Nakayama maruichi asagi

140× 82 × 25 mm
Sides and bottom sealed with Japanese urushi. (incredible urushi work on this one)

A hard, dense Maruichi from Nakayama, exceptionally fine — and, for a stone this fine, remarkably predictable. Clean results on an ordinary day, not only on a good one.

The Maruichi stamp marks stones selected for razor work — chosen for extreme fineness that still leaves no scratches. That is exactly how it behaves on a knife: soft enough never to burnish the jigane, which is where the contrast comes from. When I tested it on Blue #2 and 125 sc steel, the core turned to a clean natural mirror. It is also why it is too fine for honyaki; a large hard surface needs a stone that breaks the light, and this one is finer than that.

Clad and wrought iron are its ground — one of the finest kasumi finishes I get from any stone I own. Finest detail on the jigane, still holding contrast against the hagane, and the hagane itself comes up mirror-like and clean.

On honyaki, the soft part only, and with more care. Keep it for clad and wrought iron.

Hard and dense, it needs flattening rarely — so you can work the geometry precisely, and the stone will outlast whoever owns it.
You don’t need a nagura for this stone.

This cleanest surface will show you what KREAM Detail can really do.