A chip is not the end of the knife. It is metal that has to be removed — the edge is reshaped below the damage, on a coarse stone, and then rebuilt.
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Wikipedia’s sharpening-stone article gives the repair directly: a coarser grit is used to remove larger amounts of metal more rapidly, such as when forming an edge or restoring a damaged edge, and a relatively coarse stone is used to reshape a damaged blade edge, which is then refined by finer grit stones. Synthetic grits run from about 120 at the coarse end upward. That is the whole procedure — grind the edge back past the deepest point of the chip, then work up through the grits.
The cause is in the same literature and it is geometric rather than a fault. The smaller the angle between blade and stone, the sharper the knife will be, but the less side force is needed to bend the edge over or chip it off. A Japanese edge is thin because the steel is hard enough to hold a thin edge — and that thinness is the same property that makes lateral force dangerous to it. Twisting through something, prying, and hitting bone are all side force.
Two consequences worth stating plainly. Repair costs blade height: the metal removed to reach past the chip is gone, and a knife repaired several times is measurably narrower than it began. And a chip is worth fixing rather than ignoring, because the edge on either side of it is unsupported — but a very deep chip is a job for a coarse stone and patience, not for the finishing stone you sharpen with.
Japanese whetstones on Amazon — the shelf ↗
If you are buying a stone for this rather than for maintenance, the coarse end is the part that matters — the grit page below explains why the number on it is not comparable between makers. And if the chipping keeps happening, the cause is more likely to be what the edge is meeting than the knife: the board guide and the hardness guide are the two worth reading next.
Japanese whetstones on Amazon — the shelf ↗
That shelf is there because the repair described above needs a coarse stone and then the grits above it — it is the tool the page names, not a knife to replace the one you chipped. Whether a chip is worth grinding out yourself or taking to a sharpener still depends on how deep it is and how much you value the blade, and that is not a judgement a page can make for you.
A knife specialist carries the same stones and puts the number on every one of them. Hocho Knife lists the coarse end by name — #220/#1000 combination stones and a #320 ceramic — which is the end this repair needs rather than the finishing grits. King, Shapton and Naniwa sit on that shelf together, which happens to be the clearest way to see what the grit page below is about: those three do not measure a number the same way.
Sharpening stones at Hocho Knife — the grit number is on every one ↗
Linked for the coarse grits, not as a recommendation of a stone — how coarse you need depends on how deep the chip is. Check that the number is still stated on the listing in front of you before ordering.
SourcesThe scent exists because the tree was infected. Uninfected wood is pale and light — whatever was added.
There is no dominant standard behind the number. Two #1000 stones can cut differently.
Glass dents, rolls and chips edges rapidly. Wood is self-healing — but grain matters more than "hardwood".
Two of these are the same knife. And a nakiri suits either hand; the usuba it resembles does not.
JIS defines it — and the definition says most washi today is machine-made from chemical pulp.
Carved from a single piece, so a snapped tine is not a repair. The tine count is a spec, not a score.
Not a quality ladder. Natural hair holds powder; synthetic is built for cream and liquid.
ISO and Japanese labelling define how matcha is made. Neither defines a grade.
Ground on one side only. The wrong side does not cut badly — it does not work.
Blue holds an edge longer and is harder to sharpen. Which is better depends on how often you sharpen.
One protects the blade, the other eats it. Scrubbing the wrong one leaves the knife worse off.
Western knives sit at 52–58 and 20–22°; harder steel is what permits 15–18°. Higher is a different bargain.
A gifted knife is said to sever the relationship. The custom is that the recipient hands back a coin.
Friction-fitted, not bonded — so it can be replaced. And a D-shaped handle is made for one hand.
The usual fix starts by soaking it. A seiro maker calls soaking strictly forbidden.
Dishwasher, microwave, sunlight. All normal, all irreversible on urushi.
Uncured urushi gives most people a rash. Cured, reactions are possible but less common.
A prefectural institute put eleven lacquer films through JIS Z 2801. Most came back undetectable.
The original ceased production around 1900. Since 1973 the word has meant pattern welding — decoration.
It conducts heat badly. That is the product — and it is also why it cracks.
Unglazed clay is porous until rice starch seals it — one simmer, once.
Induction heats metal, not clay. Most donabe never get warm — and cannot be converted.
Real urushi cures in a humid box over days to weeks. A kit that sets in an hour is something else.
Not urushi against epoxy. Whether the material states food-contact compliance.
Pointed where Chinese ones are blunt. And two ordinary gestures read as funeral rites.
Sumi is soot held by animal glue. India ink needs no binder and dries waterproof on its own.
The body is impermeable. It is the decoration that is exposed — and you can feel which kind it is.
One boils water and gives you iron. Putting the other on heat cracks its lining for good.
The spots appear in the first week. The makers’ association says do not take them off.
The form is settled by a 2003 paper. The amount is not settled by anything.
