The 1x4 Naniwa Chosera 600 Grit stone is a very flexible coarse stone used for profiling, repairs and initial maintenance on your edges. This stone also cleans up deeper factory scratches, makes transitioning from diamond plates and stones easier and cleaner, and is a good foundation stone before progressing to finer grits. 

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 factory edge knife and profiling.
• Starting grit for light repair and maintenance of an already sharpened but dull edge.
• After any diamond grit plate or stone to remove the deeper diamond scratches.
• After lower grit sharpening stones (120, 220, 320, 400 grit)
• After coarse belt grinder grits (60, 80, 100, 120, 220, A65, A30 Trizact grit)
• Before progressing to a finer and/or medium grit stone (800 - 2K grit)

The 600 Grit Naniwa Chosera 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.

This stone can also be used in a mix and match progression with other synthetic and natural sharpening stones as well as with other brands, such as Shapton, Sigma, Suehiro, Imanishi, Spyderco, King, etc. Naniwa Choseras are Waterstones 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 600 Chosera works on steels between RC 52 and RC 65 on the Rockwell C Hardness scale. On softer end steels such as X50CrMoV15, AUS6, 440B, and most stainless steels used by many kitchen knife makers like Henckels, Wüsthof, Gunter Wilhelm, F Dick, Victorinox, etc., this stone will make quick work of establishing an edge and preparing it for further refinement.

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 Chosera 600 removes any surface rust, reestablishes the bevel and edges leaving a matte gray, consistent finish. The slightly softer makeup of this stone gives it a little more cutting power than the 400 or 800 Chosera, but it’s still solid enough to allow for more pressure to be used in order to get some work done without the worry of the stone dishing so fast.

On Carbide Forming Steel and More Abrasion Resistant Steel Edges such as VG-10, D2, M2, S35V, S90V,etc., The Chosera 600 stone still removes matrix steel and carbides without much problem and is best utilized for removing and cleaning up diamond plate or belt sander scratches to prep the edge for a more even surface before going to finer grits. The slightly softer matrix of this stone really works well with these kinds of steels.

Hacks and Tips:

• For a more aggressive stone, create a slurry by rubbing the stone’s surface with a smaller 600 Chosera stone, or a coarse or extra coarse diamond plate and some water. The slurry will be milky blue.
• Use a moderate amount of water when sharpening with this stone 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: Shapton 500, Naniwa 600 Bubble Gum