Lee Valley King 1000x Water Stone

King water stones were among the first Japanese stones introduced to the West. They are aluminum oxide abrasive in a resin bond. In our testing, they were effective in O1 steel but noticeably slower in tough alloys such as A2. The particles fracture and dull after a short period, performing like progressively finer grits, which allows you to move from a medium grit straight to a finishing stone. They are economically priced, require only a quick soaking before use, and are a good choice for honing softer tool steels or when cost is a concern.

This 1000x stone is 7″ × 2 1/2″ × 5/8″ mounted to an 8 3/8″ × 2 3/4″ plastic base that has two non-slip grip pads on the bottom.

An excellent shop stone, it is also ideal for use in the kitchen for sharpening fine cutlery. It gives knives a good edge with just enough “tooth” for good vegetable slicing and meat carving.

Since it uses water as a lubricant, knife sharpening is clean and convenient.

Made in Japan.