King 01096 1000/6000 Grit Deluxe Combination Stone

I ordered my King 01096 1000/6000 Grit Deluxe Combination Stone in early April 2020 and it arrived ~2 weeks later slightly damaged (the stone was chipped). I was pretty annoyed as the stone had arrived a bit later than advertised and damaged. I also learned a temporary sale had been stopped, which meant if I tried to repurchase the product I'd need to pay extra. Instead, I decided to contact the seller directly to ask them to replace the damaged stone. B&B Japan is the most responsive Amazon vendor I have dealt with to date. After seeing the photo of the damage their initial response said they'd immediately send a new one directly from their factory which should arrive in the next 2-3 weeks. The new stone arrived within the time period they specified, in perfect condition. I even suggested I could send the damaged stone back if they provided a shipping label, but they insisted it wasn't necessary. This ended up being fine for me as I have 2 locations I keep a stone now, which is ideal.The product works exceptionally well and is a reasonable price for such a high-quality product. If you're new to knife sharpening, I'd say you should buy a guided sharpening set first to learn how to sharpen. Or you can sharpen a set of cheap knives so you don't damage your good knife set. It can be difficult to sharpen using the correct angle when first starting out.After this experience, I would never purchase a whetstone from any other vendor and highly recommend using B&B Japan for all your knife caring needs.

Tried to contact seller to have item replaced. It looks like a pretty decent stone but one side of the stone was chipped and scratched. Have not heard back from seller.* update* by end of week since review I received a brand new perfect condition. Solid stone. Good quality product.

I am a knife and sharpening stone collector and enthusiast. I've used all types of sharpening stones, and this is my "go to" stone. I can make my knives shaving-sharp with this stone. Keep in mind, it is not the grit of the stone or the amount of money you pay for it that makes a keen edge. Sharpening an edge is about methods and procedures. You do not need to spends hundreds of dollars on a sharpening stones to get a "scary sharp" edge. This stone will help you achieve a razor-sharp edge. I liked this stone so much, I purchased a second stone to have on hand. Great value for the money.

Received package several days ago and have sharpened 6 knives so far. The stone has several chips from shipping in a flimsy plastic jacket with no cushion in the brown packaging. Soaked in water for 24 hours as I saw on a uTube instructional movie. I sharpened 2 Shun chefs knives, a Buck filleting knife, a Rapala filleting knife and a Dexterr 6 inch skinners knife and my pocket Benchmark knife. So far they are razor sharp after approximately 5 minutes on each knife using the 1000 grit side first and then the 6000 grit side. I did finish with a diamond steel rod to remove al blade burrs or imperfection. Stones work as advertised although seem somewhat frail, I made several cuts into to 6000 stone when the blades were not exactly at their correct angles. I'll see how these do. Seemingly a better edge that I got using my Washita stones. The length/width size of the stones is very nice as I can run the entire blade trough them and tough enough to exert some pressure. The plastic holder is elevated, keeping your hands and the blades free of hitting a table surface.So far so good..

Pretty good and suitable for use for most users, in the home environment or at work as a chefIt is as advertisedArrived properly, no cracks or damage.*Personal thoughts (Note: I have used a number of stones before)- I use mostly on the fine grit size, unless if my knife has issues (way too long since last sharpening)- Good for most users both in the home environment or at work as a chef. the only exception is if you are one of the extreme users (example: youtube video) that wishes to do extreme things, like splitting a strand of hair into 4 pieces then you would probably be looking at 10k or 20k grit size (believe me, I have tried stones that allow me to do this previously)

Got this stone in a clear thin plastic case that looked like it had been sitting in a warehouse for a while, kinda dusty and scratched (just the casing). Opened it up, and it came with the stand with slip-proof grip as pictured. The instructions and labels were in Japanese, so you should probably youtube a few videos of how to properly use a water stone before attempting to use this stone. The picture on the box seems to say to soak until the stone stops bubbling, I think? I soak for 20-30 minutes, and constantly add drops of water every few swipes to build up a "slurry" which helps polish the edge. With some patience, I had my 8" chef's knife razor sharp, able to slice a tomato so thin you could read a newspaper through it. I use it pretty frequently (every week or so) on 2-3 of the knives I use for work, and it's showing a little wear 3 months in, but I expect it to last for at least a year or so from now. Definitely a good investment if you like to keep your cutlery sharp.

This is how you get your knives sharp! The right stone and the right technique, and TIME. Can't beat the combination! Japanese waterstones are the best way to get the job done, as sharp as you want! And this one is priced right, too!

I thought I had already rated this when it was fresh in my mind, but maybe they lost my first scathing review that didn't reflect so badly on the product as it did on Amazon's "bait and switch" tactics. This was the first time they sent me a lessor product instead of what I ordered, yet still at the higher price as the quality one I ordered. Returned it, not sure I was refunded properly. I have lately just encountered another "bait and switch" that took contacting Amazon twice to get my full refund. Becoming less an Amazon fan.