finishing a kamisori razor..shaptons vs superstone?

hey, truth be told my obsession for kitchen knives led to trying my hand at razors about 18 months ago. rather than do the responsible thing and pick up a cheap straight, i forked out a few hundred on a japanese kamisori from japanesenaturalstones along with a lesther strop from the same site. I don't recall doing any sort of testing but it certainly could shave comfortably for me (although to be honest I don't grow a thick beard) as I slowly got used to using it (still learning to be honest). within a few months the edge got chipped (angry ex) but figured if I could fix up knives the razor shouldn't be a big deal.

after a bit of trial and error and reading up a little on kamisori I think it's up to speed again. i have a few fine stones and after messing around with them all lately ive come to like the naniwa superstone 8k. i have actually found I can quite comfortably shave after using this stone, more so than my sigma 13k or naniwa snow white 8k or even a hard natural I picked up from metal master. this is without stropping on leather. To be honest, im pretty thankful it's getting use now because I have found it to be too fine and slow for my work knives

it got me curious though .. are there people here who shave without stropping on leather? i feel like I'm much more comfortable using a stone compared to a hanging strop (probably due to my knife background). im also wondering though what other realm of sharpness potentially exists that I'm missing out on and am curious about the superstone 12k and I guess the finer shapton stones.

does the 12k superstone compare well with the shaptons? the superstones seem to polish higher and give finer edges than their indicated grit throughout the series (for reference the 8k superstone seemed finer to me than the sigma 13 and the ss2k i own feels comparable to my 5k chosera where an ss 5k seems comparable to my snow white, maybe even more refined) and the shapton pros by comparison apparently "cut fast for their grit rating" which I would then assume means maybe a slightly coarser finish than the specified grit rating would suggest . the ss is a lot cheaper plus im more familiar with this family of stones compared to shapton so im definitely leaning towards that direction.

cheers

Lots of questions here, and I'm sure you'll get lots of different answers. I always use leather, even after using my best finishing stones. It brings an edge to a whole new level. You can't go wrong with the ss12k. It's a favorite among many as far as synthetics go, unless you can afford a gokumyo 20k. Naturals are a black whole of intrigue, finding one that compares or beats a gokumyo 20k can be expensive, but worth it if the money isn't a limiting factor. If your getting comfort shaves off an 8k then the 12k will surely make a big difference. Good luck!

I am sure people do shave without stropping. Not many here i'm sure. Could you post some pictures of you razor? There is always a learning curve no matter how long you have been shaving this way. the Kamisori can take a really keen edge, I doubt coming off the 8k without stropping brought it to its full potential. The Naniwa 12k is a great stone but a shave right off of it might be harsh. A stropping on leather, news paper or linen would benefit the edge. Good luck and welcome.

these are what I purchased some 18 months ago. I haven't got any photos of my razor handy right now. What can I use to host pictures on the forum?

Buy Kanayama Cordovan Strop 20000 | Buy | Services EU | JNS Slibe Service DK Kokkeknive Reviews | Japanese Natural Stones
Buy Iwasaki Kamisori 50mm | Buy | Services EU | JNS Slibe Service DK Kokkeknive Reviews | Japanese Natural Stones

looking at these pictures.. man my razor looks heaps different now. I hope I haven't done something wrong. I need to learn some razor terminology but I'm sure it will become obvious to someone after I put pictures up. It's actually making me cringe looking at the bevels. Either way, I have been pretty happy with it (although wishing I had some of that money now) and that's using it just off the 8k like I said. Maybe the edge would be unacceptable to someone else but I guess without ever experiencing what's supposedly the "ultimate edge" I'll never know until I guess I eventually figure it out one day. The edge doesn't feel harsh in that it doesn't irritate my skin nor does it tug or pull on hairs. My only concern is I probably lack technique in stropping in comparison to using a stone and will round the edge. If stropping honestly improves the edge that much more then I guess I better get onto that

I'm also curious about whether there is a big difference between stropping after using an 8k stone compared to stropping after the 12k.. I'd only need to strop a little longer I'm assuming?

I would guess that a little experimenting seems to be in order. I would shave after the 8k stone before stropping and then after stropping. Do the same with the 12k stone. Whatever works for you. In most cases with most people on this forum, stropping is necessary for a smoother shave. One can probably go without stropping once or twice but not any more. In any case, whatever you are comfortable with and gives you a comfortable shave works!


Mike

Strop, Tc

There is a reason old time barbers stropped before shaving each customer. Who am I to question that practice?