Where can I find great Japanese waterstones for knife sharpening?

My boyfriend and I are both culinary students and total foodies. He works in the industry full time and he goes to school full time. His birthday is coming up and I really wanted to get him some stones for sharpening. I have only ever used oil stones so those are all I am familiar with... but he tells me all of the time that he likes Japanese waterstones much more, so I'd like to get him some. I have no expirience with them so I don't know what to look for (or if they're all the same) and where I could buy a good set. Thank you! Jupiter, I appreciate the professional input a lot!!

Public Comments

1. you can try amazon or ebay... or if you want... you can go see if theres some in china town
2. this talks about the differences between the 2 http://www.woodturns.com/articles/tools/jap_waterstones.htm
3. If there are Japanese or even Chinese stores that sell Asian food, then there's a chance they might also sell them. I'd definitely check those stores first. The one we use at home has lasted us for so many years so far, it has two different textures, one side smoother than the other for different knife purposes. If you have Japanese or Chinese friends who cook, you could ask them where to find the stones. If you really can't find any then try online stores like Amazon maybe. They might sell them for a slightly more expensive price. I just searched up "waterstones" on Amazon, and found this: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_hi?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=waterstone Hope that helps.
4. sexton,hamacher-schlemmer,brookstone ,or your local cutlery outlet (high quality ,of course),although you would do better with a diamond hone mfg. by E-Z-lap they come in several forms ,I use the oval shaped steel style ,followed by a couple swipes accross a ceramic hone ,all of my knives are either wustoff trident or henkles professional grade,save your money as they are frightfully expensivejust go with the diamonds ,they do a better job ,overall
5. I do competition BBQ and my knives are Henkels. I prefer the oval diamond coated steel type sharpener. (hone) Good luck
6. http://www.chefknivestogo.com/globalknives.html or -- http://www.buy4asianlife.com/eshop/ids_cate_fisrt.asp?subcate =SC10&cate=C20&MaxRecord=500&gclid=CJjshJuI344CFTaoGgodB26xQg The second site, especially, has a lot of just what you are looking for. Japanese knives RULE!