Exploring MizuHonyaki with Natural Stones

I adjusted the micro bevel on my Blue #2 Steel MizuHonyaki knife using a natural whetstone. As expected, it resulted in an incredibly sharp edge.

While synthetic stones like Kitayama and G-1 can also create a keen edge, the natural stone gives a different, unique sharpness. It’s a subtle difference where the knife doesn’t just get sharper; it naturally becomes sharp on its own.

As for the results with MizuHonyaki, as mentioned above, I believe this would yield different results with an oil-tempered knife. Synthetic whetstones might actually provide a better edge in such cases!

‘Good sharpness’ and how one feels about the edge can vary greatly from person to person, so I can’t say there’s one ‘best’ option. But in my experience, natural whetstones work well for MizuHonyaki.

Today, I used a ‘Nakayama Awasedo’ natural whetstone to adjust the final micro bevel. The foundational micro bevel was set with an S-1 stone.

• 2010-10-28