Naniwa Professional Stone 5000 Grit, 210 × 70 × 20 mm

It depends on which series the stone belongs to:

Super Stone / Superstone (S1, S2) – do not soak. Splash water on the surface and sharpen (splash and go). Prolonged soaking can damage the stone.
Professional – does not need soaking. Wet the surface and keep it wet while sharpening.
Traditional and Aotoishi – soak the water stone for 10–15 minutes, until the bubbles stop.

Always let the stone dry at room temperature after use, not in the sun or on a radiator.

The grit indicates how coarse or fine the sharpening stone is. The lower the number, the coarser the stone:

220 – for repairing damaged or very dull edges and changing the bevel angle
1000 – basic sharpening, the most important stone if you only have one
1500–3000 – an intermediate step that gives a keener edge
5000–8000 – fine honing to a very sharp edge
10000–12000 – polishing to a mirror finish

A good start is a 1000 stone and a fine stone of 5000–8000. The 220/1000 and 1000/3000 combination stones give two grits in one stone.

A nagura stone is a small stone that you rub on the surface of a wet fine stone before you start sharpening. It raises a fine slurry that helps the stone polish the edge, especially on very fine stones that can otherwise feel slick.

The Naniwa nagura stone is most useful on the Professional series and on finer Naniwa stones of 5000 grit and up. It also cleans the surface and makes the stone cut more evenly. The nagura stone measures 70 × 51 × 35 mm.

Naniwa Professional (the P series) is a considerably better stone. Naniwa has not cut any corners there and has made the best stone they can.

Naniwa S2 is by no means bad; it is enough for most people sharpening their tools. If you want a little extra and the price seems reasonable to you, the Professional series is a good choice.

For a more detailed comparison, Naniwa has comparison charts on its website.

There are several good ways to sharpen chisels and plane irons: water stones, diamond stones, oil stones and sharpening machines such as Tormek. All give sharp edges, but they differ in speed, maintenance and price.

A honing guide makes it easier to keep the same angle every time. The most important thing is to find a method you enjoy and use often. The guide helps you choose.

Read the guide here

Which water stone you need depends on how dull your edges are and how fine a finish you want. A common setup is a coarse stone around 1000 grit to shape the edge and a fine stone around 5000–8000 grit to polish it. For chipped edges you need a coarser stone too.

Water stones wear unevenly and need flattening regularly. The guide explains grits, brands and flattening.

Read the guide here