Mikawa Shiro Nagura - Botan - Japanese Natural Whetstone - Choose Your Stone

Asano Stamped Mikawa Shiro Nagura Botan stones. These are authentic Botan layer nagura graded as Betsuju, meaning white and irregular in shape. In a standard honing progression, Botan stones can be used directly after a bevel-setting medium grit stone to begin the process of scratch removal. Botan is the most coarse of the primary four nagura and is therefore used first. Botan stones are valued for their aggressive cutting strength, clear feedback, and strong refinement capabilities when properly worked.

Mikawa Shiro Nagura stones can also be used for knives, tools, and swords for effective scratch removal and polishing performance. Within the knife community, Mikawa nagura are used both to add tooth and refinement to an edge, and to control the appearance of a kasumi finish. Botan stones can add depth and bring out detail in the jigane and hagane, which can be especially useful when bench stone selection is limited or when the polishing characteristics of the base stone need adjustment.