Hakka Tomae Japanese Natural Stone finish compared to synthetic stone finish



In this video I demonstrate the Hakka Tomae, a stone available in limited quantities at Chefknivestogo.com These stones are imported by me (Precise Sharpening) for Chefknivestogo and are stamped (on the back of the stone in this instance) with the Tanaka Toishi Kyogyosho stamp, assuring you of a quality and authentic product.

The mine it comes from is the Hakka mine and the particular layer is the Tomae layer, a more uniform and less stratified layer than the suita layer.

Because the stone comes from a mine and layer I am familiar with I already know the characteristics of this stone even before using it. You will hear comments to the contrary that each stone is a complete mystery grab bag. I describe the stones characteristics before use and, of little suprise to me it performs as expected.

It absorbs water somewhat slowly, although adding more water from time to time is necessary. It is a muddy stone, unlike many other polishing stones, so it is particularly suited to single bevel knives like yanagis or usubas that require a refined edge and don't usually have a perfectly uniform front bevel. It is also well suited to double bevel knives like this Moritaka that has been ground to a zero grind - with no separate bevel but just the two sides of the knife meeting with just a slightly convex grind - not quite a full traditional hamaguri grind.

With continued sharpening, a continually refined mud is being built. I look at the edge as the process continues and a natural stone finish gradually replaces the initial synthetic stone finish, providing a contrast between the softer cladding steel (jigane) and the harder core steel or hagane, with the softer cladding producing a softer sand blasted hazy finish and the harder steel showing a type of mirror finish much like an antique mirror with a black haze. This is referred to as a kurobikari finish.

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Ken

Here's a closeup of a section of the blade demonstrating how the Hakka Tomae clearly differentiates between the core steel and the cladding. Also note the transition area between these two steels.

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Ken

THe reason I posted this video and image is because there have been questions asking about the sort of finish that natural Japanese stones produce as compared to synthetic stones. This particular polishing stone is an excellent example of the type of finish produced.

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Ken

In the first video I demonstrated the difference between a synthetic stone finish and a natural stone finish. To those that closely observed the finish some coarser scratches were observable. Some have mistaken these scratches as being from the Hakka Tomae. I would remind you that this is not a coarse stone but rather a polishing stone that neither can remove such coarse scratches nor cause them.

So I went back, going back as coarse as a 400 grit stone up to a 2000 grit stone to remove the majority of these scratches and redid the finish with the Hakka Tomae once again, this time more fully demonstrating the capabilities of the stone itself.

In this video I finish the final stages to demonstrate the Hakka finish without the distracting coarser synthetic stone finishes.

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Ken

Absolutely great!

What do you think, would this also work with the stones mounted on WEPS paddles or is this best done free-hand? I have never done a large bevel (over a few mm wide) on my WEPS, since it is hard to get the bevel exactly the same width all over the blade. (In fact, I just sent off a Ray Mears knife with a Scandi grind that has a single bevel over 1.5 cm wide to a very accomplished Belgian sharpener ). I know this is only an esthetic issue, but with knives like these, esthetics are inportant too.

Just saving up a little more for a Murray Carter knife...

Thank you, Mark!

I thought you might really appreciate what a natural stone finish is about and this video (the first one especially) was really inspired by your questions about natural stone finishes earlier.

There's no reason not to think natural stones on the Wicked edge wouldn't be a good thing. In fact I have already cut and mounted several types of them already I certainly wouldn't rule out using them on a Murray Carter knife

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Ken