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I have the Aiwadani the stone one the left and the nagura set on the way from Japan. They are in NY on the way to SD. Anyone know anything about those stones. Per the vendor it is a stone suitable for a razor. I'm just antsy to get it and try it. should be here soon.
Jim
Aiiwatani/Aiwadani is a mine north of Kyoto like the Takashima mine and reportedly produced smooth stones that are similar to Nakayama stones. As far as any individual characteristics of the stone, you just have to see when it arrives.
The small stones are Asano stamped Mikawa naguras used to create grit on your hone ranging from coarse to fine and are used before final finishing usually with a tomo nagura, which is a piece of stone similar to or the same as the hone. You can also use a mellowed diamond plate for the final slurry, or finish with just water depending on the hone.
The nagura on the left is a teniyou, the middle is a botan, and the one on the right is a mejiro. The botan is the coarsest and you'll probably need to test the other two to see for sure which is finer. You can find lots of info on Mikawa naguras at Jnats, Tomo & Mikawa Nagura & Straight Razor Hones | TomoNagura.Com.
Good honing and welcome!
Cheers, Steve
Thanks Steve,
I'll post pics and more impressions when I have the stones in hand. In all my reading I had not heard of that mine. I admit to knowing almost nothing about Japanese hones, so that is not unusual. Glad to hear that the mine has a good reputation. The vendor seems good to deal with, and I have hopes that this stone will be better than my fleabay gamble that did not turn out to be a decent hone.
Jim
Also from the same site here is a list of more Japanese mines. Yours is listed there but spelled "Iwatani."
Japanese Whetstone Quarries | TomoNagura.Com
If it's a hard stone with fine grain and no scratchiness, you should like it. A reliable dealer will sell you a stone you can use and you don't have to worry too much about the details unless you have specific requests. It's more important just to get the stone and learn it by use.
I've got stones from Shoubudani, Oozuko and Nakayama. They all deliver great edges once their idiocyncracies are learned.
I consider the site linked above to be a bit suspect in it's information. Alex Gilmore and Jim Rion I find to be better for info on JNats.
TheJapanStone Nakayama mine Okudo mine Ohira mine Ozuku kamisori
+1 for Alex. Extremely knowledgeable. You might want to send him an email asking about the mine, but he left for Japan on the 29th so he may be slow replying.
Cheers, Steve
I've found the difference between edges on stones that are truly fine to be fairly minimal. Those being ozaki, nakayama, shoubu, ozuku, narutaki...and probably a couple of others from unmarked stones. The feel of the individual stones might be different, but as long as the stones have uniform particles and don't release grit, the result is similar and all of the stones are fairly easy to use.Quote:
Originally Posted by Druid
This has been my experience as well...Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveW
Thanks Guys,
great info. Who would have thought there were 3 or more spellings of the mine name. Per tracking the package is now in Sioux falls SD, at least in the same state. Should be here tomorrow.
Jim
Of course, USPS tried to deliver while I was out yesterday, Ill get it Monday morning.
Jim
Which Vendor did you order the stones from?
Carpenters' tools shop "Mandaraya" Masanori Teshiba
Jim
Well I picked them up while on lunch. Very impressed. Seems to be very well lapped. a very hard and fine feeling stone. The test of course will be honing on it. Very well packed. I'm bummed I didn't have it Sunday when I could have had some unhurried alone time with it. Anyone know a stateside source for cashew lacquer?
Jim
Attachment 183813
So here they are with the rest of the family. I have only used the botan so far. Seems to be slightly faster than my 12micron film, my coticule is a little faster. Not a bevel setter but it leaves a nice frosty bevel that shaves arm hair without any effort. So far I like it. Got interrupted before I could move on to the other nagura. While it is a very similar color to the smaller jnat it is much harder. My coticule is faster, but so much smaller there really is no contest. I am looking forward to finishing on this stone.
Jim
Is the streaked stone an iyoto?
the one horizontal near the top is a hard arkansas. top left to right, 1st a leather strop thuringian combo, the hard arkansas, then bbw, middle small coticule, bottom left to right, 1200 diamond plate, CHUG, 330mate jnat, my new Aiwadani Janat, last Binsui.
Jim
That's a pretty Ark. Since you showed a pile of stones, here is what's on my workbench at the moment, lol:
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Well its been busy, and I haven't had much time to learn the stones as much as I wanted. So far I am still impressed. The botan is quite fast with a milky slurry. Leaves a frosty finish that easily shaves arm hair, the tenjou not my fave so far. It seems to be dropping sand. Ill lap it see if I can get past it. Mejiro nicer. Smooth wipes out the botan marks fast. As I work the slurry it starts to go from white to tan. Then grey. I'm going to jump to the conclusion that the tan is from the main stone. My best results so far have been light passes on light slurry from the main stone raised with a well broken in 600dmt, or a slurry from my thuringian on the main stone. I love the thuringian edge, but being somewhat ham handed a 3/4 in stone is difficult for me. I work the slurrys adding water till finishing on clear water and passes as light as I can manage. Still not as sharp as 1um film, but smooth. Not yet as smooth as a coticule edge, but sharper. This is just as of now. I need more practice.
Jim
As I am learning this stone it seems to autoslurry some. Is this usual? It does not if I am very light with my touch. It may be that my idea of light is somewhat off.
On another note I got a USB microscope off an auction site. The software supplied crashed my computer. Can anyone recommend software to use a USB microscope that wont result in compu-apocolypse.
Jim
As far as autoslurry, it's hard to say without the stone in hand. Teshiba has a good reputation on the Western web. I know several folks that buy from them and they have not expressed any displeasure with either the product or the service. I always thought it was a bit difficult to understand exactly what was listed though, did you specify a razor finisher?
Most of the JNat finishers I have, even the softer ones don't autoslurry with a straight at finishing pressure, so you might want to lighten up a bit. Alex taught me early on that a lot of JNats can cut faster than you think they are, and if that's true of yours and the pressure is high, that can lead to less than the best results the stone is capable of IMO. Your stone is pretty light colored, how many strokes does it take for the slurry to start darkening from steel?
Oh, check the manufacturer's site for software and/or driver updates.
Cheers, Steve
My softest JNat will just barely auto-slurry with straight water when honing a razor, but only if it gets a little suction to the stone.
You may be able to download the software for the digital microscope that Wizard Coin Supply sells. I think most of the inexpensive ones are manufactured by the same Asian manufacturer. Look on the wizard Internet site for the Lechtuurum Digital Microscope, and you'll see the option to download the latest version of software for Windows or Mac. The Mac software has some functionality issues. But the Windows software runs OK.Quote:
Originally Posted by Roaddog1415
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve56
I am pleased with the stone. Just trying to see if its just me. That is most likley. I am quite ham handed.
Thank you
Jim
Thank you, unfortunately that program didn't recognize the scope, found one though that works.Quote:
Originally Posted by DoctorSaul
Jim
