Thread: Naniwa Super Stones

I'm fairly new to straight razor shaving, (two months). Have purchased about 14 razors already. I have 4 new blades coming which are not shave ready and I am about to engage in my first Honing session in a few days. I just purchased a setup of Naniwa super stones. Chosera professional 1000k, naniwa 5,8, & 12K also a lapping stone. After reading thru the treads here I felt the above hones will be fairly easy to learn on and my progressions should give me repeatable results
All you Naniwa honemeisters lets here what you have to say about this line up of stones??????????
Hints? advise?

Ideally you would find someone nearby to help you get started.

1. Use tape. That way you will not screw up your spines. Keep an eye on the tape and change it as it wears--long before it wears through to the steel.

2. Personally, I would prefer a 2k between the 1k and 5k, but a lot of people do not do that.

3. Make sure your lapping stone is flat and lap it if it is not flat.

4. Chamfer the long edges of your hones. The ends don't need it as you'd better not be honing off the ends of the hones.

5. The biggest challenge for a beginner is keeping the blade flat on the hone. Rocking over the edge (that hopefully is chamfered) will focus all pressure at that one point of contact and can chip the edge.

6. Practice keeping the blade flat on the hone as it is critical. At least for now.

7. Later you will have to learn how to do the rolling-x stroke in which you will continually transfer pressure progressively along the length of the blade in just a narrow imaginary strip of the hone.

8. Make sure the pressure is on the edge of the blade and not focussed on the spine. You are honing the edge and the spine is your angle guide so there needs to be a subtle torquing of the blade favoring pressure on the edge, not the spine. Because beginners often do the opposite, see #1 again.

9. Watch some videos and figure it out.

10. If it's not going right, stop and ask for advice. Don't keeping honing away on one razor for hours.

All great advice above. I use the same progression that you have and I'm completely satisfied with them. Do lots of testing during the bevel set(TPT, TNT etc.). The tests won't make sense at first but over time you will develop a feel for them. A jeweler loupe is also very helpful. Remember that a good bevel set is essential the process. Keep us posted on your progress and don't hesitate to ask any questions that come up along the way.

Thanks Utopian, Maybe Ill mix in a 2k as well.

Can't really add anything to what has been said. You did mention a lapping stone which I don't think is held in high regard here. I think most prefer a lapping plate like the DMT 325 or WD sandpaper on a glass or marble plate. You could search the honing forum for "lapping hones" to find related threads. Good luck.

Bob

I use Naniwa stones and always create a little slurry on them with a worn DMT - it's about 4" long. I find that slurry helps avoid the surface of the stone loading with too much swarf and the DMT also helps keep the stone flat.

I use exactly the progression you have purchased.

1K chosera, 5, 8, 12K super stones.

I have never felt a need for a stone between the 1K and the 5K. The scratch marks from the 1K are removed pretty fast. And it may take a few extra strokes to get all of the 1K marks out but it's not a hard step to make It probably adds an extra 20 strokes per side if that. I have no plans to add a 2-3K stone to my rotation because it's already working well enough.

My 1K king on the other hand leaves slightly deeper scratches that take a little longer to remove, If I use the king I'll add a 6K king to the rotation before I go onto the 5K superstone. The 6K king is far rougher than the 5K superstone.

My advice would be to try it without the 2-3K stone and see if you can make it work. I think you will be surprised by how well the 1K and 5K go together.

The rest of the rotation 5-8K is only a few laps, 8-12K is a little longer than the previous step. Once you get off the 5K you will already have an edge that has a lot of polish and after the 8K it should look really bright. I find my 12K dulls the edge reflection at first hence the slightly longer time on the hone, If you take the edge past the initial dulling it will start to go bright again.

I have the 5, 8, 12's. They're really nice and also suggest a bit of slurry. I find it helps me see edge contact with smiling blades a bit better. 3 suggestions.

1) Use a desk lamp right over the hones, lots of light is your friend.
2) Go slooooooow and give yourself a lot of time. Faster you go, faster you get to a mistake that will take even longer to correct.
3) I had a tough time with pressures, watch videos and pay attention to how honemeisters hold their blades.

I use a 1k and 5k Shapton, then a 12k Naniwa, 20k Suehiro, 5 laps on a chromium oxide paddle strop and 20 laps on an english leather paddle strop. Very sharp smooth edge. I have just purchased a Jnat for finishing. More for shave smoothness then the edge. I found no need to use a 8k when I use the circle & X strokes. I didn't see any difference when not using the 8k then using it.

Welcome aboard, Della, and the only other suggestion I would have is to have a look at the video section of this site and watch every video that Glenn (gssixgun) has posted about honing. He drops titbits of useful information in each one that may not be in the others.
Good luck and make sure your bevel is well and truly set before moving up the progression.