The 1x6 Suehiro 1500 DBO is a medium grit stone used for general profiling, repairs and initial maintenance on your edges. The Debado (DBO) series is splash and go with stones that are kiln fired, so it is also a very solid stone that wears slowly. This makes it an ideal stone for working sharp edges and a one stone solution for just about any knife or tool, or prepping the edge for further refinement and polishing.

1" x 6" x 5mm in size and mounted to a steel blank, it is used with water only and work best when soaked in water for a minute or two before use. Store in a dry place in between 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 (220, 320, 500, 600, 800, and 1K grit)
• After coarse belt grinder grits (100, 120, 220, A30 Trizact grit)
• Before progressing to a finer medium grit stones and fine stones (2K – 6K grit)

The Suehiro 1,500 Debado 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 1x6 size is meant for use with the Edge Pro, Hapstone and TSProf sharpeners, it is also a great size for a slip stone, field stone or a pocket stone for knife 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 1500 Debado 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, maintaining, and making 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. It is an ideal stone for final grits on these steels as well.

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 1500 Debado really cleans up previous scratches while leaving a very reputable working edge that is prepared for further refinement.

On Carbide Forming Steel and More Abrasion Resistant Steel Edges such as VG-10, D2, M2, S35V, S90V, etc., the Suehiro 1500 Debado 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 1500 grit stone, or a coarse or extra coarse diamond plate and some water. The slurry will be a milky gray.
• 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.

Alternative Premium Level Stones:  Naniwa Chosera 1K, Shapton 1500, Sigma Select II 1200

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