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NAKAYAMA #3 MARUKA IRO AWASADO w/NASHI-JI

205mm x 73mm x 26mm

Reads on the stone top from the upper right down, JUN SHOSHIN HONZAN (pure specially chosen original mountain),

And 27 (an inventory number)

And at the bottom SAIKOKYUHIN (very best quality)

Marked on the end of the stone in a rectangle MARUKA SHO HONZAN (Maruka correct true original mountain)*. 

This Nakayama Maruka awasedo tomae stone is NEW/OLD stock from a closed store in Japan. It has not been used other than to test the quality at one edge of the stone as you can see in the photos. Exceedingly rare in this color and quality, toishi awasedo like this have not been mined for many, many years.

The actual color of the stone is more of a salmon color with a tint of rose like you can see on the back. Also there is a vein of buff color that runs through diagonally. The top looks a bit brick in color now but this is partly because of the oxidized skin that forms over the years in reaction to the minerals in the stone. This skin is microns thin and can be polished off with a diamond plate before using. The sides are sawn with the finest toothed saw and the back was hand chiseled and displays the attention to detail a fine stone deserves. There is a corner that retains part of the skin.

A Swedish blue steel Ishido Teruhide blade was used to sample this stone.

I found the stone to be very receptive to the blue steel blade, there was no chattering and no scratchy feeling of any kind. The stone has a smooth even grit through out the whole surface and with the little bit of sharpening I did, the skin opened up and some of the rose color began to show through. You can see in the photos that the hagane became mirror like and the jigane also polished up while still keeping a contrast with the hagane.

Hardness   Grit   Speed/Strength   Price in U.S. 

    9            9+              10              SOLD         

*In usage when you encircle a kanji word as in this case KA, it becomes  MARU (circle) KA or MARUKA.