I was asked to put together something to help people discern between the different Shapton product lines by Locutus, a respected member of The Knife Forums. This is my first installment.
First, a little background information. I have been a Shapton retailer sine 2004, and have used the Professional and Glass Series almost exclusively in that time – by choice. I sharpen many different things outside of the forum’s normal Japanese/Western kitchen and EDC knives, including woodworking tools, reed knives, straight razors, beautician and medical scissors, periodontal instruments, and orthodontic cutters and pliers.
OK, so first thing first – Shapton has 2 main product lines in the US – Professional and Glass. There are several more lines – some have been discontinued over the years and others are not readily available in the US. (I hope to cover them in another installment, later.)
The Professional series have 10 stones, with some specifically formulated for carbon or stainless steels(or Japanese or Western knives and planes). They are really designed to be used in a coarse to medium to fine progression.
Coarse:
#120 – (White) – This stone is very aggressive, but tends to need a lot of maintenance to keep it flat and to keep it aggressive. (IME, Chisel users like this stone remove chips, but I generally don’t recommend it for kitchen knives)
#220 – (Moss Green) This stone is “harder” and is formulated for stainless steel.
#320 – (Dark Blue) This stone is “softer” and is formulated for carbon steel.
Medium:
#1,000 – (Orange) This stone is labeled Coarse/Medium, and is formulated for stainless steel.
#1,500 – (Lighter Blue) This stone is formulated for carbon steel and IMO, is a great 1 stone solution for minor repairs and edge maintenance.
#2,000 – (light Green) This stone is formulated for both carbon and stainless, and is one of my favorite, although very under used, stones.
Fine:
#5,000 – (Wine Red) This stone is pivotal in the Shapton pro series. It is a dense stone that produces the first mirror finish. It sets the stage for the finer polishing stones while producing an excellent edge for most conventional knives and tools.
#8,000 – (Melon Green) This stone takes the 5K to the next level. I find it “rubby”, but yet it always produces a wonderful finish and edge. (While I always recommend going from the medium to the 5K first before going to the 8K, this stone can also be used in a 2K-8K progression.)
#15,000 (Yellow) This stone takes everything even further. It is a “softer” stone and really puts a wonderful finish on an edge. (The Japanese version of this stone is the 12K. The only difference seems to be the packaging. The reasons for the numbering differences are unknown by me, and I do not have the 12K myself. I do not see why only one stone would be different or why each would not be offered in the other’s market.)
#30,000 (Purple) This is a truly wonderful stone, although it is very expensive. It is dense and hard, and takes sushi knives and razors to the ultimate level.
——
The Glass stones are the second main Shapton stone line. They were specifically formulated to accommodate the cold-hardened Lie-Nielsen A-2 plane blades, which are RC 63. (The Pro series will work on the Lie-Nielsen blades, but at 5K +, the feedback feels a little weird.) The Glass Stone series is considerably softer than the pros (relatively speaking – they are nowhere near as soft as a Norton 4K) in order to keep a steady supply of fresh abrasive to cut through the hard steel.
It should be noted that Shapton stones seem to be aimed at the woodworking market, mainly plane and chisel blades. I won’t expand too much on this in this installment, but the reason I bring it up is because the Glass Stones’ 5mm of abrasive vs. the 15mm on the pros have reduced the weight and cost of the Glass Stones, making them more affordable, and therefore very desirable for many other sharpening applications, such as kitchen knives. The technology for the hard steel also made the Glass stones very attractive to the more exotic steels used in many tactical, fixed blades, custom knives, etc.
With some help from Jim Rion from the SRP, I was directed a very good chart on a Japanese website that explains what each glass stone is ideal for (and I pretty much agree with). It has been translated below. You’ll note that there are several stones that are not available in the US, and that there are 3 gray colored JP (Japan) Glass Stones.
The “regular” Glass stones are white in color, and in the US come in #220, #500, 1k, 2k, 3k, 4k, 6k, 8k, 16k, and 30k. The gray JP Glass stones are gray in color, and are formulated for carbon steel. The three JP stones are available in the US. (Only the #120, #320, and 10K are not.) In my mind, the JP stones are like the Shapton Pros with Glass Stone technology. As far as I know, there are only the 4k, 6k, and 8k in these JP stones, and that there is not an entire set of JP stones. (If there is proof otherwise, please let me know!)
While the Pro series was designed to go from coarse, to medium, to fine, the Glass series is pretty much mathematical, with doublings along the whole series. These stones are also broken down by the abrasive sizes in microns, giving a clearer indication of what each stone is doing.
Thanks!
Hello,
I am looking for 30000 grit stone / hone for straight razor maintenance.
Currently Shapton produces Ceramic 30000 grit (for professionals), Glass HC and HR 30000 grit.
I need your opinion which Shapton stone is the best for above mentioned usage.
Major requirements is perfomance, quality and suitability for antique straight razors (not price).
Thanks for reading, Vladikon!
Officially, there are only 2 30K stones that Shapton makes: The Traditional (Pro), which is purple, and the HR (White) glass stone. There is no HC (Gray) 30K.
In short, I would go with the white Glass 30K (HR) for razors.
I have come to really enjoy the HR (White) 30K on my razors, and in recent experiments between finishing with the 30K glass and Chromium Oxide, I find I get less weepers off a freshly honed 30K edge. I try to keep it down to 3 strokes on the 30K, but it is just so difficult sometimes!
I have not used my Traditional (pro) 30K on razors in several months, but since I have been using the HC (Gray) 4K and 8K glass stones in my recent progression, I am inspired to try a few razors on it again to see if there are any major differences now that I feel I know what I’m doing!
Hello,
I have 2 planes at home with A2 blades. I also have acouple of Bahco and some Narex chisels and I want to buy Shapton stones for sharpening them.
What would you recommend?
I was thinking to Shapton 1K – 8K but in your article you suggest 2K -8K.
Also, do you think an 8K GS on top of 2K-8K Pro would be good?
Thank you.
It refers to cutting veggies into an oblong form for look.
You may find it convenient to prepare several days worth of greens
at one time. The best rice to use for sushi
is a short-grained sticky rice.
Thanks for the great review! I am almost ready to buy a Glass set for straight razor repair and sharpening. Typically they are marketed as 1K+4K+8K, or a switch in the medium/fine to 3K instead of 4K. Here it is the 3K which is recommended (“Excellent”) together with the 10K & 30K.
All the other grits above 1K are recommended for razors as “Good” with the noticeable exception of the 16K(??) as “not recommended” & neither are the 1K and below (but we need to set bevels/repair edges as part of “sharpening”)..
I am currently happy with stropping using both 0.5 CrOx and 0.5 diamond as my finisher, so I have no need to go beyond 8K but could justify the reach to 10K if the difference is noticeable.
So….
What would be your recommendation for a three set and a four set of glass stones primarily for straight razors which would of course include hard stainless varieties- from initial bevel set/repair to ready to strop with the finishing powders?.
Greatly appreciated,
Joe.
I see in your description that the stone is designed to cut stainless, not high carbon tool steel like the 1500. In my observation while sharpening plane blades, chisels etc (not stainless), that it is harder to develop “black slurry” on the 1000 stone than the 5000 stone. One some level it doesn’t ‘feel’ like it’s cutting as fast as I would expect. Was I given a bum-steer on the recommendation for the 1000 stone as a “first” honing stone, and that for my woodworking application, the pro 1500 (for high carbon steel) would cut faster?
Should I buy your Shapton pro 1500, and reserve my pro 1000 for Stainess kitchen knives? Practically speaking, is there a difference?
Tom,
Re Shapton 30,000 Glass Stone
You say that it is softer than the Pro series. Does this mean that when sharpening knives and chisels, only edge trailing strokes are recommended for fear of digging in?
Congratulations on your website as it contains a wealth of information.
Cheers
John
Hi John, Thank you for reading, and for the kind words! The 30K Pro has a harder binder than the 30K Glass, but there is no fear of gouging the surface of either version. You’d need to purposely do something extremely wrong, and even then you’s probably hurt the blade more than the stone! One of the major reasons I like using stones is the fact that you can use edge leading all the way up to 30K.
-Tom
Hi Tom,
Many thanks and keep up the good work.
Cheers
John
What are the implications of a stone being formulated for stainless/carbon steel? How would it work if I took carbon steel to a pro #1000?
That’s a great question. Although it’s been stated many times in many placed, I did not find even a single explanation. Some say it’s the bonding agent and stone being more slurry, but watching Shapton Pro 1k video, it’s been used for almost all the knife steel and works great with every signle one of them, except very hard ones
Hello I just want to ask. Is a good combination the #2000 and the #8000 shapton pro without use the #5000? I can’t spend in three stones and what to know if this combination will work. Thanks
A lot of woodworkers jump from 2K to 8K, and it works. I personally don’t like to skip the 5K as it is the real workhorse for establishing the first polish between the 2K and 8K.
Thanks for the answer. I would like to ask, for knifes harder that HC64 (I have the Miyabi 5000mcd series) is better option the shapton glass or the pro?
Glass stones are you better bet for anything over 62 RC, and even after 4K, you begin to feel the resistance of some of the steels on the market.
Hi, I intend to buy a takeda and shapton HR 1000, HC 4000, HC 8000 and leather to finish, to keep it razor . Is it ok for a takeda ? I also eyed the kasumi’s K11 and K12. Would you consider anything else or different ?
Many Thanks
Gaspard from France
Hi do you think that the jump from 220 to 2000 would be doable? I’m debating between 220 to 1500 / 200 to 2000 / 320 to 1500 / 320 to 2000. I sharpen mostly carbon steel blades as well as some outdoors tools like machetes and occasionally run into super steels. Trying to buy a three stone set up as you have recommended from coarse medium to fine and have decided to end the upper end at 5000 just trying to figure out the two in between.
220 to 2K is doable in most cases, especially with carbon steel blades. A 220, 1K, 5K would be most ideal in terms of spreading out the grits, but the 220, 2K, 5K will do well.
Is it possible to do the 2k to 8k jump on a 65 HRC kitchen knife with the glass stones? There’s a mention of woodworkers doing that, but what about for a 50/50 beveled kitchen knife?
Or, alternately, what progression would you recommend? It’s a HAP40 powder steel knife, so they say it sharpens easily due to the very fine metal grain structure, so I’m wondering which glass stones I should get for maintaining the edge. I already have a 600 (25 micron) and 1200 (9 micron) diamond stone, so I’m looking for the best progression from there. Will be finishing with 1 micron then .5 micron compound on a leather strop.
It is possible to jump from 2K to 8K with the glass stones. You will need to make sure the 2K is well established after the diamond 1200. You may need a little extra time on the 8K, but nothing it shouldn’t be able to handle. You can then proceed to your strops.
Hi I was recently introduced to the M/5/15/24 line of shapton sharpening stones. Do you have any experience with them? If so, could you please share your experience vs the Koramaku/Pro series. Thank you!
Any experience with the M series of shapton stones? Would it be wiser to purchase let’s say a M15 2000 grit vs a Koramaku 2000 grit shapton?
The major difference between the M series and the Pro/Koramaku is the amount of abrasive. M series is an earlier version of the Pros, and half the stone is just a ceramic base with no abrasive while the top half is abrasive. Pros are abrasive all the way through.
Hey,
Thanks for the detailed breakdown. Some notes and then a few questions now.
We’re sharpening Western chisels and plane blades; a combination of O1 & A2, some fancy metal from a company in Canada called PMV-11, that’s supposed to be able to be abraded like O1 but edge retentive like A2.
Our first stones are DMT diamond plates, XXC to XXF, then onto the Shapton 5k and 12k Kuromaku. Now, my questions.
Does it make sense to add the 2K and 8K Kuromaku stones into the rotation? Or should 5 to 12 be a fine jump after the primary and secondary bevels are set on the diamond plates?
I like the Shapton Pro (Kuromaku) because of the amount of abrasive compared to the Glass stones. I only sharpen the steels mentioned above, but I’ve found the stones don’t have great feedback when honing by hand. I’m wrestling with the Suehiro Debado, the Chosera stones, Shapton Glass, and or more Shapton Kuromaku. Efficiency in sharpening and getting back to the wood is key, so splash and go with low stone maintenance is preferable.
Thanks,
ETCC
15 years, and still this is one of the best if not the best Shapton lines descriptions I’ve read/watched.
Thank You for Your blog, channel and all the work from beginning sharpener.