Thread: Red Amakusa

I recently acquired a Red Amakusa for an experiment; I'm trying to go from bevel setting to finish using natural hones only. So far I've spent roughly 4 hours trying to set the bevel on a W&B, best I've done so far is got the edge to catch hairs, barely cut them. The razor was shaving before I started, I did kill the edge first. I create my slurry using a 325 DMT and water down the slurry as I go. I've tried circles, half strokes and used all three of the methods shown on Coticule.be for Coticules and the edge will catch the hair but when I try to even things out with the straight and x stroke like Lynn and Glen use the edge falls off, makes no sense to me.

I'm not a beginner honer, been doing it for over 5 years but this has me stump. Any suggestions?

If it’s a hollow ground it should not take too long on a good Amakusa. If this is a W&B wedge setting the bevel could take some doing, even on a Chosera 1K IMHO.
Mike



This is faster. IMO

the very simple answer is NO
it releases large particles and chips the edge

I agree with Modine, of course, that the Chosera is much, much faster.

I have, however, used an all natural progression several times, just for grins. I've never had an amakusa in hand (beautiful stones) but I've used both igarashi and a white binsui stones to set the bevel. If your stone autoslurries at all like my igarashi you will never reach quite the level of sharpness to mow down hair, however you will find that it's better than you think. I did the best I could, then went to a medium coticule slurry on a lv 5+ base stone, then a tsushima nagura (supposed to be 5-8K equivalent) and on to the usual asano/tomo progression with great success. The binsui produces a bit sharper bevel but is very slow for a stone that's supposed to be 1-2K. I've since skipped the coticule slurry and worked the tsushima more.

Although these were entertaining experiments, I'll still go with 1-5K Chosera if I have to take something all the way back to the bevel. Good luck.



rs,
Tack

I tried it some time back, IIRC it was what I called "Quaint" it just seemed there was a balance point and like you I kept tipping to the wrong side of it...

This whole ordeal is mostly an experiment. I have been using synthetics to set the bevel with Norton 1k, then 4k, 8k before finishing on Coticule, some times the Welsh DT & LM or the C12k. My plan, which I failed to mention in OP, is to go from the Amakusa to the DT Welsh stone (hoping its not too big of a jump) to maybe bring the bevel in more, then finish on either the LM Welsh stone or Coticule, possibly the C12k, hadn't quite decided which one yet. In other words, wanted to try going from bevel setting to finish on natural stones only.

I'm using a W&B full hollow that has the slightest crack in the blade, nothing major, just enough in the edge to cause very minor irritation, figured it would be a good experimental razor. The Amakusa was cheap enough to invest in for this experiment, something I've never been able to do before. So far the beginning of the experiment has failed...back to the drawing board!

Originally Posted by MODINE

If it’s a hollow ground it should not take too long on a good Amakusa. If this is a W&B wedge setting the bevel could take some doing, even on a Chosera 1K IMHO.
Mike



This is faster. IMO

That's a good looking stone! Is that an Amakusa Burl?

It's another house brick polished up lol

Thank you it is a large Amakusa for knives and swords. I don’t know the name or have the stamp anymore. Performance is what matters. The Amakusa is very porous, gritty and can also have pock marks that may cause chipping.

Have fun experimenting. Try using heavy slurry to help fill the stones surface irregularities and improve cutting ability. Do you have a way to visually inspect the edge?
Mike

I have a 60x microscope to inspect the edge. Have been keeping an eye on it and so far no chipping. I think I might try a heavier slurry next time and maybe stay with the circle or the half strokes a little longer before switching to straight and x strokes. I realize naturals are slower and I may be pulling the gun too quick.