Thread: JNats explained...

Originally Posted by Lemur

If someone would like to collect all info on Jnats I'm sure a lot of us would love to help out in any way we can.
It not going to be easy tho, lots of info on this subject is misleading, wrong or just plain strange.

I would like to see/do more non subjective tests like hardness, density, cutting ability and so on.

Some have started with pH tests, so if anyone is a chemical engineer they could probably set up a standardized test for us to do.

Same with hardness, we need some kind of testing probes like ceramics of different hardness we can rub our stones with.

Trouble is, you can realistically only make generalisations. The most non subjective tests you could devise will still only tell you about the individual stone being tested.

Nakayama Asagi are not all great stones & some of the less famous mines can produce gems.

I've used Aoto that could replace an 8k yet they are generally accepted as working in the 1k-3kish range.

A stone can work great on Hitachi white steel & be lousy on blue.

As the shave test is to honing rubbing the blade on the stone is the best test for stones. IMHO.

So while this discussion has been going on, it seems my time on the bay has been productive. Not sure if I can say well spent yet, gotta wait to get the stones and see what happens. Picked up a couple of stones that look like they may be ok, dirt cheap really, and I figure since I'm going to have a long road of prepping them (the were oil stones supposedly) it will give me time to refine my honing skills.

Vtg Lot Sharpening Razor Knife Barbers Hone Oil Stones Whetstone Natural L11 | eBay These were the oiled stones.
Then I got froggy and jumped on another stone, this one was a bit more, but I figured money is made so it can be spent.
Maruka Phantom Kiita Karasu Japanese Natural Whetstone Tennenn Toishi from Kyoto | eBay
Finally I found this one on yet another site...

I figure worst case scenerio, I got a pretty door stop... lmao
First time trying to post pictures or links by the way, so if they don't work... well, I guess I can try again. lol

Originally Posted by Ketsco101

So while this discussion has been going on, it seems my time on the bay has been productive. Not sure if I can say well spent yet, gotta wait to get the stones and see what happens. Picked up a couple of stones that look like they may be ok, dirt cheap really, and I figure since I'm going to have a long road of prepping them (the were oil stones supposedly) it will give me time to refine my honing skills.

Maruka Phantom Kiita Karasu Japanese Natural Whetstone Tennenn Toishi from Kyoto | eBay

If you look on the history, i had a bid and stopped at $33, it was a little risky for me but you may be lucky. The information on this stone is. well... IMHO wrong it ain't really a kiita (Kinda is) and it is 100% not a Karasu. It makes me wonder what else is wrong with it. not to mention the lack of a description.

Make sure you give it a good lap before using it.

Originally Posted by Brighty83

The information on this stone is. well... IMHO wrong it ain't really a kiita (Kinda is) and it is 100% not a Karasu. It makes me wonder what else is wrong with it. not to mention the lack of a description.

Make sure you give it a good lap before using it.

Hmmm... Well, thanks for the honesty, I really do appreciate it. Guess putting the cart before the horse and buying before I know more may not have been such a good idea. lol. We'll see how it turns out... May still be able to use it for a slurry stone. Being that big, and considering how much I hone, it should last about 3 lifetimes that way.

Originally Posted by Ketsco101

Hmmm... Well, thanks for the honesty, I really do appreciate it. Guess putting the cart before the horse and buying before I know more may not have been such a good idea. lol. We'll see how it turns out... May still be able to use it for a slurry stone. Being that big, and considering how much I hone, it should last about 3 lifetimes that way.

No problems.. But Hey, it may be a really good stone too. You never know with Jnats. It's Russian roulette. Like I said, price doesn't determine the quality.

It does have the skin and that's nice to have on a Jnat, in the way of looks but until you test it you won't know if it's good for razors. The hardest thing for you is you don't really have anything to compare it too, as in what's good and what's not.

And that brings up even more newb like questions. When you say at least it has the skin, what does that mean? Also I hear I need to look out for toxic lines... what in the heck is a toxic line and how do I recognize one if I see it?

This is a Toxic line


Is not something you can really tell from a photo as some lines are not toxic. From this photo you can kinda see it most likely will be toxic though.

This is is what a toxic line produces. (This was not caused by a toxic line but by the layers in the stone. Much the same result though)

I purchased this when i was learning and this was the result. I was actually really lucky with this stone and managed to lap it past the toxic layers (Not lines). Its now a very useful stone.

Toxic line are simply just lines with chunks of hard rock that break off and cause micro chips on the blade. You should call it "unstable particles that break off within line on stone" but toxic is easier.

As for the skin, this is the side of the stone that has NOT been cut, it has a tree bark like look.. or a skin.

AHA!!!! I see said the blind man as he picked up the hammer and saw...

Now for the next semi-opinion based question... Slurry stones, obviously I don't just want to grab a river rock or anything, but should I pick up a less that quality honer, can I just use that for slurry instead? Or what typically makes for a good slurry stone?

This would depend on the stone and its purpose. What are the qualities of the stone and what is its intended purpose. Does it even need a slurry stone? If its a soft stone a slurry stone would be a waste of time if its a hard stone do you intend on finishing or would you like to use a courser grit. Again there are many variables..

You have already ordered the stone, wait and see how they behave before ordering anything else that you may or may not need.

This is why you dont rush out and buy a jnat

hahaha, well on a good note, this time it was more just for my knowledge... No bidding for me for a while. Gotta see what comes in and then remember to label it all, try it out, find out I'm not a honemeister yet, and try it again in a different setting. (After I calm down from not getting the edge I wanted) lol Thanks for all the tips.