HMS Handmade Sword - Masahiro Double Side Whetstone, Swords Blade Sharpening Stone

i picked this stone up as part of a starter set i put together for a friend who is getting into freehand sharpening but didnt want to go all out on high end stones. i was very curious about this stone when i first came across it. i've now had a chance to use it and can say it's a very good 3000 stone. it felt a bit strange on my first try. the stone's feedback felt a bit hard or something, but there was no denying the final edge was super sharp! i soaked it for about 20 minutes and that seemed to work fine. i'd recommend this stone to anyone looking for a budget finishing stone. the size fits the price so it is rather small for larger kitchen knives. i finished an 8" cook knife without much problem though. for smaller paring knives, petty knives or EDC blades its a pretty effective stone. definitely good for a beginner not looking to break the bank. PROS: price is right. it is a stand alone stone so i like that. good results on edge sharpness CON: small size, thin. it has an odd tactile feel to begin with, but i have a feeling the stone will get better with age

I wanted whetstones and found this nice set. With the proper grits for start to finish. It was my first time using whetstones and I wanted something affordable to educate myself on using them, I found a few video's and techniques and took my very dull set of high carbon kitchen knives out of the drawer, the ones I had neglected for six years and abused with a shoddy do it yourself pull through sharpener.. Well after a couple hours I had all my knives cutting paper with ease. This is going to save me money on purchasing a new knife when I wanted a sharp one again. Now all I have to do is soak the stones and hone my knives. Very happy with this purchase and will probably buy again when needed as all whetstones wear while sharpening knives. I am going to purchase the cheap diamond stone Amazon has as well ( the small steel plate impregnated with industrial diamond dust) so I can use that to take nicks out and create a new edge before using the whetstones and saving them from some wear, I also want to use the diamond steel to keep the whetstones flat in between sharpening by shaving the high points down with the higher grit steel diamond stone. The stones look very well made and are presented in the wooden boxes that add a little elegance. Shipping was fast, products were packaged in a bubble envelope and inside are two cardboard boxes one for each stone. Inside each cardboard box is the wooden box and inside that are the stones wrapped in a thin foam, making a snug fit inside the wooden box, which is inside the cardboard box. No chips, scratches or defects of any kind.

Bought for my son and it works well

I am new to whetstones, I wasn't sure how high the grits I should go for my kitchen knives, so i ended up with this set(400, 1000, 3000 grits), a King whetstone (6000 grits) and a natural whetstone (12000 grits). And after used them all for couple times, I found this set is good enough to make the knives razor sharp. The King 6000 grits seem doing very little difference after the 3000 grits, not to mention the 12000 grits, it pretty much polish the blade rather than sharpening. So, if you are like me, new to the sharpening world, I would strongly recommend this set, not only because they did a good job of sharpening all my knives, but also the quality of these whetstones, especially the wooden box make two really nice storage cases. Plus, if you have been searching for whetstones, you will find these set of whetstone are in really reasonable price range. I think I am getting another set soon for my sister. To make it short, Quality, 5 Performance, 5 Cost, 5 (compare to other whetstone with similar grits) If i had known better, i would've purchased these two whetstones and be done with it, so I could save the money I spent on higher grits whetstone for something else.

These are wonderful stones that I have used to sharpen several knives. Razor sharp! They are shipped in nice little pine (I think) boxes. Unfortunately one of the boxes I received was damaged. Fortunately the stone was not. This is why I give this product 4 stars. The product is a 5 star item, but for some reason both stones were shipped in a regular un-padded priority mail envelope. Note to seller: The "Fragile, Handle with Care" instruction needs to be put on the OUTSIDE envelope! It's no good printing it on the product box then sticking the box in an envelope that offers no protection!

I am a Japanese Waterstone beginner. Having never used one before, I selected this set based on the fact that I got 3 different grits for a really good price. The stones arrive wrapped in a thin polyester cloth, and safe in a cedar box. The set is really nice, and the box keeps the stones safe. From what I have been able to gather after using it 3 times, they're really good, and I was able to sharpen my knifes. But my technique need improvement, (no fault of the stones) The only issue I have is the Masahiro symbol on the dual grit stone. The ink they use is some sort of polymer based ink and it's really thick. You have to sand it off first before you use the stone, otherwise your knife will slide right over that part without sharpening it. For me, the symbol was on the 1000 grit side, and it took a while for me to remove most of it. I used a 1000 grit sandpaper for it, but I would have used a 600 grit if I had any lying around. Overall great product.

as i am relatively new to the blade sharpening scene, this set is that of my first official whetstones i've bought. i've been looking around for and studying up on whetstones and came across these, and i gotta say: for the price of a little under $40, these stones are of great quality. in comparison to other stones of the same quality i came across, hands down, these are the best bang for the buck. they arrived 1 day before the expected arrival date, which is always a plus! total wait time was 4 days from the day the order was put in to the day they arrived at my doorstep. and soon as they arrived, i unpacked them and put them straight to use, soaking them in water for 30 minutes and discarding the old whetstone that was passed on to my by a friend. within an hour, i was able to put a keen edge on my cheap store bought santoku knife (which this too will be upgraded to a more proper knife of a higher quality). and working with these stones actually makes a novice like me look like i know what i'm doing. but as the saying goes, practice makes perfect. in any case, i highly recommend these stones to anyone as a first set or as a complimentary set. they also make a great gift idea as well, i've noticed. happy sharpening!

I love it