KING Sharpening Stone 4000 Grit Plastic Base

This is a really good little stone. It is a little small. But it's a fantastic little finishing stone. It gives a bright, polished finish that exceeds what some 5 or 6k stones leave you with. If you handed it to me and told me it was a 6k I would probably believe you. It's quite hard for a King stone, strikes me as harder than their 6k "S" stones which I wouldn't classify as soft. It cuts relatively fast for a stone of this grit as well. It not only leaves you with a bright, polished edge, but also a very sharp and refined apex with the perfect amount of bite for my taste on most steels. It's getting a little fine (and small) for cheap stainless kitchen knives (but great for higher quality knives) but it's excellent for woodworking tools and carving hatchets etc. I removed mine from the base so I can use it when I want to take the stone to the tool instead of the other way around. Honestly I'm very surprised how good this little guy performs. I have much more expensive stones in the 5kish arena and this one competes with any of them. Like I said, it's hard, does NOT need a soak despite the description, doesn't release abrasive quickly and holds its shape well, cuts well for the finish it leaves, and has adequate feedback. It feels more "lively" than something like a Shapton Pro/Ha No Kuromaku 5k for example, which feel a little more "dead" and "soulless" IMO

Awesome hone! I use this to set bevels on my straight razors and to freshen up my kitchen knives. I let mine soak in water for a few hours or until the bubbles stop coming off the stone. The stone can slide around as you hone so i suggest a damp rag on wood to help keep the stone still, you could also use wax,rubber, or a specialized holder but a rag and wood is usually cheapest and most available.I drizzle a few drops of water onto the stone as i sharpen the blade (if the stone soaks up the water it needs more time in the water soaking) as you hone you will get a slurry from the metal you are removing from the blade as well as from the stone. Let this slurry build for a few strokes and then slowly dilute it with a couple drops of water every ten strokes or so. This will act like going through finer progressions of sandpaper and leave a very nice finish on the edge. If you want an even finer edge repeat the process on a higher number stoneThese stones take some time to set up having to dunk them in water and they are not the fastest cutters but for the price or for someone just looking to sharpen their own knives or tools you cant beat these Japanese products ^_^

OK, this is for a King , 6000 grit, HT-43/S-45. This is my third, single grit, King waterstone, which is a brand I trust, and not a trust I give easily, but after reading a plethora of articles, mini books, searching the web, talking with others, getting on steel manufactures FAQ boards, knife sharpening boards, knife manufacture boards, I definitely got good advise from every one of them. things that, after 40+ years of only using oilstones, I learned that I had been doing some things from a little wrong to a very bad, and I was very happy I spent the time to find better ways to use my oilstones, and the way that all of the listed above boards where telling me "How to use a waterstone correctly."Waterstones are a bit different than oilstones, you can read up on it by just Googling them, and if you follow instructions instead of just saying to yourself "I know how to do anything without any help, how hard can it really be", like those poor people in Chernobyl did, you too can find a whole new way to sharpen a blade of almost any quality to a blade with an edge that suits your needs vary fast, relatively speaking, just as you were getting using oilstones, or edges you and I may not have known about, their advantages and disadvantages, and spending a lot less money, at least in my case, and hopefully yours as well.This King stone with a 6000 grit for finishing, and I will admit that in 40+ years, I have never gotten a finish on a blade like I have now. I admit, I have oilstones that gave me edges, I thought, that where as good as you could get outside of a factory edge. I am wondering if I need to have anything to make me more happy with the results the 6000 grit has given me. It's a mirror finish, and I truly mean a mirror, and when keeping your angle correct, you may need a sharpening system, which is what most people seem to like now days. Research it very well, and buy the best for your budget, for the cost of replacement stones, and other replacement parts or upgrades available in the future. If you freehand sharpen like some of the older folks do, keeping the same angle is paramount to give you the nicest, buttery smooth edge I have ever seen. But be careful, with an edge that sharp, you can cut small pieces of yourself off, and not know it until you start bleeding, and coming from experience, you want it to bleed fast, because that generally means the cut is shallow. Trust me, you don't want to be hanging around with your friends comparing "whos cut is the worst", because that just means that you are not paying attention to what you are doing, and getting needless cuts for it.Either way, buy the Japanese King Knife Sharpener Whetstone Grit 6000 HT-43/S-45, it lasts with a lot of work being done on it, it comes with it's own non-slip base and good packaging, you will be happy with the beautiful finish you get with it, and they do make a base for stones like this to keep you safe.Stay safe, enjoy your new hobby, impress yourself on how well you can do something new, and impress yourself on how few cuts you get doing it.

great stone holds up well and takes metal off well

I've had this thing for years. My husband LOVES it for keeping his chefs knife sharp. After having for at least 5 years we just had to get a block to even out the surface. Should keep working for years at this rate. Highly recommend.

I used this whetstone attempting to sharpen my knives razor sharp. Started with a 1000 grit whetstone and then on to this 6000 grit whetstone. It works fine however, the stone came cracked horizontally in the middle of the whetstone. As I sharpened my knife, there wasn't any hitch and my knife moved smoothly over the stone and the crack as I sharpened my knife. I'm not sure if this will be an issue in the future. Japanese King sent me an email and also asked if I was satisfied with the whetstone. They requested if I had any complaints to address my issues with them before I wrote an Amazon review. I told them about the crack in the stone as I have mentioned here in this review. Japanese King told me the crack shouldn't be an issue so to go ahead and continue using it. They never offered to replace the whetstone so we'll just have to see over time if the crack becomes an issue. The whetstone isn't all that expensive so if it becomes an issue, I'll just get another one.