I'm going to jump in with a question of my own, and since it involves a Shobudani, is directly relevant to the OP's original post:
I bought a secondhand Shobudani Asagi a few weeks ago from another (ahem) forum. According to the receipt, the original purchaser got it directly from Maksim at JNS last fall. It arrived in excellent condition in the original JNS box, well packed, and with a nagura that I believe is a Tomo.
Here's my issue: I can either get a smooth but not too sharp edge, or a sharp but uncomfortable edge from this stone. I've been honing razors for some years now, and except for bevel setters I have only used coticules and Thuringians for the last year or so. I am only using the Shobu as a finisher at this point, after going through bevel setter and coticule(s) as needed. When I switch to the Shobu, I'm usually getting HHT 1 or 2 at least as the razor comes from the coticule. If I use the Tomo slurry, either thick or thin, I rarely get better than HHT 0 no matter how many dilutions I try. If I dilute to water, wash hone and razor, then proceed with pure water, I can get HHT 3 or 4 after several dozen laps (40 to 60) but the shave is harsh and uncomfortable.
One other thing - when I received the hone, it had a nice, fairly shiny (satiny?) surface that gave blurry reflections and my first couple of honing jobs went without a hitch - producing smooth and sharp edges that were a joy to shave with. However, it was pretty obvious from the water and slurry that the surface wasn't flat. It was low in two corners and one side leaving a roughly 'S' shaped plateau in the middle. I lapped the surface flat under running water with a DMT325, then worked up through 2000 grit w/d and finishing off with the Tomo nagura (as suggested by a member here). It's certainly flat, but not satiny semi-shiny like it was when I got it and doesn't reflect anything - could this be the problem, or is it more likely my technique?
Many thanks in advance for any help and suggestions!
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