Thread: Suehiro Gokomyu 20K Waterstone

Hey Nifty, i saw you have a number of what you could say for many as finishing stones. I couldn't these days, find a 12 K Nani, so I had a 10k superstone, I didn't like it and bought an Icebear 10k (Claybased), do you in progression use 10k chosera, 12 k nani, 13k sigma, 16k shapton. What do you think of mine, ie: 8k Kingstone plus 8k nani SS, 10k Icebear, then straight to the 20k Suehiro. Do you think I should have a stone in between the 10k and the 20k and anything you might suggest?

Cheers Bob

Sorry mate, I wanted to ask you about maintenance honing. I similarly do the same, subconsciously I guess, but I don't keep any real record of which razor got what and when. BUT I rarely wait for one of mine to become obviously dull, apart from being manic and doing thumb pad tests after my morning coffee. Do you have a system? I have a dozen razors, and I take enormous pride from their condition, same as my hones , strops, brushes etc. I have four razors I 'love' more than the rest, never the less, they all get a start in the rotation, that's why I keep them all ready to go. Any morning I could pick at random and be sure I'll at least get a comfortable shave. Of course some better than others but all will give you a good scrape. Your advice mate.
Bob

After the G20k has been tested by me, in my small scale, (Dozen razors) No all got the Gok 20, but from those tests there was little doubt it has remarkable power to polish, simply outstanding. It's cutting power at such a density is amazing and is truly a fishing stone.
All I can say is they are expensive, but I can envisage it's longevity as extensive, so get one if you have the same mental disorder as me....lol


bob

I think you have a good point about over-doing the honing, a little may be enough. Thanks mate
Bob.

Further to the GOK 20, I've had it a few weeks now, and this morning I have to tell you that I used the new Giesen & Forshoff 6/8 Hamburg Ring, a razor only I like! I used a simple 5 strokes on the Gok 20k, then 40 strokes on a hard backed leather strop, and I enjoyed a super close, comfortable shave, that truly is superb. At $88 bucks, I see people roll their eyes. But it is hard to hone, once their it's terrific. I as I've said before bought one over a year ago, which remains an excellent shaver hence me buying a second a month or so ago. To get these sharp, the 1st one, my highest grit was 10k and it got it shave ready, the 20k stone is luxurious and expensive , great polishing as fine as my magnifier (x 40) can pick up. Try the G & F if you know how to hone, and see what I mean

Originally Posted by bobski

Hey Nifty, i saw you have a number of what you could say for many as finishing stones. I couldn't these days, find a 12 K Nani, so I had a 10k superstone, I didn't like it and bought an Icebear 10k (Claybased), do you in progression use 10k chosera, 12 k nani, 13k sigma, 16k shapton. What do you think of mine, ie: 8k Kingstone plus 8k nani SS, 10k Icebear, then straight to the 20k Suehiro. Do you think I should have a stone in between the 10k and the 20k and anything you might suggest?

Cheers Bob

Sorry mate, I wanted to ask you about maintenance honing. I similarly do the same, subconsciously I guess, but I don't keep any real record of which razor got what and when. BUT I rarely wait for one of mine to become obviously dull, apart from being manic and doing thumb pad tests after my morning coffee. Do you have a system? I have a dozen razors, and I take enormous pride from their condition, same as my hones , strops, brushes etc. I have four razors I 'love' more than the rest, never the less, they all get a start in the rotation, that's why I keep them all ready to go. Any morning I could pick at random and be sure I'll at least get a comfortable shave. Of course some better than others but all will give you a good scrape. Your advice mate.
Bob

Sorry for missing your question months back.

I consider the 10k chosera, 12 k nani, 13k sigma, 16k shapton to be equals.
I hone through 8K and pick one and only one of the above almost at random.

I think the nani was the best priced in the bunch, I should use it more.
I grab the sigma a lot because I like the feel of it.
Shaptons just work... now that I have a base it will get used more, a lot more.
The chosera gets selected if I am honing more than one. The dense abrasive and smooth slurry is very nice.
Note my chosera was used, half priced and will never wear out.

All are sufficiently fine that my hone stroke and process makes more difference than the marked grit!
All can result in a harsh, too sharp edge for me...

As for maintenance honing... I have a couple sets of razors. When I switch from one
set to another I give each new razor a visit on one of the above with a little bit of very dilute dish soap
or just lather. Circles up and back then ten light touch normal hone strokes.
Once in a while I go back to 8K and my go to is the Naniwa Snow White water stone, #8000
I can see the white hone cut quickly and build up some gray slurry so it is easy to "see" that
some steel has been removed. It is dense and needs little lapping. For maintenance I
almost never use a coarser than 8K hone. If I grab my 4k/8k norton combo I do do a short
pyramid. With the Norton combo I almost almost always test shave with nothing finer on a
good day with a light touch it is very nice and the 12K nani follows it with class.

If shaving with one is less than ideal I set it to the side and grab another. After
shaving I run some circles up then down one a 10K or better hone lightly strop and
put it up for next time.

I do use a pasted felt strop after honing. I use a submicron (diamond or CBC) spray. Without the pasted strop
I find I get a harsh too sharp DE-Feather like edge. With the strop I get a smoother shave.

Almost all my strops have a bit of abrasive on them... When they feel sticky and
pull too much I dust lightly with CeOx. If too fast I apply a tiny bit of strop dressing
then rub most off with brown paper the next day. I mostly use a 30 year old 1.5 oz jar
of strop dressing so when I say tiny bit I am not kidding.

I am thinking of either this 20k stone or the Shapton 30k as I have the 1k,4k,8k, and 16k. I also finish with the Zulu Grey (results below). Will the edge be better with the 20 k?

http://straightrazorpalace.com/attac...0&d=1420621566

http://straightrazorpalace.com/attac...9&d=1420621564

Unfortunately the pics don't help. A shiny bevel doesn't tell us how the razor shaves.
You need to define 'better'.
There's a high chance it may be sharper as very few naturals are as fine as 0.5 micron synthetics. Does that mean better for you ?

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Unfortunately the pics don't help. A shiny bevel doesn't tell us how the razor shaves.
You need to define 'better'.
There's a high chance it may be sharper as very few naturals are as fine as 0.5 micron synthetics. Does that mean better for you ?

Sorry still relatively new to the forum and SR's in general. Yes this razor is much sharper as it no longer pulls as it did before my recent attempt at honing and although I have a couple of Giesen & Forstoffs they are not my favorite SR as they are a bugger to get the bevel set. I'm not to sure what the Zulu Grey stone is rated at but some suggest about 10-12k. In any event I have ordered the 20k stone after considering the information on this forum and talking to Stuart from 'Tool from Japan', so thank you to everyone who contributed to the discussion. I will also attempt to enhance my skills at honing, knowledge of SR's and description of better.

Originally Posted by Scorpius010

Sorry still relatively new to the forum and SR's in general. Yes this razor is much sharper as it no longer pulls as it did before my recent attempt at honing and although I have a couple of Giesen & Forstoffs they are not my favorite SR as they are a bugger to get the bevel set. I'm not to sure what the Zulu Grey stone is rated at but some suggest about 10-12k. In any event I have ordered the 20k stone after considering the information on this forum and talking to Stuart from 'Tool from Japan', so thank you to everyone who contributed to the discussion. I will also attempt to enhance my skills at honing, knowledge of SR's and description of better.

I think you will be happy with your 20k. Please update us in this thread how you compare the two edges.

I'd appreciate some advice - I've been using the Suehiro Gokumyu 20k stone for a few months now after a progression (where require) of 1k, 3k, 5k and 10k Naniwa stones. I get a mirror polish from the 10k which then goes a little backwards i.e. slightly more noticeable scratches after the Gokumyu. I use a slurry on all stones in the progression except the Gokumyu and I keep it clean with the double sided stone provided.

Has anyone else come across this before?

I have not lapped the stone as I read on the forum that it wasn't needed - but I'm now wondering whether I should try this anyway. Thoughts appreciated.

Originally Posted by UKRob

I'd appreciate some advice - I've been using the Suehiro Gokumyu 20k stone for a few months now after a progression (where require) of 1k, 3k, 5k and 10k Naniwa stones. I get a mirror polish from the 10k which then goes a little backwards i.e. slightly more noticeable scratches after the Gokumyu. I use a slurry on all stones in the progression except the Gokumyu and I keep it clean with the double sided stone provided.

Has anyone else come across this before?

I have not lapped the stone as I read on the forum that it wasn't needed - but I'm now wondering whether I should try this anyway. Thoughts appreciated.

How is the shave between 10k and 20k? If there is improvement in the edge quality then may be the scratches from lower grits were not completely removed.
I personally lap my 20k from time to time, I just make sure the surface is smoothed further than the lapping stone (well used DMT 320). I use coticule slurry stone for that last step.