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Grit Test for     Suita #54

[ SUITA#50 ] [ SUITA#52 ] [ SUITA#53 ] [ SUITA 54 ] [ SUITA#56 ] [ SUITA #57 ] [ SUITA_#58 ] [ SUITA #62 ] [ SUITA #63 ] [ SUITA #64 ] [ SUITA74 ] [ SUITA_75 ] [ SUITA #145 ] [ SUITA_200 ] [ SUITA_201 ] [ SUITA_202 ] [ SUITA_203 ] [ SUITA_204 ] [ SUITA_205 ] [ SUITA_206 ] [ SUITA_207 ] [ SUITA_208 ] [ SUITA_209 ] [ SUITA_210 ] [ SUITA_211 ] [ SUITA_212 ] [ SUITA_213 ] [ SUITA_214 ] [ SUITA_215 ] [ SUITA_216 ] [ SUITA_217 ] [ SUITA_218 ] [ SUITA_219 ] [ SUITA_220 ]

SHIRO SUITA AWASEDO 

220mm x 79mm x 53mm

2.26 kg. = 4.97 lbs.

From the top right in smaller kanji SAIKOKYUHIN (very best quality)

Reads on the stone top from the upper left down in kanji in larger letters SEI HONZAN SUITA.

And down the middle right again SAIKOKYUHIN

To the left center CHO TOKKYU (very, very super)

This shiro or white suita stone is a true grade #24 stone at 220mm by 79mm by 53mm. It is big and beautiful and being white, very rare. It came from a store in a small town in Japan that closed in the 1970s containing stock dating back to the 1930s. The awasedo has not been used other than to test the quality at one edge of the stone as you can see in the photos and it is considered to be New/Old Stock.

Weighing in at about 5 pounds, this stone has a historic aspect. Grade #24 true awase toishi are exceedingly hard to find even in newly mined stones of any proponent quality. This is a genuine early 20th century awasedo most likely from the pre-war 1930s era.

Shiro Suita awase toishi are known to be from the deepest layers of the mines. Even deeper then Hon Suita. Although not a habutae or white as white rice suita, this shiro suita is very pure in its composition and very hard and represents the highest quality suita stone you can buy. The fine mineral induced lines you see in the photos on the top of the stone are millions of years old and are composed of highly compressed mineral deposits. 

This is a very hard stone and does not develops it own paste easily. But after using a diamond plate to develop a slurry the tremendous speed qualities are unlocked and the stone cuts very quickly. Just a finger tip of water will quickly draw up a rich black off the blade with this stone.

Suita #54 is a very fine grit stone that produces a mirror like finish to the hard steel hagane that you can see in the photos while leaving the soft iron jigane bright with soft contrasts allowing the details of the jigane to be visable. With a paste this is not a difficult stone to use. The photos in the grit test suggest that the grit base to be well above 40,000 and with compression the grit particles will crush down into the higher 43,000 range.

*If a diamond plate induced slurry is used.