Thread: JNats explained...

JNS always has shuobodani 100 for $70. No brainer IMO. I have one and it works great. I know others who have the same stone and same positive feedback on it as well.

Originally Posted by bill3152

All 6 of my jnats came from Maksim at JNS as he is trustworthy and knowledgeable..

+1!!!

Although, I would note, he's not into me as far as he is into you!

So it looks like if I were a semi-skilled honer, I should, in theory be able to use a shuobodani 100 as a finisher. Is that either right or pretty close to right? I want to try a good amount of finishers. I'm using a nani 12k now, got a shapton pro 15k on the way, and I'd like to find a reasonable natural finisher to see the difference in the edges. I hear a good bit about the difference between a synth stone and a natural, as well as just the difference in a 12k and a 15k...

There is no way to say that a shuobodani stone would be better then a 15k shapton without testing it, every stone is different. You could have 100 different shuobodani 100 stones and they could all behave differently. There would probably be a lot of similarities but they could range from any grit and any hardness.

The only way to know if it would be better is to have someone test the stone beforehand, even then, Jnats have thousands of layers and what's good now may be shocking a few layers later.

So to answer this question, there is no answer.

Just to add to the above, I have 2 shuobodani stones that I know of in my collection. One is a fast cutting 8-16k stone the others in the high 20-30k region and has absolutely no cutting power (Aiishi)

You know Brighty... you keep killin' my spending buzz... but to clarify, I wasn't asking if it put a BETTER edge on a razor than anything else, just if typically shuobodanis COULD be used as a finisher. Do they tend to be fine enough. I realize that there is much variation in individual grit of stones, even if they came from right next to each other in the same quarry, every stone is an individual, but generally, are Shuobodanis fine enough to finish on? That's what I was trying to get at. Based on your last two posts, it looks like they SHOULD be. No guarantees though. Good to know. You know, the more I think about it...buying naturals is kinda like playing blackjack and hitting on 15... most of the time you come out ok... but once in a while... you can hit it big...or strike out hard... Now that it's like gambling, it make so much more sense... and is even more fun...

A shuobodani 100 is $70 ish. You don't have to buy a nagura set in the beginning, just use dmt slurry. Its capable of putting a great edge on. The first edge I put on was good, the second was great. There are harder and finer stones but this one is easy, relatively fast and its a bargain as far as jnats go. If you get the bug you will buy more like I did.
WHen I started using jnats I honed to a 10k chosera. I hit the jnat and if I maintained or increased sharpness I was on the right path. If I was dulling, I was doing something wrong. Make sure you lap whatever stone you get.

Originally Posted by Ketsco101

So it looks like if I were a semi-skilled honer, I should, in theory be able to use a shuobodani 100 as a finisher. Is that either right or pretty close to right? I want to try a good amount of finishers. I'm using a nani 12k now, got a shapton pro 15k on the way, and I'd like to find a reasonable natural finisher to see the difference in the edges. I hear a good bit about the difference between a synth stone and a natural, as well as just the difference in a 12k and a 15k...

Just get Suehiro Gokumyo 20k and be done with it.

Originally Posted by Ketsco101

You know Brighty... you keep killin' my spending buzz... but to clarify, I wasn't asking if it put a BETTER edge on a razor than anything else, just if typically shuobodanis COULD be used as a finisher. Do they tend to be fine enough. I realize that there is much variation in individual grit of stones, even if they came from right next to each other in the same quarry, every stone is an individual, but generally, are Shuobodanis fine enough to finish on? That's what I was trying to get at. Based on your last two posts, it looks like they SHOULD be. No guarantees though. Good to know. You know, the more I think about it...buying naturals is kinda like playing blackjack and hitting on 15... most of the time you come out ok... but once in a while... you can hit it big...or strike out hard... Now that it's like gambling, it make so much more sense... and is even more fun...

As said above each stone is different. What is a typical Shobodani? They vary in hardness and speed so there is no way to define typical. In most general terms , there are soft, medium and hard Jnats. You need to look for hard Shobodani, keep in mind there are different levels of hard as well. A good stone would be hard enough to not release slurry when used, but not so hard as to scratch the bevels. Then you need to look at the abrasive power, you will not have much use of a hone that is so slow it takes forever to polish the edge with it. Then you need to find a stone that can break down slurry to super fine otherwise you are not going to have a lot of refinement of the edge. All those factor into what a good razor finishing Jnat is, and to be sure you are going to get a good stone, you need to talk to a reputable vendor and see what they have offer. I am very happy with all my (many) hone purchases from JNS, so check them out.

Originally Posted by mainaman

Just get Suehiro Gokumyo 20k and be done with it.

+1

definitely the batter option IMHO. You know exactly what your getting. I actually dont have one yet but its on my to do list.