Iwatani Asagi Awasedo
Iwatani Tennen Toishi Awasedo are referenced in the Kyoto Whetstone Association’s booklet , “The Charm of Kyoto’s Natural Whetstones”. Even so, they seem to be fairly uncommon outside of Japan. I suppose this is not unusual, since most online sellers see big profits from trumping up the characteristics of the better-known names – Nakayama, Shobu, Oozuku etc. The real truth is this: a great stone is a great stone. The name of the mine doesn’t really matter.
This particular stone is a peach – very hard but not super hard, the working surface has a slightly glassy feel, yet the feedback is also superb. It is a little on the slow side but not terribly so.
This one is semi lapped, I didn’t have the heart to take the KWA stamp off. The stamp indicating it origin is also still present, although it’s also markedly lighter and harder to see. Being that it’s very hard, lapping it ‘dead-flat’ will allow the stone’s true potential to show through, but I think it best that the stamps should stay as they are for now.
I have honed several straight razors with it though, following the top wasn’t too difficult to do actually, but it does require paying close attention. The resulting edges were super keen and smooth; the proverbial laser-razor analogy fits very well here. This Iwatani is a killer finisher but it is challenging, like most very hard stones are.
The sides and bottom have been sealed with Cashew Lacquer and the edges have been chamfered.
Approx. Dimensions: 7.6 x 2.7 x 0.8”
Weight: 23 oz / 660 g