Yaginoshima Natural Whetstone • #10000 shine • Splash and go 

Finishing stone which will give a high finish. A uniform stone with sides painted with a urushi laquer, which will keep the stone longer moister. Ready to use to produce a nice dark slurry.

Urushi laquering is a technique done by a few selected craftsman in the region of Echizen. The Urushi tree, which grows in this region, donates a few centiliters of epoxy/ laquer a year. By warming up the laquear and colouring it, it can be used for painitng or as it says, laquering. The laquering has to be done in a protected environment, as the urushi laquer can give an allergic reaction. The best painting quality can be reached by using soft baby hair on the brush. Echizen is famous for this craft and Ryusen uses this craft with much respect in their handles.

Elwin de Veld about Japanese natural stones

Looking for the right and ideal natural sharpening stone is a long journey: there has to be a perfect match. Although nowadays synthetical stones are very good, Japanese natural stones always have been standing on a pedestral and are mostly used for maintaining the  Japanese traditional steels. The maintaning of your knife is a daily ritual in Japan, where lots of time is in invested and never is forgotten. Japanese natural stones can be only used with clean and clear water to rinse to get the best results. Natural stones often have small imperfections and sizes can be different in reality. The grit is always +/-. It is often said that a natural stone will work harder with a little more pressure and will polish more when softly touched.