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King KDS 1000/6000 Combination Grit Whetstone

By King · Knife Sharpening · Kitchen & Cooking · More from King

  • Dual-sided 1000/6000 grit combination waterstone
  • 207 x 66 x 36 mm
  • Soaking stone (not splash-and-go)
  • Made in Japan by Matsunaga Stone

Lowest price seen
$67.99
from $67.99 at Hocho-Knife · Checked Oct 12, 2026

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Summary

A two-sided 1000/6000 Japanese water stone, 207 × 66 × 36 mm and about 1000 g, that is cheap, soft and forgiving enough for a first sharpening stone. Check your tolerance for upkeep before you buy: the soft clay binder dishes quickly, so you will flatten it often.

Strengths

  • Cheap and widely recommended for beginners.
  • Gives strong feedback and keeps cutting instead of glazing over.
  • Covers both setting an edge and refining it in one stone.
  • The 1000 side has a pleasant feel, and owners were surprised by the speed.
  • Two grits for far less than two separate stones.

Weaknesses

  • Dishes quickly and needs frequent flattening, the 1000 side first.
  • The soft 6000 side can gouge or crumble if it is over-soaked.
  • The two faces soak differently, and that behavior varies by unit.
  • No grit labels on the stone.
  • Messy soaking routine; it is not splash-and-go.
  • Wears faster than hard ceramic or diamond stones.

Verified specifications

ProductKing KDS combination water stone, #1000 and #6000.
MakerMatsunaga Stone Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan; brand King.
Grit faces#1000 for sharpening, #6000 for finishing.
Size207 × 66 × 36 mm.
Weight1000 g.
Binderclay.
Typesoaking water stone, not splash-and-go.
Country of manufactureJapan.
Full research notes and sources

Soaking and upkeep

This is a soaker, not a splash-and-go stone. Recommended soak times run from about 5-10 minutes to 10-15 minutes, with some owners preferring about 20 minutes until the bubbles stop. Keep the surface wet while you work. Air-dry the stone before storage to avoid mold, and use it with water: dry use will glaze the surface and cut poorly.

Dishing and flattening

The soft clay binder is the whole story of this stone. It gives the feedback beginners want, but it also means the surface hollows out and must be flattened regularly with a flattening plate or a coarse diamond stone. The 1000 side wears and dishes faster than the 6000 side. Owners describe flattening as a routine requirement rather than an occasional chore.

How the two faces differ

The two faces do not behave alike in water. Owners repeatedly report that the 1000 side absorbs water like a sponge while the 6000 side is more water-resistant, though others say their 6000 was also a soaker, so treat the water behavior as unit-dependent. The soft 6000 side can gouge or crumble if it is soaked too long, so several owners deliberately avoid long soaks on that side. The stone also carries no grit labels; owners report white is the 6000 side and burgundy the 1000 side.

Which model this is

This page covers the King KDS, a single stone with a 1000 and a 6000 grit face, sold as the King Deluxe KDS 1000/6000. Don’t confuse it with the smaller King KW65 or HT-65 combos, which measure 185 × 63 × 25 mm and often ship with a base, or with the KING Whetstone Starter Set, which bundles a different stone with a holder, cloth and base. The Amazon listing is ASIN B07MTPMQ5V.

Is it worth it?

Nihonsan, a Brooklyn shop, lists the KDS at $55.00, and the Japan-based exporter Hocho-Knife lists it at $67.99, reduced from $77.99. Under about $55 it is strong value, and at $55-70 it is still fair. Above $70 the value weakens, because the KDS is a budget soft soaker and lower-maintenance stones exist near that price. Remember that the price of entry also includes a flattening plate or coarse diamond stone, which the sources treat as effectively required. Buy it as a first stone you intend to learn on and maintain, and skip it if you want a stone you never have to soak or flatten.

Sources

Manufacturer:

Independent reviews:

Owner reports:

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