Thread: Natural stone for maintaining a edge

Hi All

I new to straight razors love all the info on here.

I have been looking at Japanese natural stones and corticules as a maintaince stone. Japanese stones seems somewhat daunting. What natural stone would you recommend for a beginner that I can also use long term.

Emanuel

Have a look for a German Thüringer \ Thuringian hone. Some of the most regarded stones like the Eschers Barbers Delight are Thuringian.

There a really nice natural that can be had for reasonable money if you know what to look for. They give a smooth high polish finish, and can be used with or without a slurry.

There are countless threads on them, and the general forum abbreviation is "thuri" if you are wanting to search for threads.

Ebay will often have them listed, but very rarely as a Thuringian, Most of the time you have to search using broad keywords and narrow it down visually.


Coticule is also a good stone. It is perhaps harder to get to grips with than a thuri. Coticule is however more versitile in the lower grit areas, and you can do a 1 stone rotation on many of the available layers. The biggest problem with Coticule is not all stones are finishing stones. Some never seem to leave a fine enough polish. There are tricks to get more out of a rock that isn't performing, but it is still a gamble picking one up. There are a few places to get them and you can go directly to the miner at Ardennes Coticule if you want. I like my coticule very much.

Jnats, not a clue. Never had the urge for one. The system isn't just 1 stone. It's 1 base stone and a series of rubbing stones used to produce various slurry grades. The base stone is important because it determines the final finish, but so too are the rubbing stones.


I assume Perth to be the UK town. If so and you are new to shaving then the best stone for you would be the 8K naniwa superstone.

Naniwa Specialty Stone, SP-480, grit: 8000 | knivesandtools.co.uk

It'll leave a good edge, and because it's synthetic everyone who owns one can give you advice on how to use it.

A typical synthetic rotation is 1, 3-5, 8K. 12K+ can be added but is not needed. The 8K as a stand alone stone is perfectly capable of touching up a failing edge and leaving everything shave ready.

Mostly people buy natural finishing stones and a synthetic rotation together. On a dull razor they might use 1, 5, 8K super stones, then go to a finishing natural. This gives every advantage. Synthetics are fast, they always leave the same edge, And there easy to replace. Going from an 8K to a natural will leave an edge that feels like the natural stone so there is nothing to loose with this style of honing.

IF you want a coticule, get one from a reputable place.... don't expect to find out what vein it's from or if it's any good or not. The Vendor won't know. Picking up a used Coticule hone from one of our members *might* be a better bet... but rest assured, nobody sells a crappy coticule unless they have something better.

Having said the above... there are times when someone buys a coticule and just can't seem to figure it out, puts it up for sale (some times even cheap) and when you buy it, you figure it out and you have the best ever coticule for an absolute bargain price! It's not a "given" of course, it's *always* a crap shoot, and only YOU know what you are willing to risk.

As for Jnats... well, things are a bit better in that arena. There ARE trusted dealers of Jnats out there.... I know one, and his name is Garret. He is NOT the only trusted seller, but he is ONE of them. I can honestly send you his way and I would not worry in the least that he would steer you wrong or try to sell you something you don't need or want.

The whole realm of "Natural" hones involves rocks, dug out of the ground. No body knows if it's going to be a good rock or a bad rock..... Sometimes, that obvious bad rock isn't so bad after all, once someone figures it out... but it takes time and testing to do that. In Jnats, Gents such as Garret of http://japanese-whetstones.com can be relied on. Garret, as well as some other dealers out there, strive to make sure that what they sell meets the customers needs to a T. They will even offer to take back a stone that does not MEET your needs, if you find it does not suit you. It is this very reason they will take the time to figure out exactly what it is you need/want as they would prefer NOT to have a hone come back.


The fact that I might recommend a (lets say coticule for arguments sake) to you, doesn't mean anything... the coticule you might buy from vendor X might be as good as mine, might be better than mine or it might be useless. There is no way to tell..... my hone came out of the ground in Belgium, the rock turned hone next to it, may be better or worse than mine... nobody knows.

When it comes to Jnats, we are fortunate to have dealers such as Garret, who will stand by the hones he sells... If it doesn't do what he claims to you, he will take it back. You will not get this sort of guarantee from the usual Coticule dealers. Does this mean a coticule hone is crap? Nope.... it's just that the sellers won't back their sales up... and I don't blame them.

Natural hones are ALWAYS a crap shoot... most of the time, if you give the hone all your attention and try different things, it will work out. Sometimes it won't.... not often, but it does happen.


My personal recommendation is to stay with synthetic hones... Naniwa, Shapton and Suehiro Gokumyo are all fine choices. If you need help after procuring such a hone, there are countless members on this board who can give you instructions on how to further improve your edges. Naturals.... well, what works for one hone, won't necessarily work for the next, so you will be on your own.

I own 5 natural stones... each is very different from the next and when I first got them, they threw me for a loop.... after a few months or in one case over 5 years, I've got them figured out and I am super happy with the edges I get off them. To start, it's unreasonable to expect someone to endure 5 years or more of lousy shaves before figuring out a hone... better you have near perfect shaves for those 5 years and then decide to take the plunge into naturals in the search of something just a wee bit better.


Regards

Christian

Hi All

Iceni

I am Perth Australia

The thing I am starting to learn with Japanese natural stones is that the slurry stone is the workhorse

If I do buy a Japanese stone can I only buy one and use different slurry stones to change the way it sharpens the edge?

Is there a reason, you want to learn to hone, with natural stones?

As said, all natural stones will perform differently from each other, and this fact alone can add more variables to a new honer, learning what to look for and how the honing process works.

It is much easier to learn on synthetic stones, where stone performance is absolutely predictable.

If you intend to purchase JNats, find a reputable dealer and a local mentor to cut your learning curve and keep you from making needless purchases.

Hi Euclid440

I want have spend money on buying synthetic stones first I understand that the edge off a synthetic will always be quality.

All I will say s that if you don't have a bevel you're just polishing a dull edge.

Hi OCD

I am well away now if the bevel is not right then go back to square 1. I know that I will have use a 1k synethtic to set any bevel on a razor that the bevel is out of whack. OCD after using a 1k to set the bevel what natural stones would you use in the next progression?

Emanuel

Originally Posted by erobins

Hi OCD

I am well away now if the bevel is not right then go back to square 1. I know that I will have use a 1k synethtic to set any bevel on a razor that the bevel is out of whack. OCD after using a 1k to set the bevel what natural stones would you use in the next progression?

Emanuel

erobins, I was cracking wise about the bevel issue. Although true, it's a fun little jab I like to sarcastically add to threads. In honest, I don't use naturals any longer. I finish on the Suehiro 20k and swear by it. Naturals are a crap shoot and there is little that can be said about them definitively. A hard base stone with a set of nagura will help. I suggest speaking to Japanesenaturalstones.com.

Sorry mate didn't get the wise crack I'm based in Perth Australia. Has anyone delt with corticule or JNS vendors that can provide guidance from Aus?