Thread: Tsushima "Ocean Blue" 12K

OK just had my first shave with the razor brought up from fresh bevel set. Verdict: not too shabby. I shaved WTG and it did great, nice close shave. Switched to ATG and it did a pretty smooth job there too. BBS no problem and no irritation. It wasn't quite as smooth as say a good Thuri edge, but I'm pretty happy with the shave. It smoothed out the edge that I normally get from the 8k that preceded it in the progression. I'll try a few more iterations/progressions and see what works best. Not half bad.

Originally Posted by eKretz

OK just had my first shave with the razor brought up from fresh bevel set. Verdict: not too shabby. I shaved WTG and it did great, nice close shave. Switched to ATG and it did a pretty smooth job there too. BBS no problem and no irritation. It wasn't quite as smooth as say a good Thuri edge, but I'm pretty happy with the shave. It smoothed out the edge that I normally get from the 8k that preceded it in the progression. I'll try a few more iterations/progressions and see what works best. Not half bad.

Thanks eKretz. I don't have a Thuri against which to compare the TOB, but it sounds like your shave results were similar to what I was able to achieve, a BBS shave with no irritation.

For folks who can afford Thuris, Coticules, and traditional JNATS, by all means purchase them. They have a proven track record, unlike the Tsushima blue. For those who want a close, comfortable shave without spending a lot of money, the Tsushima ocean blue might be useful.

Once day, I hope to have one or more of the traditional natural stones. Currently, I am more comfortable using larger stones than small ones that often need to be hand held. Those large traditional stones get mighty pricey. Smaller stones and bouts are more reasonably priced, if I can learn to use them.

Even though I have no need for one of these, it's great to see that there are new, affordable finishers out there. The CH12K filled that void for a while but then the consistency went away. Hope they can keep this story going.

Originally Posted by kelbro

Even though I have no need for one of these, it's great to see that there are new, affordable finishers out there. The CH12K filled that void for a while but then the consistency went away. Hope they can keep this story going.

According to the description of the stone, the Tsushima ocean blue comes from an underwater mine that is now closed. Thus, the number of these stones is limited. Right now, the price is reasonable as the stone is relatively unknown. Prices could rise if it becomes more popular.

I doubt the stone will ever achieve the cult status of traditional stones from Germany, Belgium, or Japan. In my view, it is a decent finishing stone worth the current asking price. If you already have a good finishing stone and are happy with it, there is no need to purchase this one. If you are not satisfied with your current finisher or if you have a chronic case of HAD, this stone is worthy of consideration.

Actually, the advertisement says “Near Tsushima”

• “Natural "ocean blue" super fine honing stone quarried from a now closed underwater mine near South Tsushima Island, Japan”

Near, can be a “relative” term…

The Vintage, Tsushima, is a softish, slate type mud stone, that slurries brownish grey easily, and breaks down rather finely.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Actually, the advertisement says “Near Tsushima”

• “Natural "ocean blue" super fine honing stone quarried from a now closed underwater mine near South Tsushima Island, Japan”

Near, can be a “relative” term…

The Vintage, Tsushima, is a softish, slate type mud stone, that slurries brownish grey easily, and breaks down rather finely.

This one is not that one nor should we want it to be. Therefore "near" is a good thing and is just descriptive of where it came from. How should they describe it?

Hones/sharpening stones are part of the Japanese culture, far more than any other, since from centuries ago up until a few decades all houses were build out of wood only, and without the use of a single nail, just precision on where these pieces fit with each other.
When the good people of Tsushima ended up extracting stone literary underwater, I doubt they wouldn't check the area around, for more stone.
Now, we have a seller in US, selling "forgotten" pieces of Japanese stone with a Japanese-y looking stamp of authenticity, that weren't sold let alone marketed in Japan, even though the last decades prices of Japanese finishers have skyrocketed worldwide making all users lower our standards on what is an acceptable Japanese finishing stone with cracks and inclusions for razors, food, wood and whatever else we need our tools razor sharp for. And Japan is still a land where a new or even old hone/sharpening stone is sought after for the reasons above, that thing of being part of their culture.
And, people among us consider these 116 or 137$ a fair price for a stone that... finishes an edge. I wonder if it's our fault for being willing to pay a serious amount of money because the stone has the word "natural" on the description. On the other hand, it's a stone extracted in a "developed" country like Japan, not China or Mexico say (both of which don't belong in the "undeveloped" category, but if someone was to choose between a 20$ lower GDP per capita country finisher and a 200$ [insert name of rich country here] stone he would choose the second).
There are the stones that are no longer extracted i.e. Japanese, there are the stones that extracting, cutting, testing like coticule is serious business and thus end up being expensive, and there are the unknown gold stamp of authenticity Tsushima stones.
I'm starting to hate the way the natural stones' market works, and it's probably us who are at fault.

Of course it is us who is at fault. These are just rocks after all. When you have a $30 rock that seems to work just as well as a $200 rock who else is there to blame?

Which do you prefer Morton's salt or Natural Sea Salt from Tahiti?

Originally Posted by gcbryan

Of course it is us who is at fault. These are just rocks after all. When you have a $30 rock that seems to work just as well as a $200 rock who else is there to blame?

Which do you prefer Morton's salt or Natural Sea Salt from Tahiti?

Haha very good example here :-)

I was using 3 razors for the last few shaves. One finished with pastes, one with the Ocean Blue and one with the Cnat.

Now that I done several shaves with it, and I've been switching the finish on each razor each time, I've decided that I like the Ocean Blue the best and will be sticking with that for a while (or permanently).

I still look at those Welsh hones. If you could get the smaller sizes individually and without the international shipping I would have the middle hone already.

Why? I don't have a good reason.