Is a good cheese grater something you can use to shave this into flakes for a topping?

Not unless it is a very heavy duty cheese grater. This Katsuobushi is my favorite ingredient but it is the actual hardest food in the world. If you are going to purchase it, you should consider also purchasing a Katsuobushi kezuriki shaving box.

Can i partially shave a block then keep the remaining katsuobushi block for later use? If so, does that affect the shelf life?

I bought it for my kitty who was dying. We shaved daily and it was fine. After he passed, we shaved for him few months later and it was fine. We found the block a few months later and it was moldy. My opinion is if you seal in foodsaver bags, it'll be ok. We had it in ziploc but should have sealed in foodsaver ones. My son did eat it after kitty was gone and it was still delicious.

What do you use to grate it? Will an ordinary grater work?

You have two basic choices, the traditional wooden grater/slicer others have mentioned or this one: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0061XMUC6/?coliid=I17696YCX4XDD7&colid=2UVTUYP6HXCW0&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it I'll probably pay the $80 and get the above, seems much easier and safer to use. Be aware that a katsuobushi block is near rock hard.

How long does it keep?

From my experience, years. It is said you can test the quality of these by taking 2 and gently tapping them together which produces a muted bell sound. These are already dried an aged for half a year to a year or more before they are sold. You need a Japanese planar box to shave these. I haven't seen anybody do it yet but you could probably use a good wood with planar to do the job as well as they are as hard as a dry piece of hardwood

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