Thread: Attention Nakayama Users

Originally Posted by Utopian

While I can appreciate the desire to avoid wasting a hone, in my experience a properly lapped hone always performs better than one that is not lapped. It doesn't matter whether the hone is synthetic or natural, a perfectly flat hone is going to perform much better. If you bought a Nakayama hone to look at the pretty kanji, fine. Put it on a shelf and admire how pretty it is. If you bought it to hone razors, you're better off ensuring that it is flat.

Hi Ron, Good see you back. It's been a while. I appreciate what your saying, but with these Nakayama's, The Kanji not only looks nice, but adds value and proves authenticity, so lapping can come at a cost, literally, and is only done, or should I say, should only be done under extreme circumstances. Since these hones are used as a finisher, it hardly dishes. Sometimes, it glazes, or has some small imperfection in the surface which requires lapping. The Kanji is very beautiful and adds to the overall aesthetics of the hone, so it's a difficult thing. Anyway, welcome back....

Rich

I am with utopian on this, the value of a hone is in its purpose and a hone with kanji that isn't flat will not perform as it is intended to perform thus making its purpose irrelevant. On the other hand if you intend to just look at the kanji kudos for you. I lapped mine but before lapping it took a picture of it just to keep for the record, also mines has stamps on the bottom further proving its authenticity and if I recall correctly most other hones I have seen have stamps on the side or somewhere else which isn't the honing surface. So I see no point in keeping it unlapped unless you want to look at it or whatever.

Like many others, I took pictures of mine and lapped away. No regrets!

Originally Posted by richmondesi

Like many others, I took pictures of mine and lapped away. No regrets!

So did I.

Before shot:

Originally Posted by Utopian

While I can appreciate the desire to avoid wasting a hone, in my experience a properly lapped hone always performs better than one that is not lapped. It doesn't matter whether the hone is synthetic or natural, a perfectly flat hone is going to perform much better. If you bought a Nakayama hone to look at the pretty kanji, fine. Put it on a shelf and admire how pretty it is. If you bought it to hone razors, you're better off ensuring that it is flat.

I completely agree. It's a tool to me, not a work of art and its purpose is to be used. I have good art on the wall, but I wouldn't use my etchings or japanese woodblock prints to strop my razor on any more than I would hang a hunk of honing stone on the wall.

Regards,
Neil

Hold on a minute - maybe I should investigate the semi mystic qualities of japanese woodblock inks of the 19th century as an alternative to chrome-oxide - I might be onto something