Unknown Awasedo Kanmaki Fine Grit Japanese Natural Sharpening Stone 1515g (3lb.5.4oz.)
Size of the whetstone:
214mm x 75mm x 38mm
It is very hard and condensed stone.
The sharpening surface is dark color, but we can see Kanmaki (circle lines)
It raises very little amount of black slurry.
It has hand saw marks on the four sides of the faces, so it should be very old stone like before WWII.
Hardness-------------8.9
It looks it does not need tomo nagura or the device to produce the slurry (worn Diamond lapping stone), because it is very smooth sharpening surface.
(Scale; 1 to 10, 1-3 is very soft muddy rough grit whetstone 3-6 is soft medium grit whetstone, 6-8 is hard medium grit whetstone; 8-10 is fine grit whetstone)
Particle Size----------9.0
It makes my blue II steel Kasumi blade knife Hagane became little dark frosted silver color, and Hagane became mirror finish.
It should be razor sharpening grade fine grit stone
(Scale; 1 to 10, 1-3 give deep scratch marks to the steel, 3-5 is delete the 1-3 scratches, 5-8 makes 3the steel cloudy, 8-10 makes the steel semi-mirror finish or mirror finish)
Natural whetstone has wider capacity than artificial whetstone, and actually, we do not know until sharpen blade on the hone for a while. Because artificial whetstone molecules do not break down to smaller sizes, but Natural whetstone molecules are possible to break down to smaller sizes, and those molecules are mixed with sharpened steel molecules, and make Jigane as suitable Jigane color, and Hagane as suitable Hagane color. It is natural mystics.