Samura Whetstone, #5000

The Samura whetstone #5000 is a fine sharpening stone for finishing and polishing the edge of your kitchen knives by hand. You use it at the end of a sharpening session, after a coarser stone has set the edge, to refine that edge and give it a smooth finish.

Grit and sharpening

A whetstone's grit number tells you how fine its abrasive is. The higher the number, the finer the stone and the smoother the edge it leaves. SAMURA makes whetstones in a range of grits for different jobs: coarse stones for correcting the blade angle, medium stones for starting off and for light resharpening, and fine stones for finishing and polishing. With a #5000 grit, this stone belongs to the finishing group.

To correct the blade angle or to start sharpening, use a coarser stone first, then move to the #5000 to finish.

Size, weight and warranty

The stone measures 185 × 65 mm and is 19 mm thick, with a net weight of 274 g. It comes with a 2-year warranty.

Best uses

• Finishing the edge after sharpening on a coarser stone
• Polishing the cutting edge to a smooth finish
• Double-bevel kitchen knives, one side at a time until a burr appears
• Single-bevel Japanese knives, bevelled side first

Care and sharpening

Before use, submerge the whetstone completely in water for 10–15 minutes and keep it wet the whole time you sharpen. Work one side of the knife until a burr appears, then the other side, and hold the original factory bevel angle of 15–17° throughout. For single-bevel Japanese knives, sharpen the bevelled side until a uniform burr appears, then pass the concave side lightly over the stone.

About Samura sharpening tools

SAMURA recommends sharpening its knives on whetstones, and its sharpening tools are made to do the job without much effort. Besides whetstones in various grain sizes, the range includes combination whetstones, a honing rod, an electric sharpener and a sharpening angle holder.