Asano Stamped Botan Koppa
This extraordinarily thick and large Botan Koppa is fully sealed in red cashew lacquer to prevent water from seeping in through the sides. All of the Asano stamps are visible including the official Nagayuki Asano stamp, but the red ink of that stamp is somewhat subdued and hard to capture in a photograph. In good light, it’s still visible.
This stone is very fast and it makes short work of setting a bevel. I wouldn’t choose to use it for removing larger chips, but it is more than capable for most bevel-setting work. It’s a pleasure to hone on, and the cutting it does is both efficient and gentle, a major plus when doing heavy work with natural stone like this.
The scratch patterns off this stone are very consistent and easy to remove during the following stage. The honing sensation, or feedback, is pronounced and easy to read. The slurry breaks down slowly, so the cutting action lasts for a good amount of time.
Botan comes in many flavors and with many different personalities. Some are finer than others, and some make slurry that breaks down finer, slower, faster, etc. This Koppa is hard, slightly coarser and slower; all of which makes it perfect for setting bevels on straight razors.
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Approx. Dimensions: 4.5 x 4.4 x 1.4 / 114 x 112 x 36 mm
Weight: 30.1 oz / 854 g
