new knives, I used the shapton pro 120 to fix all the edges. I watched some youtube videos from Burrfection on how to fix a knife and it worked amazingly well. Took off material really fast and after fixing the chipped edges, I finished my sharpening on a king 1000/6000 combo stone and the knives are like new and sharper than ever.

This is a great stone for those tough reproducing jobs on both small, and large knives. I’d been trying to undo a chip in an S35V blade and most stones would gradually wear at it. This stone made short work of the chip, and allowed for it to go back to the convex grind I wanted. Followed up with the orange 1000, purple 5000, and melon 8000 and I’ve got a beautiful mirror polish that’s wickedly sharp. Recommend Shapton all the way.