Do I Need Another Nakayama?

[Kingfish]

I have a Nakayama that is a most incredible stone in that it can start out with a slurry and in short order take mid level honing duty in short order take the blade to shavable good edge. It can easily come off a 4000 grit or lower stone and we are not talking about a long time. (And no this was not a cheap Ebay stone) Still I find the need to refine more and I still get more comfort only after 30 Shapton. I know most of you Jnat guys never seem to long for finer stone after, and I wonder is it me and lack of honing skills or do I need a finer stone.

[mainaman]

If you got the stone from one of the 3 reputable sources I have seen mentioned on this forum, then the stone should be as good as it gets.
Do you get the same edge quality if you go to your Nakayama after higher grit, not from 4k?

[holli4pirating]

"Good" and "Good finisher" are two different things. A Norton 1k is a very good hone. If you bought the hone and it was sold to you as a good finisher, that's a different story.

You may well be getting the most you can from the hone, or maybe she does have more to give. I have a Nakayama that sounds similar (coticule-esque, is how I describe it), and I just don't think it will give a finish like my Asagi. But I guess one can never really know, unless you send your particular hone to a jnat guru to hone on.

[Kingfish]

If you got the stone from one of the 3 reputable sources I have seen mentioned on this forum, then the stone should be as good as it gets.
Do you get the same edge quality if you go to your Nakayama after higher grit, not from 4k?

It is a very good quality, but not as smooth as my 30k. Yes it was from a highly regarded member.

[holli4pirating]

Yes it was from a highly regarded member.

Did you try getting in contact with the seller? If it is one of the highly regarded members, they will likely have tested it to see how it performs, and they should be able to tell you how to get the best from it.

[Kingfish]

"Good" and "Good finisher" are two different things. A Norton 1k is a very good hone. If you bought the hone and it was sold to you as a good finisher, that's a different story.

You may well be getting the most you can from the hone, or maybe she does have more to give. I have a Nakayama that sounds similar (coticule-esque, is how I describe it), and I just don't think it will give a finish like my Asagi. But I guess one can never really know, unless you send your particular hone to a jnat guru to hone on.

So did you go through something similar? Did you notice the diffrence right away after you got your asagi or did you have it first. If it does have more to give, it would be very difficult for me. Very light almost lifting strokes still do not give me the smoothness I really want. It sounds like members with similar skills to me that have the 30k and then the Jnat never went back and produce a smoother edge off the Jnat.
I mean, I would not want to give up the Jnat because it is so gentle yet so wicked fast, but it just does not get me to the end point I want, and I do it with ease on the 30k every time.

[Kingfish]

Did you try getting in contact with the seller? If it is one of the highly regarded members, they will likely have tested it to see how it performs, and they should be able to tell you how to get the best from it.

The only thing I would tell the seller is thank you for giving me such an incredible stone. It has simplified and makes getting perfect edges each and every time making me feel like I could not screw up no matter what. It totally changed my progression and does things to the edge no other stone did for me. For example, I can not over hone with it. It always gives me a very clean edge. If I have a trouble razor that tends to micro chip, problem goes away. With a slurry, I have even come off the 1200 DMT at times although it goes super fast if I stick a 4k right before.

[holli4pirating]

My asagi gave me awesome edges right away. My other Nakayama is coticule like, and I have never gotten edges as sharp as those off my asagi.

The seller would be the best to contact about how to get the best out of your hone, because he should know it well and every stone is unique. If you don't want to, that is entirely up to you, but I don't think anyone would be able to help you as much as he can. If he is one of the good guys, I don't think he'll mind - he would want you to get the most out of your stone. At least, that's how I would be.

[kevint]

For me the hardness of the stone is nearly as important as the abrasive size/

I have used some softer tomae that just don't quite get there even though they are very very fine. While a harder stones that dresses as a 12-20k will produce an excellent shave edge.

[JimmyHAD]

The only thing I would tell the seller is thank you for giving me such an incredible stone. It has simplified and makes getting perfect edges each and every time making me feel like I could not screw up no matter what. It totally changed my progression and does things to the edge no other stone did for me. For example, I can not over hone with it. It always gives me a very clean edge. If I have a trouble razor that tends to micro chip, problem goes away. With a slurry, I have even come off the 1200 DMT at times although it goes super fast if I stick a 4k right before.

Your explanation is one reason I don't have one. I could just imagine buying a stone that would make all of my other lovelies superfluous. Besides that there is the question of whether I succeed in getting the ultimate Nakayama. Maybe I would spend $500 and be left feeling unsure if there wasn't a better one. Then I would buy another and if I liked it more I wouldn't like the initial stone. Then I would again wonder if there wasn't a better one to be had.

You mention the Shapton 30k. Matter of fact you mention it frequently and your constantly talking about it finally got me off of my bum to finish four razors with my 30k pro and I must thank you for that. I could not imagine a smoother and keener edge. This rock has been sitting in the cabinet for months and I've not availed myself of it because I had other fish to fry. Now that I have drunk the kool aid I don't know if I will be able to leave it alone.

As far as a 'better' hone ..... the results I'm getting from the 30k remind me of something a friend told my thirty years ago,"If you can't be satisfied with what you've got, you'll never be satisfied with what you get."