Okudo and Shinden Suita is definitely the king and queen of Suita. The fineness, cutting strength, ease of use cannot be surpassed by any other Suita stones.
My father is a collector of natural stones (and various tools) and has 37500, stones alone. So basically I can get anykind of stones. If you are after a genuine Okudo or Shinden Suita stone, I have a couple for sale. These mines were closed about 50 years ago. You should consider any Okudo or Shinden Suita stones sold cheap (under $500) are not genuine, unless they are very small or of bad quality. I have seen many fake ones which are actually from other mines, such as Oohira, Kouzaki, Yaginoshima. Suita stones look quite alike among the various mines so it is difficult (probably impossible) for a layman to tell them apart. You need to know the colour of the skin on the back, etc. Sometimes the stone wholesaler paint the colour to make the skin look like more expensive stones, so like I said it is basically impossible for a layman to discern fakes. So, when you buy expensive stones, make sure the seller accept returns when you don't like it. You'll never know whether the stone will suit you and your tools until you use them. In Japan, skilled users never buy expensive stones without trying them (except for when buying from someone they can trust.) I and my father always check the quality before selling, so I am pretty sure you'd be satisfied with the quality, but if you don't like them I accept returns for expensive stones.
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