The 1x4 Suehiro 3K Yellow is a more traditional style finishing stone that polishes an already established edge to a mirror finish. The edges off this stone are still relatively thick and robust for strength, but the polish gives them a smooth slicing ability for use, as well as leaving the edge prepped for further polishing and stropping.

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 maintenance on a dull edge.
• After lower grit sharpening stones (800, 1K, and 2K grit)
• After fine belt grinder grits (A16 or A6 Trizact grit)
• Before progressing to a finer polishing stones and fine stones (4K – 30K grit)
• Before finishing with strops and emulsions (4 micron – 0.025 micron)

The Suehiro 3K Yellow sharpening stone 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 3K Yellow works on steels between RC 52 and RC 65 on the Rockwell C Hardness scale. The way this stone polishes the grooves of makes it an ideal finishing grit for knives and tools 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 3K Yellow really starts to bring out the shine and sharpness while leaving the edge prepped for further refinement if desired.

On Carbide Forming Steel and More Abrasion Resistant Steel Edges such as VG-10, D2, M2, S35V, S90V, etc., the Suehiro 3K Yellow stone brings out the shine and preps the edge for further refinement and polishing.

Hacks and Tips:

• Allow the mixture of metal, stone particles, and water from sharpening to turn into a paste/mud to squeeze out a finer finish. Keep the paste viscous with drops of water to keep it from drying out into a cement-like mess.
• Conversely, a cleaner, more viscous surface will cut faster than a pasted one, so it is best to start this stone clean, and allow the paste to form.
• The longer you use the paste, the more polished the edge (to a certain point only)
• Lap this stone with a coarse diamond plate, silicon carbide (SiC) powder, or low grit wet dry sand paper to keep it consistently flat and clean.

Alternative Premium Level Stones: Naniwa Chosera 3K, Shapton 3K, Sigma Select II 3K