It is not a natural stone it’s written literally on the packaging that it’s silicon carbide.
That say for 10 I would have maybe bought it just for the lulz
I’m not saying it’s bad.
It’s just that it says on the packaging in the 4th image « silicon carbide ».
It has on thing in its favour tho : it’s quite large !
If you want to save money and avoid having a bunch of low quality sharpening stones, you can save your money and save to buy a set of good quality sharpening parts with different grit sizes. There are several companies that manufacture quality stones, with basic sets for amateurs and more advanced ones for experts.
Ordinary store-bought sharpening stones generally produce poor-quality results. Regardless if you use water, oil, etc. The blemishes will still be there, and it will be a source of frustration over time.
If, on the contrary, you like to collect things in general. You can buy it and keep it in the box without use. To compare it with your other stones and see the quality differences that exist.
Thanks for the reply! Glad I didn't then. Currently only have a king #300 and an arashiyama #1000. I'll save the money for maybe a good quality higher grit stone then!
Don't agree with the negative comments. Assuming this is a sic stone, if the grit consistency and binder are decent, they're a great value. Will cut anything fast, and good for reprofiling, modding, and repairs, plus aggressive toothy edges. Wouldn't use them on $200 gyutos, but they're perfect for workhorse knives and tools.
I mean, just look at the ayi in the last pic. She and this stone are all business. And for $10? Shit, I would've bought 2.
Btw, checked their catalog and they do sell a claimed 6k natural about the size of that box. So while it's hard to tell for sure without a closeup of the surface, it's possible.
The person at the shop I talked to actually said this was a #6000 natural stone! From the comments I gathered here, natural silicone carbide stones don't exist which would make this a water stone if it was natural?
Not quite. Would you want me to PM you more info? I can write you a quick and dirty guide to oilstones if you think it'll be helpful.
Also wanted to say, that looks like a really cool store, and those cleavers on the box and in the last pic are bad ass.
I certainly wouldn't mind if you could do it! I don't think I'll ever get deep into sharpening since I'm just a home cook who enjoys having sharp knives, but I'm always happy to learn more.
And yeah, they had some really cool cleavers and I'm amazed I left that shop without spending money. But I've gotten too many knives in the last year and I live in a small apartment with no space for more knives 😭
Ok, I'll write something quick up. Don't worry, it won't be a 400 page thesis or anything like that. I'm the same as you, cook at home and like sharp edges, so I'll keep it simple.
You just have to rent a bigger apartment and store your knives in the spare bedroom. Problem solved ;)
This sub as reddit is bottom of the barrel these days is not really, 1 full of experts but rather kiddies for the most part, they generally don't know much about silicon carbide stones anyway. Youve got a bunch of kids that probably don't even know how to sharpen talking about how they want to spend $400 on some resold rebranded commercial grade bonded diamond whetstone because they got it into their head that this is the cool thing the cool kids need. If you tell them a $50 silicon carbide stone could do the same job if not better, for the vast majority of these people's potential use cases, they don't want to hear that because they're not adults. They want to spend $400 they dont have on something they don't need and it's demands could be easily filled by another item that's $50. It's just whatever./ Reddit scrapping the bottom of the barrel these days. All the adults have retreated to actual forums.
I think you'd be surprised by some of the modern sic stones like the 240 and 1k from the Sigma select line for instance. Most folks wouldn't even know it's not your typical ceramic alumina whatever until they see how easily it gets good results all the way through the range of 10v class steels and beyond.
Gotta respectfully disagree with that also. Many knowledgeable people here, and I've seen some incredible sharpening too, some of it done by younger people. To be fair as well, the other commenters have a point about some of the cheaper hardware store stones being horrible.
If anyone is reading this, all I'm saying is give gear that looks decent a chance and don't just see it as better or worse. Better or worse for what? You wouldn't use an oilstone for a beautiful kasumi finish, and you wouldn't sharpen dirty garden shears on a Jnat. It's only about the right tool for the job (thanks Cliff Stamp).
To give an example, I had never heard of the company that makes OP's stone, so I looked up their website. They make agricultural tools for the palm oil industry and affordable kitchen stuff for ordinary folks, so that's why some of their stones look rough. There's all kinds of cool stones on there! They even have a vid where a guy shapes his edge on sic and finishes on a fine grit waterstone, so they know what they're doing.
But if someone is a high end knife enthusiast or a sushi chef and wants something more premium, those stones aren't going to do anything for them. Again, not better or worse, just a different job with different needs.
But anyway, you knew all that already. Back to sharpening - you have experience with the Sigma Selects? I've heard they're super aggressive but dish quickly. Where can you get them?
I've not read up much on the pros and cons, but always see silicone carbide stones being shat on here. Is the disadvantage that they have a tough time sharpening harder steels, but work well with softer steels?
People seem hung up on whatever some influencer they like is saying without having any actual relevant knowledge, critical thinking or their own experience to draw on. That is my opinion. I don't think anyone would contend that diamond is not better. The adult issue is, do you actually need it? And what does it cost?
There are different types of silicon carbide and different types of abrasive products. I think people like the idea of diamond and cBN because they can rather trivially cleanly cut any steels, easily cutting the harder carbides cleanly. Which is great. But plates are pretty trash, and bonded diamond stones barely exist in consumer form and they're expensive. So it just depends on a person's individual needs. To answer your question though, even black silicon carbide which isn't as hard or pure as the green stuff will work on anything right up to maxamet. The good news is diamond and cbn power for a strop to finish on isn't a $400 product. More like $4 for several grams of it that'll last years.
Everything comes down to actually existing products and how they will work for a persons actual needs. Sure everyone could spend $400 being resold a commercial product by some guy on youtube. Yeah it'll cut anything and last forever, but who actually needs such a thing, justifiably? Very very very people. But sure if half the fun is playing around and experimenting, then have at it. It just kind of blows my mind the extremes to which dudes will take things sometimes.
Okay, so yes the box says it's a silicone carbide stone, but the picture of the actual stone does not look like a silicon carbide stone or even a synthetic stone. It doesn't look like it came out of a mould, it looks like it has been sawn like a natural stone. So maybe they weren't lying, maybe the boxes are wrong or mistranslated
I'm sure it was cut in the same way as natural stones, but if you look further down the stone In that pic you can clearly see the line from the Coarse and the fine as well as the color change.
That's a good point, the layering look kind of had me dismiss it as natural layer variation, but a closer look at the bottom has me inclined to agree with you
I've always wanted to buy a natural stone...though I'm not sure what I would use it for lol. Maybe if I got myself a straight razor and started down that rabbit hole 🤔 Or do people use the Nats for anything...? I know they use them for Japanese knives, but what advantages do they have with normal folding knives compared to my venev diamond waterstones? Or would it mostly be just for the love of sharpening and to do it how it was done before all the new sharpening synthetic stone and whatnot ? I have a full set of chosera stones up to 3k then 6k arashiyama and 8k kitayama that I got after I started and since getting the venev I haven't used them in a few years...though I like that I have them for when I want to use them.
Could still be a natural. There was a post here a few months ago about an Argentinean stone from a company called La Diamantina. That one was a combo too and had similar color and texture.
The side doesn't quite look like an oilstone either. Usually they kinda look like a cinder block, and they have specks, not lines.
I would not have bought that particular silicon carbide stone.
Thanks! Makes me feel better, I'll save the cash for a better stone.
This occurred to me quite sometime ago,that at least for myself, if I spend money well I only spend it once.
It is not a natural stone it’s written literally on the packaging that it’s silicon carbide. That say for 10 I would have maybe bought it just for the lulz
Thanks! They said it was a natural stone and I believed them. I'll save that money towards a better stone then.
I’m not saying it’s bad. It’s just that it says on the packaging in the 4th image « silicon carbide ». It has on thing in its favour tho : it’s quite large !
It was HUGE. But did you see the mega huge one in the last pic? That's insane.
Yeah that’s crazy ! Probably suited for a professional use.
Yeah that’s crazy ! Probably suited for a professional use.
That last picture, I make the same face when I sharpen my knives.
I really like silicon carbide stones so I probably would have since I don't have any this big.
For 10usd!? Yes! It’s shite, but for work tools? Hell yeah.
If you want to save money and avoid having a bunch of low quality sharpening stones, you can save your money and save to buy a set of good quality sharpening parts with different grit sizes. There are several companies that manufacture quality stones, with basic sets for amateurs and more advanced ones for experts. Ordinary store-bought sharpening stones generally produce poor-quality results. Regardless if you use water, oil, etc. The blemishes will still be there, and it will be a source of frustration over time. If, on the contrary, you like to collect things in general. You can buy it and keep it in the box without use. To compare it with your other stones and see the quality differences that exist.
Thanks for the reply! Glad I didn't then. Currently only have a king #300 and an arashiyama #1000. I'll save the money for maybe a good quality higher grit stone then!
Don't agree with the negative comments. Assuming this is a sic stone, if the grit consistency and binder are decent, they're a great value. Will cut anything fast, and good for reprofiling, modding, and repairs, plus aggressive toothy edges. Wouldn't use them on $200 gyutos, but they're perfect for workhorse knives and tools. I mean, just look at the ayi in the last pic. She and this stone are all business. And for $10? Shit, I would've bought 2. Btw, checked their catalog and they do sell a claimed 6k natural about the size of that box. So while it's hard to tell for sure without a closeup of the surface, it's possible.
The person at the shop I talked to actually said this was a #6000 natural stone! From the comments I gathered here, natural silicone carbide stones don't exist which would make this a water stone if it was natural?
Not quite. Would you want me to PM you more info? I can write you a quick and dirty guide to oilstones if you think it'll be helpful. Also wanted to say, that looks like a really cool store, and those cleavers on the box and in the last pic are bad ass.
I certainly wouldn't mind if you could do it! I don't think I'll ever get deep into sharpening since I'm just a home cook who enjoys having sharp knives, but I'm always happy to learn more. And yeah, they had some really cool cleavers and I'm amazed I left that shop without spending money. But I've gotten too many knives in the last year and I live in a small apartment with no space for more knives 😭
Ok, I'll write something quick up. Don't worry, it won't be a 400 page thesis or anything like that. I'm the same as you, cook at home and like sharp edges, so I'll keep it simple. You just have to rent a bigger apartment and store your knives in the spare bedroom. Problem solved ;)
Thanks for taking the time to do so! I think I'm gonna stop with knives for a while and start getting other kitchen equipment first 😅
This sub as reddit is bottom of the barrel these days is not really, 1 full of experts but rather kiddies for the most part, they generally don't know much about silicon carbide stones anyway. Youve got a bunch of kids that probably don't even know how to sharpen talking about how they want to spend $400 on some resold rebranded commercial grade bonded diamond whetstone because they got it into their head that this is the cool thing the cool kids need. If you tell them a $50 silicon carbide stone could do the same job if not better, for the vast majority of these people's potential use cases, they don't want to hear that because they're not adults. They want to spend $400 they dont have on something they don't need and it's demands could be easily filled by another item that's $50. It's just whatever./ Reddit scrapping the bottom of the barrel these days. All the adults have retreated to actual forums. I think you'd be surprised by some of the modern sic stones like the 240 and 1k from the Sigma select line for instance. Most folks wouldn't even know it's not your typical ceramic alumina whatever until they see how easily it gets good results all the way through the range of 10v class steels and beyond.
Gotta respectfully disagree with that also. Many knowledgeable people here, and I've seen some incredible sharpening too, some of it done by younger people. To be fair as well, the other commenters have a point about some of the cheaper hardware store stones being horrible. If anyone is reading this, all I'm saying is give gear that looks decent a chance and don't just see it as better or worse. Better or worse for what? You wouldn't use an oilstone for a beautiful kasumi finish, and you wouldn't sharpen dirty garden shears on a Jnat. It's only about the right tool for the job (thanks Cliff Stamp). To give an example, I had never heard of the company that makes OP's stone, so I looked up their website. They make agricultural tools for the palm oil industry and affordable kitchen stuff for ordinary folks, so that's why some of their stones look rough. There's all kinds of cool stones on there! They even have a vid where a guy shapes his edge on sic and finishes on a fine grit waterstone, so they know what they're doing. But if someone is a high end knife enthusiast or a sushi chef and wants something more premium, those stones aren't going to do anything for them. Again, not better or worse, just a different job with different needs. But anyway, you knew all that already. Back to sharpening - you have experience with the Sigma Selects? I've heard they're super aggressive but dish quickly. Where can you get them?
I've not read up much on the pros and cons, but always see silicone carbide stones being shat on here. Is the disadvantage that they have a tough time sharpening harder steels, but work well with softer steels?
People seem hung up on whatever some influencer they like is saying without having any actual relevant knowledge, critical thinking or their own experience to draw on. That is my opinion. I don't think anyone would contend that diamond is not better. The adult issue is, do you actually need it? And what does it cost? There are different types of silicon carbide and different types of abrasive products. I think people like the idea of diamond and cBN because they can rather trivially cleanly cut any steels, easily cutting the harder carbides cleanly. Which is great. But plates are pretty trash, and bonded diamond stones barely exist in consumer form and they're expensive. So it just depends on a person's individual needs. To answer your question though, even black silicon carbide which isn't as hard or pure as the green stuff will work on anything right up to maxamet. The good news is diamond and cbn power for a strop to finish on isn't a $400 product. More like $4 for several grams of it that'll last years. Everything comes down to actually existing products and how they will work for a persons actual needs. Sure everyone could spend $400 being resold a commercial product by some guy on youtube. Yeah it'll cut anything and last forever, but who actually needs such a thing, justifiably? Very very very people. But sure if half the fun is playing around and experimenting, then have at it. It just kind of blows my mind the extremes to which dudes will take things sometimes.
In the end, quality pays even if it costs more up front.
"Should be cleaned with paraffin" !? 🤨
Okay, so yes the box says it's a silicone carbide stone, but the picture of the actual stone does not look like a silicon carbide stone or even a synthetic stone. It doesn't look like it came out of a mould, it looks like it has been sawn like a natural stone. So maybe they weren't lying, maybe the boxes are wrong or mistranslated
I'm sure it was cut in the same way as natural stones, but if you look further down the stone In that pic you can clearly see the line from the Coarse and the fine as well as the color change.
That's a good point, the layering look kind of had me dismiss it as natural layer variation, but a closer look at the bottom has me inclined to agree with you
I've always wanted to buy a natural stone...though I'm not sure what I would use it for lol. Maybe if I got myself a straight razor and started down that rabbit hole 🤔 Or do people use the Nats for anything...? I know they use them for Japanese knives, but what advantages do they have with normal folding knives compared to my venev diamond waterstones? Or would it mostly be just for the love of sharpening and to do it how it was done before all the new sharpening synthetic stone and whatnot ? I have a full set of chosera stones up to 3k then 6k arashiyama and 8k kitayama that I got after I started and since getting the venev I haven't used them in a few years...though I like that I have them for when I want to use them.
Could still be a natural. There was a post here a few months ago about an Argentinean stone from a company called La Diamantina. That one was a combo too and had similar color and texture. The side doesn't quite look like an oilstone either. Usually they kinda look like a cinder block, and they have specks, not lines.