Vintage Unknown Awasedo Hand-Sawed Fine Grit Japanese Natural Sharpening Stone 4lb. 1.2oz. (1849.6g)
212mmX77mmX43-45mm
It looks a very nice large size Awasedo whch is hand-sawed and it is very heavy stone for the size, so it should be very condensed stone.
If the stone is sawed by stone table saw, it has circular marks on the side faces of the stone, and if we see the top down straight saw marks, it is hand-sawed which might be before WWII, so this stone might be an old stone. I found it here is Hawaii.
Hawaii has a long immigration history from Japan (I guess it has been about 160 years), so Carpenter, barber, cook, fish cutter, butcher, etc. needed good sharpening stones, especially carpenter and barber needed high quality fine grit stones in old days.
It is much easier to get high quality large size fine grit stones in old days.
Hardness-------------8.7
It raises very good amount of black slurry quickly.
It is smooth and easy to sharpen my blade.
It looks it does not need tomo nagura or the device to raise 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----------8.9
It makes my blue II steel kasumi blade knife Jigane became frosted silver color to semi-mirror finish, and Hagane became mirror finish.
It is not too hard and not too soft, ideal hardness stone to me, and it makes very fine 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 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.