Shobudani Suita? Big brick? Yessss please!

When this was offered to me, I simply couldn't refuse it.

I won't talk price or source but trust me when I say this example of a level 4 shobu suita with pink and possibly black renge cost a fraction of what it would from other places.

This is going to see mostly knife finishing work but could see some razor prefinishing time as well.

While stamped as a size 40 it actually falls under the size 30 category from what I can find with the only difference in classification being the thickness of the stone (source: Jim Rions blog).

The stone measures in at 215mmX77mmX32 and weighs north of 1300g.

A wonderful friend, Kiyoto Tanaka, was kind enough to label a picture of the stone for me.

I'm hoping the pics are large enough for you to see

This stone, upon arrival, might actually fall under the Long (Shakucho) size stone.
According to Jim Rion here are the sizes:

Large (Ōban) 250x100x35mm (or larger)
Long (Shakucho) 218x78x35mm
30 Size (30gata) 205x75x30mm
40 Size (40gata) 205x75x25mm
60 Size (60gata) 195x70x25mm
80 Size (80gata) 180x63x20mm
Razor Size 136x82x20mm

Wonderful stone Jeremy, congrats!

Cheers, Steve

wow Jeremy you have half the mountain there

Thanks guys , i have a two week break from a 6 month tour coming up in August and ill put the stone through its paces then.

Jeremy
Lookin good, looking good.
Another lifetime multi-generational stone. Yours falls into the grade/size 30 range that stretches from 205-75-24mm to 217-77-24mm. Grade/size 24 begins at 218-78-24mm and on up.

I hope it works out well,
Alex

alx gilmore said:

Jeremy
Lookin good, looking good.
Another lifetime multi-generational stone. Yours falls into the grade/size 30 range that stretches from 205-75-24mm to 217-77-24mm. Grade/size 24 begins at 218-78-24mm and on up.

I hope it works out well,
Alex

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Thank you Alex. How firm are these sizes? Are they accepted by everyone? I could only find the one table on Jim rions blog.

Jeremy:

Great looking stone, looking forward to hearing how it performs.
I find I like large stones like this one for knife work but find them tiring for razors as I like to hone holding the stones in my left hand.
More pic's when you get this one lapped up please.

Thanks for staying vigilant guarding our Middle East friends hahah jk nice stone

The sizing 30 gata, 24 cut, etc - is regarded as an 'ancient' system at this point. The sizes are the sizes, whether or not somone is going to begrudge a millimeter is another story.
The numbers relate to packaging - to make a long story short - the more stones of same size/shape that fit in the package the higher the number. 80 stones in the pack = 80 size, 30 stones - 30 size. The lower the number the larger the stone.
If a corner is clipped, the stone's size gets an additional qualifier - I forget what the term is - it translates to 'without'.

That's a nice big stone, good for leaving by the sink for touchups.

Gamma said:

The sizing 30 gata, 24 cut, etc - is regarded as an 'ancient' system at this point. The sizes are the sizes, whether or not somone is going to begrudge a millimeter is another story.
The numbers relate to packaging - to make a long story short - the more stones of same size/shape that fit in the package the higher the number. 80 stones in the pack = 80 size, 30 stones - 30 size. The lower the number the larger the stone.
If a corner is clipped, the stone's size gets an additional qualifier - I forget what the term is - it translates to 'without'.

That's a nice big stone, good for leaving by the sink for touchups.

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Thanks Keith, much appreciated input as usual!

I might, if the wife lets me, take your advice and leave it beside the sink in the kitchen

Bah, tis just a rock

Nice slab o'stone, Brooksie. With your touch, I expect nothing but great results.

I would seal the sides and bottom.

Sweet suita, looks nice

Brooksie967 said:

Thanks Keith, much appreciated input as usual!

I might, if the wife lets me, take your advice and leave it beside the sink in the kitchen

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Nice stone Jeremy.

If I left a stone like that next to the sink my (blonde) girlfriend would have it in the dishwasher in no time.

Gamma said:

I would seal the sides and bottom.

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I actually asked for it to be sealed but was too late as the package had already been processed. I'll be on the hunt for something when I get home. I love the look of traditional cashew but for the price it's not worth ordering it from Canada. Maksim recently posted a video of him sealing a stone on facebook ushing a sponge and had his choice of goop applied in about 30 seconds; I might try that. Being a suita I know that it's more prone to layering/holes throughout so it's definitely a priority to have it all sealed up but from the limited pictures I got from the seller it looks to be pretty uniform throughout.

I know we've spoken about it before but do you or does anyone here have a good recommendation for a cashew alternative that's readily available in north America?

Nice stone Jeremy.

If I left a stone like that next to the sink my (blonde) girlfriend would have it in the dishwasher in no time.

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I hope my wife values her life and doesn't choose to do this... haha. She is actually pretty awesome about me leaving stones out to dry before putting them away in the cupboard that's too high for her to get into; she's just little at 5'2" so I get all the top shelves in the kitchen as she thinks using the stepladder I got her as a joke is demoralizing lol. This is the first stone she completely signed off on actually as it's what I wanted for fathers day and my Kuwait tour present to myself.

The hard part is waiting the month and a half to try it. I was speaking to Niclas Gundmundsson last night and he did a nice little speed test video of his similar shobu suita. If you guys know him you know what his collection is like and I'm hoping mine proves to be of similar quality to his.

I posted pictures of my stone on facebook and Shosui Takeda, a very prominant stone slinger and source for places like Tosho Knife Arts and Chef Knives to Go, saw my stone and said that the stone was absolutely, positively a fake. He essentially said that he's been buying stones from the Booku family, owner/operators of the Shobu mine, for over 20 years and has never seen stamping like this on one of their stones. If any of you really know me here, stamps don't matter to me much. I don't care if this stone came from the gutters of Tokyo as long as it performs as advertised. I also know from speaking to the notorious stone slingers in Japan, seeing pictures and talking to english friends who are working in Japan with blacksmiths, that a very very large quantity of stones have been stamped in the last 2 years. We've all heard stories about nakayama stones and there being stockpiles of unstamped stone. This, i'm sure, is the case for a lot of the stones produced from mines that were very active in the past. To be honest Takedas comments seemed like they were in anger as I didn't go to him for a stone as I have in the past. Regardless of the reason or truth behind his statements, I'm a happy camper at this point. All of the guys in Japan I talk to, and i think i've read it here before, basically say that stamps are for White people (as in westerners) as anyone in Japan is going to go to the shop and test stones before purchasing; a luxury most of us don't have.

Cashew is good stuff but too pricey for doing one stone I think.
I would just use nail polish - dries in 10 minutes but best to let it sit for a day if you do several coats. Works great.
If you thin it out with acetone (nail polish remover) you can get the viscosity high enough so the first coat or 2/3 will penetrate the stone. That penetration is critical.
What's imporant to realize, is that we don't just want to put a layer on top of the stone, the idea is to get the polymer to create a layer that starts below the stone's surface. This adds strength, while creating a continuous water-resistant barrier that isn't just sitting on top of the stone.

If you want to go all out - you'll need to add layers of very lightweight Washi paper also.

Very few retailers/wholesalers in Japan use Cashew - while it has all of the desired qualities, it's a pita and it stinks and it's expensive. It almost seems like some people are more interested in the 'look' of the finish rather than the functionality. Which, I guess - is fine at a few levels.
There is a trend amongst serious Toishi owners/users to use a particular type of paint that was formulated for musical instruments - I forget the brand name though. There is a similar type of thing made here in the USA, but it's only available commercially.

Cashew and urushi are a major pita to deal with but the results, when properly applied are awesome. I've used Behlen violin varnish in the past with good results but the Japanese stuff provides a richer finish IMO.

Urushi is the ultimate pita - not only is it pesty to work with, it can be one hell of a skin irriatant also. But yeah - Cashew and Urushi have the look and the feel as well as the excellent polymerization to increase strurctual stability and water-resistance. .

Keith and Nelson, thanks for the tips! I've sealed my stones with nail polish before and while function is more important to me than looks, cashew does have a certain charm!

Would you be able to recommend a non-natural lacquer as a replacement or do you think that going with nail polish really is the best bet? If so, I suppose I can always mix up/purchase a specific color to make it pretty too!