Great to hear you have that very same stone Chris.
Remember i'm comparing this combo King with Bester #1200, Glass Stone #1000, Naniwa Chocera #1000 and Naniwa Chocera #5000. Not really a fair comparison, if we think in terms of prices. I mean the King combo costs $38, and for instance the Naniwa #5000 alone costs about $120.
The King #1000 is a very nice stone. Loved it. Pretty agressive, you can feel it's eating steel even by the sound. It could be the only stone somebody needs in a kitchen. i didn't feel the need of long time soaking at all, just a couple of minutes. Have to say that grits are not comparable at all. The Naniwa #1000 for instance gives a totally different finishing. This one feels like a #800 or so.
The #6000, i confess i didn't like it. Its super soft, not even comparable with the Naniwa #5000, it wears a lot and the finishing is rough in comparison. I mean, the Naniwa gives almost a polished edge, it's much harder, a durable, precious stone. No suprises here.
In conclusion, if i were again in the position to advice some friend or a newbie, i would encourage to buy the King #1000. There's a thick version that goes for about $24, which is great value.
The combo King comes with a small Nagura, which i didn't use cause i have the bigger and excellent Nagura that came with the Naniwas.
Sharpening again put me in the mood and i sharpened my daily knives following the usual progression #1000-#5000 and strop, which gives me the best edges i can get. I was inspired and got beautiful super scary edges, the best of all from the Honsho-Kanemasa gyuto, a knife that gave me some smell troubles when I bought (SK-4 steel) it but today is totally stabilized with an old patina. No other knives I have cut like this one.Â
