Imanishi Arashiyama #1000 Grid is not only good for budget, but also great performance. Below is the ranking from my side. I hope it helps you for your decision.

Budget: 🌑 🌑 🌑 🌑 🌓
This is one of the cheapest 1k Japanese Whetstones you can buy with this quality.

Abrasive: 🌑 🌑 🌑 🌓 🌕
The stone cuts very ok. Even against HRC67-68 HAP40, it still cuts pretty well.

Fineness: 🌑 🌑 🌑 🌕 🌕
This stone is good enough to give your knife a fine edge to use.

Load up (self-clean): 🌑 🌑 🌑 🌓 🌕
No problem on this point. Very good performance.

Polishing: 🌑 🌑 🌕 🌕 🌕
It's too early to talk about polishing on a 1k stone.

Durability: 🌑 🌑 🌑 🌕 🌕
It is not a hard stone. Medium hardness. It's good to have it.

Tactile Feedback: 🌑 🌑 🌑 🌕 🌕 (without mud slurry)
Without mud slurry, the tactile feedback is just a bit rigid. I can't say it's smooth, because you mainly feel grinding when sharpening.

Tactile Feedback: 🌑 🌑 🌑 🌕 🌕 (with mud slurry)
With mud slurry, the tactile feedback feels a bit better. But I can't give 0.5 point more.

Sharpness: 🌑 🌑 🌑 🌓 🌕
It brings great sharpness to the edge. I have tested on AS and HAP40 already. Both very difficult to sharpen. But it never fails me.

Convenience: 🌑 🌑 🌑 🌓 🌕
The stone is not thirsty (almost splash and go). But it does absorb some water. It's better to soak it for 1 minutes or 2.

свернуть