I've been trying to find some concise resource to link to friends about the terminology they should know about Japanese whetstones, used for sharpening kitchen knives, but I've yet to find a page that isn't some combination of obtuse, overly Japanophile, etc. This is also a somewhat contentious topic, with people having strong beliefs about what is correct, what is wrong, what matters, what doesn't matter, etc.
So I am choosing to do the worst possible thing by making yet another post on the internet about Japanese whetstones.
Knife enthusiasts, home cooks, bushcrafters, et al have all sharpened knives for many years, involving using some kind of surface to remove material from a knife steel to form an apex. Most people nowadays will also use a leather strop with stropping compound, to use the stropping compound's abrasiveness to remove burrs and other large imperfections from their knife edges after sharpening. These are all normal steps part of a tradition shared by many cultures, and even the most non-Japanophile will know these steps if they sharpen knives.
The only difference here will be that I will walk you through the basic things you should know to buy things for yourself to use or as gifts for others who like knife sharpening.
For the most part you will only need to buy a 中砥石 (nakatoishi), a medium-grit whetstone, and buying a reasonably good one like a Shapton-made whetstone will work for most anyone. These are typically between "900" and "2000" grit, but you should generally look for a "1000" grit stone.
For removing large amounts of material for an unreasonably dull or chipped knife, or to make the process faster for comfort, you can get a 荒砥石 (aratoishi), a rough-grit whetstone. These are typically between "400" and "600" grit, and something around there is usually going to fit your needs. Note that you could also buy one of these just as a US/CN/DE made diamond plate instead.
For polishing a knife for mainly aesthetic reasons, you can get a 仕上げ砥石 (shiagetoishi), a finishing stone, to make the edge finer and eventually actually reflect like a mirror. These will be above "3000" grit generally, and almost certainly do not matter to most of your cutting needs.
For maintenance, you will want to buy a 面直し (men'naoshi), which often comes in the shape of a brick with diagonal grooves. The purpose of this stone is to grind down your whetstones when they become concave-shaped over time from use.
These are the main things you will be buying for yourself and others in Japan or Japanese online stores. Otherwise, things like leather strops and compounds are generally better bought from your local markets, such as US or German made strops and compounds.
If you have "older" Japanese colleagues, you should be able to ask them where you should go to look for 砥石 (toishi), whetstones. You may need to explain that you are looking to 研ぎ (togi), to sharpen/grind, 包丁 (houchou), a kitchen knife, or 刃物 (hamono), a bladed thing. This may seem like a ridiculous way to try to explain what you're looking for, but you should be able to get results this way. There should be many options around Osaka, but there are some options around Tokyo and other cities also.
Otherwise you will Google Maps search for 砥石屋 (toishiya), a store/person that sells whetstones, and hope for the best.
When you go to a whetstone store, you will likely be the only person asking for whetstones. Most of these stores will ask you if you want 天然砥石 (ten'nen toishi), a natural whetstone, or 人造砥石 (jin'zou toishi), an "artificial"/man-made whetstone. You will want to answer that you want a man-made whetstone, as they are what you are looking for. If you do want to spend $500 - $2000+ on a natural whetstone, I recommend you do a lot of research about them and pray.
From there, they will just ask if you want to buy rough, medium, fine grit whetstones and all. You should go with the 中砥/中砥石 (nakato/nakatoishi), medium grit whetstones, if you're unsure what to get.
The stores may also try to sell you extra things such as 名倉 (nagura), a kind of slimy stone for fixing finishing stones and natural whetstones. They will emphasize the need to remove 傷 (kizu), scratches that make your whetstone unable to give your knives a proper polish on those finishing stones. You will probably not need these, but some more research might inspire you to use these or ignore them completely.
Earlier I said that many knife enthusiasts remove burrs using leather strops and compounds, which are called 革砥 (kawato), and 研磨剤 (ken'mazai) in Japan. However, many stores do not sell these, as many professionals will either just try to use finishing stones to minimize burrs, or use 新聞紙 (shimbunshi), newspaper paper, to do かえり取り/バリ取り (kaeritori/baritori), the removal of burrs from a knife edge. This is part of why I would recommend that you buy and evaluate strops and compounds in your local markets instead.
This should be all you really need to know to shop around for Japanese whetstones, either for yourself or as gifts. The glossary section below contains all the relevant vocabulary you will need when explaining things or looking things up.
Please write any criticisms and corrections in your own posts and link them to me, so that I can send people to them.
- 刃物 (hamono), a bladed thing
- 包丁 (houchou), a kitchen knife
- 研ぎ (togi), to sharpen/grind
- 磨き (migaki), to polish
- 砥石 (toishi), whetstones/stones for grinding
- 砥石屋 (toishiya), a store/person that sells whetstones
- 荒砥/荒砥石 (arato/aratoishi), rough grit whetstones
- 中砥/中砥石 (nakato/nakatoishi), medium grit whetstones
- 仕上げ砥石 (shiagetoishi), fine grit/"finishing" whetstones
- 超仕上げ砥石 (choushiagetoishi), "super finishing" whetstones
- 傷 (kizu), in the context of stones meaning knife scratches.
- 名倉 (nagura), a kind of slimy stone for fixing finishing stones and natural whetstones
- 面直し (men'naoshi), a face-correcting grinding block for your whetstones
- かえり取り/バリ取り (kaeritori/baritori), the removal of burrs from a knife edge
- 新聞紙 (shimbunshi), newspaper paper, commonly used for removing burrs in Japan
- 革砥 (kawato), leather strop
- 研磨剤 (ken'mazai), abrasive/polishing compound, used on strops
- 天然 (ten'nen), natural, such as when used as a prefix to mean "natural whetstone"
- 人造 (jin'zou), man-made/artificial, such as when used as a prefix to mean "man-made whetstone"
- 両刃 (ryouba), a double-bevel knife (this is 99% what you have and use)
- 片刃 (kataba), a single-bevel knife (most people don't use these)