Unknown Awasedo Fine Grit Japanese Natural Sharpening Stone 2lb. 6oz. (1076g) ***The weight of the whetstone included the wooden block*** 208-212mmX69mmX23mm
#4000 to #6000 for medium range in the fine grit for high carbon blade
It looks it is hardly used, and it is in excellent condition, and it comes with an wooden block that is coated on Japanese Urushi or cashew lacquar. I do not know which mine it derived from, and it looks condensed heavy finishing stone. If I guess it might be from Tanba area in Kyoto.
Hardness-------------8.8
It raises small amount of black slurry, but it is hard to tell, because the stone color. It is very smooth stone, so it looks that it might not need tomo nagura or the device to produce the slurry (worn Diamond lapping stone).
(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----------8.6
It makes my blue II steel Hon kasumi blade knife Hagane became frosted silver color, and Hagane became from frosted silver color to semi-mirror finish.
(Scale; 1 to 10, 1-3 give deep scratch marks to the steel, 3-5 is delete the 1-3 scratches, 5-8 makes the 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.