Customer Reviews

Norton 24336 Japanese-Style Combination Waterstone 4000/8000 Grit, 8-Inch by 3-Inch by 1-Inch

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I like these stones, though like all water stones, they are quite soft, and require frequent flattening. The problem I had was that after soaking in water for awhile, my combination stone separated at the adhesive that held the two different grit stones together. They still work as two separate stones, but they are now each quite thin, and I don't expect to get as much life out of them. I wish I'd just purchased two separate water stones. You might also want to check out the Shapton stones. They are expensive, but are much harder than Norton or Japanese water stones, and so don't groove so quickly.

Excellent, I use this stone to sharpen my straight razor. I bought the straight razor at an antique shop which is where you can find the better ones made out of German material. brought it home used the 4000 then the 8000 which really gets close to a mirror finish, then stropped before using it. Big difference before and after the stone touched the blade. I'll reccomend this to anyone, especially for those who have the straight razor. The width of this stone is perfect for the blade and you can easily put it away after your done.

These are, literally, Norton engineered stones: therefore different from more conventional Japanese waterstones in look and feel. As a dedicated straight razor combo stone it does wear flat. The 8000 side does not require prolonged soaking nor a slur. This, combined with a 3" width, makes for a convenient razor stone. This combo is the only stone needed for razor maintenance. (The often recommended twice yearly honing of a razor is inadequate.) Shopping around may save you a few dollars.

Wet 320 wetordry sandpaper on a flat (counter) surface can be substituted for a flattening stone. This can be done at each sharpening, and does readily produce a slur.

I use the Japanese style stones to sharpen all my knives, as well as straight razors I shave with. They are a little different than the standard stones, but if you want a truely 'razor sharp' blade, this is the only way to get it. Many people say, "my knife will shave hairs." Yes, but can it do it without razor burn? My kitchen knife will shave hairs off my arm, but that doesnt mean Id be willing to shave my face with that blade.

These stones need to be soaked in water prior to use. Only about 20 minutes. More than that can cause problems, they are not meant to be STORED in water. Too much soaking can lead to the stone degrading or the glue splitting the two sides apart as other reviewers mentioned.

This stone is meant to hone more than sharpen. That means you should ALREADY have a sharp knife before you use this stone. If your knife is dull, sharpen it by whatever method you would usually use, I personally use another Japanese water stone Steelex D1067 800-Grit Japanese Waterstone.

The 8000 grit side of this stone will polish the side of a blade to a true mirror finish if you wish. The edge gets the same, but obviously its harder to see. This level of finish causes the blade to be significantly sharper than a 'regular' sharp knife, plus it stays sharp longer and cuts smoother as well.

The only drawback to this type of stone is that they are softer and wear faster than other types. Thankfully, it can be made flat again by using 600-1000 grit sandpaper and a flat surface to rub the stone on. So I find it more useful as I can ensure my stone is always flat that way. It is not nearly as easy to re-flatten a traditional whetstone.

The price for this stone seemed fairly typical of what I have seen at other sellers. I have Amazon Prime membership so when I figured in the free shipping, it made Amazon.com the best place to purchase by a long shot.

First of all let me state that I have limited experience with sharpening stones.. I had a norton sharpening stone prior to this just for pocket knives with a coarse side and a fine side. The previous stone was amazing and put a great edge on not only my knives but also my axe, machete, and even my snowboard.

I recently purchased a straight razor and read that the 4000/8000 grits are the bare minimum needed for honing. So I found this stone and chose it:

1. because it was also a Norton
2. because it was the cheapest stone I could find for the 4000/8000 on Amazon

Upon receiving the stone I anxiously unwrapped it and got her out of the box and laid her in a nice bath of warm water, I then pulled her out after about 20 minutes and began to stroke her soft, smooth, moiste surface... PERVES... Well after all of my fondling I notice that the stone doesn't lay quite as flat as I'd like on either side. I laid my razor across it and sure enough it is not flat on either side... I can use about 3/4ths of the length on the stone so I just stop before it gets to the uneven part. Aside from that little detail which can easily be fixed with a tabletop and some sand paper, this stone did an amazing job on my straight... First time honing a razor and this stone made it easy... This stone is soft and isn't made for grinding out more of a blunt edge on machete or axe... This stone is made for soft accurate strokes that gradually eat away the metal. For this however I had to dock a star even though I didn't really want to ;)... Bottom line this is a great final cut/polishing stone... if you just need a stone for sharpening tools I'd go with something like the IB45 india stone from Norton.. Hope this helps xoxo :)

I already have a 1000 grit King Japanese water stone, just bought this 4000/8000 combined stone from local Woodcraft stone.

The plastic box comes with it can be used as stone holder, just need cut to separate the lower and upper half. I put this stone into water for more than 20min before the first use. The manual says 10min, but I still see air bubbles raise up after that time.

The 4000 grit side is designed to cut, and 8000 grit side is for polishing. I find it does the job very quick, and it give very good feedback. I was using diamond whetstones, the fine and extra fine diamond stones tend to leave scratch on the surface, there is no such problem with this waterstone, With this stone, it takes much much less time to create polished edges on chisels and plane irons. I finally feel I can spend more time on using the tools rather then sharpening them.

I now have the stone stored in water, see the other reviewer says this stone came apart into 2 separate stones after soaking in water for a long time, hope that won't happen to mine.

All the reviews are accurate, this is a good stone.

I just want to point out that, as some of the other reviews mentioned, the stone will not arrive perfectly flat. If you are going to use it on a straight razor, or other ultra sharp blades, this is critical. Uneven stones will mess up your cutting bevel.

Mine had to be re-flattened on both 4000 and 8000 sides, wasn't even close. You don't sacrifice much material but I feel something that is meant for sharpening should be ready to sharpen when you purchase it new.

So if your like me, and not an experienced razor sharpener, do your research on a flattening method.

I went ahead and purchased the Norton flattening stone after the fact. I should just bought the whole set it would have saved some cash.

So if your after a fine honing stone, the 4000/8000 works great but be sure to pick up a flattening stone and Prep (Nagura) Stone.

I bought a new straight razor awhile back and was disappointed in its performance for its intended purpose, as it came sharpened from the factory it pulled more hair out of my face than it cut. So I decided to try and hone it myself with this Norton combo stone and it worked very well. The stone was very easy to use and put an extremely sharp edge on my razor with very little effort. The one downsize was that on the 8000 grit side there were a few little bumps on the surface of the stone that I had to grind down with some sandpaper before I could use the stone. But aside from that this was a great purchase for me and I would recommend it for anyone looking for an easy way to hone their straight razors.

I tapped my straight razor on the side of my door and bent the edge of the blade. After a while on this stone, my razor feels brand new

I'm bald. Shaved bald.

I use a straight razor.

This stone is my new best friend and works perfectly. It puts a nice glass finish bevel on the blade before I even take a strop to it. Absolutely worth every dollar in my opinion.