A low grit stone is a must for knives that have not been sharpened for a long time, or have sustained an accident in a kitchen (chips & missing tips, for example). In addition, it is a great stone to have for single bevel knives as most single bevel blades will need a bevel setting that can take a while. It will remove necessary materials quickly without tiring the sharpener allowing you to move through the stone progression in a timely fashion. If you are an experienced sharpener that needs to sharpen many blades repeatedly, having the right low-grit stone can make all the differences. 

Recommended usage: This is a splash-and-go stone, meaning no soaking prior to usage necessary. It may need a couple of minutes of soaking right out of the box, however. It excels at removing both hard and soft steel fast, and leaves a very consistent finish, whilst offering amazing feedback. It requires more regular flattening than higher grit stones in the same line-up.  Regardless, it is one of our favourite low grits, and we recommend it to anyone looking to fix up an old blade or to seriously start a polishing project on a wide bevel blade (Takeda, Hinoura, Mazaki, single bevels etc).

Brand: Naniwa ナニワ研磨工業
Product Type: Whetstone
Grit: #400
Grain Scale: Rough