Thread: Nakayama Maruka jnat. Genuine or Fake?

Originally Posted by Brighty83

Do you mind me asking why this is? This is still a Jnat although the origin unknown.. unless you buy from a reputable vendor, If you had have waited and paid 10-20x the price, on eBay there is still no guarantee the stone would have been better without testing it first.. This would mean that you have a stone much more expensive that may be exactly the same or worse for a lot more money...

Those are nice looking stones, i know they weren't what you were expecting although if they hone nicely and improve your edge it would be a shame to let them go for the price you paid.. If they don't hone well send them back..

I'll tell you why Chris, the big issue was the lie. As the initial shock fades I know I would feel at a loss to send my first Jnats back. I'll give it one more day before I decide.


I sure didn't mean to hijack this thread, but thanks to all of you for the input.

I appreciate the support.

... wait is this support or are you aiding and abetting a new AD for me?

Originally Posted by KindestCutOfAll

I'll tell you why Chris, the big issue was the lie. As the initial shock fades I know I would feel at a loss to send my first Jnats back. I'll give it one more day before I decide.

At least this gives you the ability to test, and if they aren't right you have a valid reason to return

Originally Posted by KindestCutOfAll

I sure didn't mean to hijack this thread, but thanks to all of you for the input.

If you dont ask you will never know

Originally Posted by KindestCutOfAll

... wait is this support or are you aiding and abetting a new AD for me?

Only if your ready for it hehe

but really, I wouldn't be pushing you into buying more, i'm more suggesting that it may not be as bad as it seems... At worst you now have a little experience with jnats and now you know what not to do, at best you have a jnat that is razor ready

One final note. I ended up keeping the stones.

Oh well, I guess this just means I need to keep adding hones.

The kiita looks beautiful and that ink looks well absorbed in the stone over years, looks like an authentic Nakayama Maruka.
The ones from eBay the are definitely fakes 100%. The cut is ugly, the stones are ugly and I can also recognize the font of the characters from other fakes Maruka seen around.
RULE: The Maruka stamp was applied ONLY on THE FINEST stones from the Nakayama mine. They always have very strong cutting power and are hard or very hard stones.
Usually, Maruka stones are very beautiful stones, nicely cut and shaped, without cracks or impurities.
The authentic Maruka are getting more and more difficult to find. There are very sought after here in Japan and most expensive, so who ownes one doesn't really want to sell it.
If its 200$ its not an Original! In Japan a Maruka can cost you from 1000 to 3000$ from small to normal size and can go up to 5000$ if they're thick, but this only IF you are lucky enough to find them.
Being so expensive and with a big demand also brings A LOT of fakes on the market, reaching even to renowned stores.
My advice for someone who would want to spend hundreds of dollars for a Jnat is to ask the seller for a chance to see the stone in action before buying.

The ebay stones are a joke, i think it is that guy from the past, back with a new account..

In stones, the main thing is not the seal. And the way they work. And there are no fake stones. They are all natural. There are incorrect names. There are also fake seals. But with modern technology, even experts are at a dead end. And sometimes, the definition of a fake is only due to the fact that the quality of the fake is higher than the original. I sold stones in Ukraine. But I traded on eBay, because in Ukraine I could not receive paper payments. Over the past 4 years, many stones have passed through me. The average price range is around 250 -350 dollars. And all these stones were tested by me. And I had buyers who were collectors. Who came ( anyone could come to me personally) and tested them independently. And they weren't much different from the ones in their collection. Thanks to my buyers and collectors. I had the opportunity not only to see , but also to hold and test the stones from their collections. And these were very expensive stones.. I still try to do this. But since I choose stones that will satisfy me, sometimes I can't find anything for several months.

Sorry for the English. I hope Google translated it well.

As far as the english it was better than most native speakers.

That is a good point though, a Japanese natural stone could be called fake as it does not have the provenance it claims to, but could still be an excellent stone even superior to that which it is imitating.

I think that if someone intentionally falsifies stamps, they may also falsify condition, flaws, and other relevant information. Intentionally falsifying a description is a warning to buyers.

Until recently, here in Japan, some stores let you test the stone first and later apply the stamps in front of you, there was no hiding. Most Jnat users here are knife sharpeners and carpenters and the belief is that カ(Ka) that means "Power" stands for the strong cutting power of the stone. But the original Maruka stones have more than just strong cutting power, they also have a very high level of fineness. Those who hone razors and shave can feel this fineness much better, that is something impossible to be faked. A stone of that level of fineness, would be precious even without any stamps.

Originally Posted by Nikolay

I hope not that many in Japan do. But some a few.
.

Japanese are just people, no better or worse than us.
So Yamashita once told me that the term 'tamahagane' is slapped on a lot of things in Japan.
Actual tamahagane is severely restricted. The name is not.