Thread: Shapton or Naniwa finisher?

I am looking for a finishing hone to compliment my 4K/8K Norton. Looking at the 12K Naniwa or 16K Shapton. I realize that this might be a highly debatable topic. What are the differences in the material they are made of, quality, and performance?

The Naniwa is the better option. The 15K is a hit-or-miss proposition even for experienced honers. Coming from a 5K JIS stone (Norton's grades are ANSI) means you'll need to spend time refining your edge, and the Naniwa is a less-aggressive stone. The 12K gives a very smooth result over a much wider variety of steel types.

I recently changed my Norton 4/8k for Naniwa Professional 3k and 5k ( I already had Naniwa 10K) and am very pleased with their performance. I've had the Shapton for some time and just cannot get used to it - so my advice would be the Naniwa, but go for the Professional series even though they are more expensive.

When I was in this spot I went with the Naniwa 12k and would do it again.
Easy to learn, consistent results and it seems to work well with everything I try.

Let us know whatever you decide works out of you..

I have a Naniwa 12K SS; later bought a Zulu Grey. Haven't used the Naniwa since.....

Either will work...

I have used both, probably the Shapton more so in the Norton 4/8 into 16k then any other since it was my first "Finisher"

The Naniwa 12k just feels better and is a bit more versatile IME, so if I knew then what I know now I would chose the Naniwa


This is one of the advantages of using the Norton 4/8 or the Naniwa 3/8 once you get it tweaked you can go just about any direction you want to now

naniwa 12k is my vote, hard to beat

+1...I'm in the Naniwa 12K camp as well. Very easy to use with consistent results no matter the steel. The 5-8-12K Naniwa finishing progression is hard to beat IMO...

Originally Posted by Straightandproud

I am looking for a finishing hone to compliment my 4K/8K Norton. Looking at the 12K Naniwa or 16K Shapton. I realize that this might be a highly debatable topic. What are the differences in the material they are made of, quality, and performance?

For me the naniwa 12K is the easiest to use. So simple. I use the Naniwa 1-3-5-8-12K and finish with the Suehiro 20K. Until I got the 20K I stopped with the 12KNaniwa and it did a reall good job. I'm not a pro like some of the folks out there but get a decent shave off the edges I create thanks to the pros and there videos.

Well it sounds like most prefer the Naniwa. Thanks to everyone that chimed in I won't have to try both.