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NARUTAKI #127 TOMAE AWASADO
205mm x 75mm x 40mm
Reads on the stone top from the upper right down, TOKUSEN (specially chosen).
Down the center SHO NARUTAKI AWASE TOISHI SHO (original Narutaki finish sharpening stone).
And at the center right SAIKOKYU (very best quality)
This Narutaki tomae awasedo stone is NEW/OLD stock from a closed store in a small town in Japan. It has not been used other then to test the quality at one edge of the stone as you can see in the photos. Narutaki is an East Mountain mine that produced very fine toishi awasedo, but stones like this one and Narutaki #1 have not been mined for many, many years and it is hard to find new/old stock on the market. The tomae stratum in the mine that are used for awasado or finishing stones is usually a very even grained stone.
The actual color of the stone is complex and variegated and in variorum degrees contains dull brick, faint purple, a tinge of rose and a faint yellow. The color makeup will change as the stone is used and worn down to different levels.
These older stones tend to have a microns thin film or skin on the top surface that is a result of chemical reactions with the atmosphere and the minerals of the stone. The stones performance can be greatly enhanced the moment this skin is removed with a diamond flattening plate or through the sharpening of blades.
This colored awasedo builds its own paste quickly and cuts extremely fast, it feels almost like the stone pulls the blade into itself.
I found the stone to be very receptive to the blue steel blade, there was no chattering or scratchy feeling of any kind. The stone has a smooth even grit throughout 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.
I found indications from the photo tests and sampling the stone that the grit base of this stone to be in the 18,000 range if not higher and with compression will crush finer into the low 20,000s range.. See GRIT TEST #127 HERE
A Swedish blue steel Ishido Teruhide blade was used to sample this stone.
Hardness Grit Speed/Strength Price in U.S. $
8+/10 9/10 9+/10 $600