KINGIce Bear 6000 Grit Waterstone

The pros:I utilize this 6000 grit stone with water and only after first using Norton 220/1000/2000 grit stones. I finish up with a leather honing block, but this stone gives my blades a virtually flawless mirror face. It takes a lot of practice to accurately sharpen v-gouges and u-gouges. But this stone is smooth enough to help any beginner get the hang of it. It has a very smooth surface and flattens easily with a flat table-top and some 400 grit sandpaper.The cons:More susceptible to grease than other stones I've used, be sure to wash your hands before use. It is mounted to a plastic tray (won't come off) which may be bothersome to people who wish to mount it in a wooden case. The tray does however help protect your finger from getting cut. There are also no-in depth instructions for this particular stone anywhere in the packaging.

This review is for the King Ice Bear 6000 Grit sharpening stone.I have owned this sharpening stone since June 2011.Note: It is not mentioned on the current amazon product description, but this sharpening stone comes affixed to a plastic stone holder. As far as I can tell, the stone cannot be removed from this holder. This is good if you want a stone to be in a stone holder, but bad if you plan on using every bit of the sharpening stone.This stone is a synthetic stone. As opposed to a natural stone, this particular synthetic stone does NOT create a slurry. Synthetic stones vary a bit from natural stones, see my comparison below. Some are misled when they read "ceramic sharpening stone". Many think that the entire stone is ceramic, such as some of the Shaptons are. However, ceramic in terms of sharpening stones may refer to the grit bonding. The grit in this stone is bonded by ceramic, causing the stone to wear slowly. Due to there being no slurry, the stone cuts slower than a traditional Japanese waterstone. The ceramic stone can also become clogged easily. When you sharpen, you may notice that you see tiny dark gray/black dots in the surface of the stone. This is steel clogging the pores. Rinsing the stone with water and rubbing the stone with your fingertips removes some of this clogging. I find that rubbing the stone on sandpaper the same you would re-flatten the stone removes the steel from the pores of the stone. This stone cuts fairly fast and leaves an excellent edge. I recommend stropping after using this stone, or any sharpening stone for that matter.I have ordered a  Nagura Stone  to use with this stone and will update this review once I use the  Nagura Stone  to comment on the effectiveness of the stone combination.Update (5/26/12): I have had and used this stone for quite a few months, but wanted to wait until I have used the stone enough to be sure of my opinion on it. I highly recommend the King Ice Bear Nagura Stone, it creates a slurry rapidly, helps to keep the stone flat, and very effectively unclogs the pores of the stone. This stone is very nice to have for synthetic sharpening stones such as this one. There is a downside to using a Nagura stone, I go into more detail on that in my review of the aforementioned Nagura stone.Natural vs Synthetic stoneThese are general observations and may vary greatly from stone to stone.Natural:Creates a slurryWears away fasterMore expensiveNeeds to be flattened more oftenCuts fasterCan only be soaked in water for a limited amount of time before damage to the stone occursInconsistent grainSynthetic:Creates no slurryWears away slowerCheaperDoesn't need to be flattened as oftenHas a tendency to clogCuts slowerUsually can be soaked as long as you desire prior to usingUniform grainUpdate (9/21/12): When looking at other king stones, it appears that king makes quite a few 6000 grit stones. For reference, this stone is made by King and is model number "S-3". The dimensions of the stone are (in millimeters) 185x62x15.Note: review is subject to change, this is usually due to grammar/punctuation edits to improve over all coherence. Changes may also be made to add to the review, or remove that which I determine unnecessary. If you have any constructive comments, or constructive criticisms, feel free to leave a comment on my review.

Lasted for a couple months, then just snapped in half. Im guessing the kentic energy over time weakened the stones integrity. Works well for a little

First off, the stone only took 4 or 5 days (can't remember) to arrive. It arrived on a Saturday, which was a surprise to me. I was blown away by the delivery speed. Stone came as new, looked great. I soaked it for 15 minutes. I did my normal sharpening, but noticed how much softer this stone felt. I like the width, it's great for kitchen knives. I sharpened a Shun Elite Santoku with this (after I reprofiled) and it was a little sharper than factory, that's for sure. I have a few you tube videos with the Shun after I sharpened it with this stone. Just search for Shun Elite, and you'll see a shaving video. This stone rocks. I bought a 12,000 grit stone from this seller, but I did not use it on the Shun Elite, as I saw no need to. This 6000 grit will give you the hair-splitting edge you are looking for. I feel like anything above 8,000 grit won't last long enough to fully appreciate. The 6,000 edge was able to cook dinner, shave hair, go to work the next day, do some light prep, came home, was still able to shave hair and cook dinner with no problem. That is also in due part to the steel of my knife, but most importantly is the edge retention of 6,000 grit. I highly recommend this stone, both for price and function. Can't beat it!

What I received was not what was advertised. I wanted the full block with surface available on both sides. Instead, what came was a narrower (in depth) stone that is glued to a plastic base. I imagine it will work fine, but I tried to find and order something specific and that is not what I ended up with. I wrote Amazon about this and they refunded part of the price.

I was shocked at how good of a stone this is for the price. It cuts incredibly fast for a 6k, especially a cheap one.My main complaint is that the stone they send you is NOT the stone in the picture. They send you the 1 cm stone with the base attached. I hate stones with attached bases, the bases are cheap plastic and do not give enough clearance for your knuckles while sharpening. This is more of a complaint against amazon than against the stone or the manufacturer though. Amazon needs to clarify their description and picture for this product.

I originally bought this to sharpen a straight razor, and to try it out. Straight razor shaving that is. Well, I can not say that I have gotten the blade sharp enough to shave with yet, but I have gotten it sharp enough to shave my arms, just not my face.. Need a higher grit I think.. or maybe, I need a little more practice. In any case, I have been sharpening my kitchen knives for years by whetstone, so I can tell a cheap or poorly made stone from a good one. I have bought many brands and styles, and I can say this, This is one of the best stones that I have bought. I even have the king, double sided, 400/1000 grit ones, and this one is even better made than that one.. and they are the same brand. Is it good, Yes. and very well made with high quality materials. What more can a person want. yes I like it and yes, I highly recommend it.