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SUITA AWASEDO #65
210mm x 76mm x 43mm
This stone came to me with the stamping already worn off. It is a suita stone that is hard and therefore from a deep strata. The corners show some purple mineral content that underlays the interior of the stone. I would call the general color of the stone to be gray.
This Hon-Suita stone 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 then 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.
This is a very fast cutting stone and very easy to use for the hardness. If it was a tomae stone it would not be so easy to use but the suita stones handle water on the surface in such a way that it lubricates much better which helps to create a paste quickly. This stone is like that and is a real work horse. Do not use nagura on these suita stone, if you look at the close up photo you can see the microscopic SU holes that hold water but will also hold hard particles of nagura that will scratch the blade.
I am recommending that all of these deep strata hard stones be top dressed with a diamond plate and I feel that the use of a diamond flattening plate is the key to using these hard stones. I use an medium grit Atoma myself. When I do develop a paste I try to leave it on the stone after using and not wash it off to save it for the next time I use the stone.
This is a very fine grit stone that produces a mirror like finish to the hagane that you can see in the photos while leaving the jigane soft but reflective.
A Swedish blue steel Ishido Teruhide blade was used to sample this stone.
Hardness Grit Speed/Strength Price in U.S. $
9/10 9+/10 9+/10 SOLD