Whetstones & Sharpeners

Keeping a Japanese knife sharp is a skill worth learning, and the whetstone is the tool that does it properly. A Japanese blade is harder and more keenly ground than a typical Western knife, which is what makes it cut so well, and it means it deserves, and repays, sharpening it on a stone. Known in Japan as toishi, the water stone is the traditional method for putting an edge on a blade, and done right it restores an edge to better than factory sharpness while removing only the tiny amount of metal needed, so a good knife lasts for decades. Our range covers everything you need to keep an edge, from coarse repair stones to fine finishing stones, alongside honing steels and complete sharpening systems, from makers including KAI, Kasumi and KOTAI.

Japanese water stones differ from the oil stones common in the West. They are used with water rather than oil, cut faster, and come in a far wider range of grits, which is what allows the multi-stage sharpening that Japanese knives reward. The process moves through the grits in sequence: a coarse stone to repair or set the edge, a medium stone to sharpen, and a fine stone to refine and polish. You do not always need every stage, and understanding the progression is the key to choosing the right stones for your knives.