This is a natural Honyama whetstone from Takao, Kyoto.

Takao is located at the foot of Mt. Atago in the Umegahata area of Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, and has long been known as a traditional source of Honyama natural whetstones. From the Edo period through the mid-Showa era, high-quality Tomae, Awasedo, and Suita stones were quarried here, supporting Kyoto’s long-standing blade and woodworking culture. Today, mining has almost completely ceased, making fine Takao stones increasingly rare.

This is a vintage stone from the Showa period, originally sold in shops as a finishing whetstone for Japanese planes. It also bears the “Ipponsen” seal, indicating that it was specially selected by a whetstone dealer as a superior-quality piece.

The hardness is around 4.0− on a 5-point scale, making it relatively hard and dense for a Takao stone. Once the blade touches the surface, it quickly produces an extremely fine, greenish slurry. The sharpening feel is smooth and almost sticky, offering excellent control together with stable cutting performance.

The finish is very fine, producing a beautiful kasumi and bringing out a natural contrast between the jigane and hagane. The entire stone is very clean with few impurities, and the back side shows a beautiful geological pattern reminiscent of Higashimono natural whetstones, making it attractive even as a collectible piece.

High-quality Takao stones of this level rarely appear on the market today. This is a highly recommended piece not only as a practical finishing stone, but also as a valuable collectible that preserves the history of Kyoto natural whetstones.

Please note that these are not for beginner sharpeners since they're harder to use. These are natural stones meaning that every single one of them are different so my measured sizes are not accurate. This is a lifetime investment for people who live sharpening their knives and tools, do not hesitate to ask me your questions.”

Dimension : 55-75mm×180-205mm×37mm ( Approx.) 

Weight: 1275g