The 1x4 Suehiro 1K Cerax is a medium grit stone used for general profiling, repairs and initial maintenance on your edges. This stone has a very interesting feel and feedback that is hard and solid underneath a silky-smooth surface. It is truly an unsung hero of a stone that acts as an excellent cleanup stone from coarser grits and prepares your edge for further refinement. The beautiful matte finish left by this stone leaves the edge on the better side of basic working sharp. This stone also fits very well into preparing the edge for a natural stone progression.

This stone is 1" x 4" in size mounted to an aluminum blank with a total thickness of 5-6mm and used with water only. It works best when soaked in water for a minute or two before use. Let air dry and store dry when not in use.

Abrasive Material: Aluminum Oxide

Ideal place in a sharpening progression:

• Starting grit for repairs on a dull edge and minor profiling.
• After diamond plates or coarser stones.
• After lower grit sharpening stones (80, 120, 180, 220 grit)
• After coarse belt grinder grits (60, 80, 100, 120, 220, A65, A30 Trizact grit)
• Before progressing to a finer medium grit stones and fine stones (2K – 6K grit)
• Before moving to further natural sharpening stones such as Binsui or Aoto.

The Suehiro  1K Cerax sharpening stone is a mid level, medium grit sharpening that works on almost all types of knives, scissors, tools and chisels, including those made with abrasion resistant steels. While the 1x4 size is meant for use with the KME Sharpener, it is also a great size for a slip stone, field stone or a pocket stone for knife repairs and sharpening on the go, or to remove unwanted burrs.

This stone can also be used in a mix and match progression of other synthetic and natural sharpening stones, as well with other brands such as Shapton, Sigma, Naniwa, Imanishi, Spyderco, King, etc. As a waterstone it is not to be used with oil, but can be used in conjunction with oil stones (such as Norton India and other carborundum and Arkansas stones) if the blade is wiped clean before and after switching stone types.   

On More Traditional Carbon Steel and Stainless Steel Edges the Suehiro 1K Cerax works on steels between RC 52 and RC 65 on the Rockwell C Hardness scale. The stone itself is very solid and makes easy work of sharpening, and minor repairs on edges made with softer end of the spectrum of steels like X50CrMoV15, AUS6, 440B, and most steels used by many kitchen knife makers like Henckels, Wüsthof, Gunter Wilhelm, F Dick, Victorinox, etc.

On the higher end of the hardness spectrum of traditional steel edges made with steels like 1095, 52100, 440C, Aogami White, Shirogami Blue, O1, W1, etc., the Suehiro 1K Cerax really cleans up previous scratches, leaving an even matte finish with a basic working edge that is prepared for further refinement. This stone really excels on these types of steels.

On Carbide Forming Steel and More Abrasion Resistant Steel Edges such as VG-10, D2, M2, S35V, S90V, etc., the Suehiro 1K Cerax stone cleans the edge for further refinement and polishing.

Hacks and Tips:

• For a more aggressive stone, create a slurry by rubbing the stone’s surface with a smaller 1K grit stone, or a coarse or extra coarse diamond plate and some water. The slurry will be a milky white.
• Keep the surface of the stone wet with water when sharpening to avoid the black swarf from turning into a thick paste. A cleaner, more viscous surface will cut faster than a thicker pasted one.
• Lap this stone with a coarse or extra coarse diamond plate, silicon carbide (SiC) powder, or low grit wet dry sand paper to keep it consistently flat and clean.

Comparable Stones: Naniwa 1K Goken Pro

Alternative Premium Level Stones:  Naniwa Chosera 1K, Shapton 1K, Sigma Select II 1K

Alternative Economic Level Stones: Naniwa 1K Chocolate Bar, Suehiro 1K R