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The Bester 1.2K stone is consistent and the perfect stone to progress from the Beston and an ideal stone to lead into the final finishing stone in this set, the Suehiro Rika 5K. This Rika stone is one of our favorites. It's creamy smooth and provides a great final edge on your knives. These stones all require a short soak before use. Also included are the Yahiko Stone Tray that holds your stone and keeps water from getting all over your counter as well as a hard felt deburring block and a 400/1K Grit Diamond Plate to flatten your stones and use for repair.
Here are some instructions.
The beston is in the blue box. It's the most coarse stone at 500 Grit. You can perma soak this stone if you like. Just stick it in a bucket or something similar and cover with water and it will be ready to use whenever you're ready. You can also store it dry. This is my preference but many people perma soak. If you store it dry, this stone is thirsty so soak it for 15 minutes. Also, I like to lap my stones right out of the box for a few seconds before I use them and I also slightly round off the crisp edges on the long side of the stone so they don't run into the edge when you're sharpening.
The Bester 1.2K can also be perma soaked. Same instructions as above. Soak time is much less on this one if you want to store it dry.
The Rika is one of my favorite stones on the site. It's more or less splash and go but I've soaked mine for years and it works fine that way too. I find it feels a touch softer when perma soaking. Very creamy and nice feedback. Finishes a kitchen knife edge really well.
The deburring block is used in between the first and second stone but you can also do it before and after every stone. It works really well. To use, simple draw the entire blade edge through it about 2 mm into the block. You'll see a black line on the block when you're done and that's the burr and metal swarf coming off the edge.
The tray is pretty self explanatory. It's just for gripping the stone and has a little lip running around it to catch extra water on your counter or bench.
The 140 Grit plate can be used to flatten all your stones. Just mark your stone with a pencil and then flatten the stone until the pencil marks are gone. If you do this before each time you sharpen it takes about 10 seconds. If you wait a year until your stones look like the saddle on a horse you're going to have to spend a long time working them flat.
If you would like to ask specific questions about sharpening please visit our forum: http://www.chefknivestogoforums.com/viewforum.php?f=4
Product Reviews
Daily use set, January 30, 2017 5-pic sharpening set, December 19, 2016 My first stone set , November 7, 2014This is my first stone set and as a newbe in the Japanese chefs knife world Im more than satisfied by the work done by this set I also own a kitayama 8000 and with that my anryu kurouchi nakiri cut like laser. A big thank you for mark the shipment to Paris came in 5 days, but obviously I had to pay taxes as Im a french citizen.
Product Review, July 24, 2014My favorite stone from the bunch is the Bester 500 grit, which has been te most consistent, and has preformed the most smoothly. Both of the Bester stones can be left to soak for a while, and indeed the bester 1000 grit seems to preform a lot better after a long soak. The Suehiro Rika has been a less well-behaved stone. I first tried soaking this stone for a long time like the bester 1000 grit, but the result was a surface that was too soft, forming a thick sticky mud that makes sharpening difficult. I now treat this stone as essentially a splash and go, letting the surface absorb water as I go, and that seems to work a lot better. Overall, a good starter set, but with a bit of a learning curve compared to, say, Shapton.
Product Review, February 18, 2014Great set for starting out. Fantastic value. That said, I have heard nothing but great things about the Chosera stones. These stones are soakers and, like the description says, require 15+ minutes of time in water. It isn't a problem, just something to be aware of. It shipped quickly, was packaged well, and the communication was great.
Product Review, January 27, 2014As a professional cook the importance and (peer) pressure of a sharp knife is daunting but with this set I can confidently say that my knives are some of the sharpest in the kitchen. Each time I buy something from this company I am reminded of the professionalism and consistency that comes with doing business with Chefknivestogo. This site is the only place to a buy a kitchen knife.
Product Review, September 6, 2013 Product Review, May 22, 2013After seeing my reflection in a coworker's knife I decided that my sharpening rods were not getting my knives as sharp as they could be. This set had everything I needed to get a mirror edge and to thin knives that I have used for years. These old knives now take a much steeper edge.Great set!
Product Review, February 26, 2012 Product Review, February 21, 2012I used to use a combination stone that would create more microchips than you can imagine. This start up kit brought my nakiri to a razor sharp edge. thinned the secondary edge on the 500 finished it on the 1200 and polished it on the 5000, what a shine. The primary edge took no time at all to establish and even less time to make razor sharp. Great set, great price and great service.
Product Review, January 13, 2012 Product Review, December 31, 2011I'm no expert in sharpening; rather I'm just starting to learn, and for that purpose I think this set is excellent. I am very happy with the products. I've read some reviews of the Beston 500 and I agree with those who feel that it is a thirsty stone. However, to me it seems fast and I've successfully used it to remove some nasty chips in the edge of one of my mother's kitchen knives. I love the Suehiro stone. It is an absolute joy to use. For sharpening tools, my next planned purchases are a stone flattener and the Kitayama 8000 grit stone. Can't wait.
Product Review, December 28, 2011$ for $, this is finest water stone set at this price range and 90% of the cases this is all you need. If you're like me, who tends to overbuy a lot of water stone based on grit type and eventually uses only 20 percent of them for 80 percent of the time, then save your money and just buy this set.
Product Review, September 1, 2011 Product Review, May 11, 2011This is a great set at a very fair price. I already owned an extensive set of stones, however, I wanted a dedicated set for my Japanese knives at home. Thus far I am very happy with the set of stones. As Bryan from Tampa mentioned, the feedback is pretty good. The transitions seem appropriate as evidenced by the final product which is very good. FWIW, I finish with the Kitayama 8K stone, also purchased here.
Product Review, November 3, 2010 Product Review, October 2, 2010This is an OUTSTANDING combo set. I have all three stones and think this is perhaps the best combo I have seen. The Beston is course enough to re-bevel and fix damage ... the Bester will get it sharp ... and the Rika will be more than refined enough for any gyuto use home or pro kitchen. They all have very nice feedback which is extremely important in learning how to sharpen. Great Job Mark! I wish this set was available when I started sharpening. The only thing to make it better would be to include a drop down option for a flattening stone!
(Reviews are subject to approval)
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