Thread: Which Jnat will give me the sharpest edge?

I'm no expert. Not on honing or Jnats. But that being said, I talked to Maksim at JNS and told him my budget. He set me up at first with a Shoboudani type 100 and a set of nagura. After lapping it, I took it for a spin. My fist attempt was a great success. So impressed, I later bought an Ozuku asagi. Its not a big stone, but big enough. Its wide enough to get the entire blade on the stone and do a few x strokes. But its best held in hand. The important thing is that again, the results have been fantastic. Stefan tells me that the person using it and their ability to hone really dictates the outcome. But having read a lot of the mysticism surrounding Jnats I was prepared for disappointment and struggle. I didn't have that problem. I've been very happy with them both. My suggestion is to to talk with Maksim and ask him what he has that will fit your budget and learning curve. He seems to have a good handle on what he has and how it will perform.

Edit: Also, keep in mind the stone does not have to be perfectly shaped or very big. The luxury of those stones is something that someone honing for others may insist on. But you don't necessarily have to have that.

I wonder what is going to happen when someone prospecting in Antarctica finds a deposit of honing material that puts every other hone to shame. Everyone will HAVE to get an Aunt Arty Stone and all the talk about Coticules and Jnats will just disappear. Folks will be using their Jnats and coticules as paving stones in their back yards.

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

Stefan tells me that the person using it and their ability to hone really dictates the outcome. But having read a lot of the mysticism surrounding Jnats I was prepared for disappointment and struggle. I didn't have that problem. .

It does mater, some guys just have no motor skills to be good at honing, and then the Jnat quality matters. Some previous experience in honing also helps, because it helps to understand when to stop honing and how the stone works for best results.
In the end I will blame some sellers on trying to up sales by introducing the so called mysticism to Jnats, nothing mystic about them, they have their own quirks as hones but so do coticules and various other naturals. The only mystery really is if a particular Jnat will work for razors or not.

Thank you all for your help, this is becoming a very interesting thread. I've just received an offer of a fellow Dutchman to try three of his stones, which I think is an excellent start. I will let you know how that works out