Thread: Tsushima "Ocean Blue" 12K

Yeah not sure about this one yet. Something about it just strikes me as "not JNat;" especially the finish it leaves on the steel. I have only viewed the blades under 10x mag with a loupe so far though. The scope shots may be more telling.

I did have a shave with a blade honed on the stone, and it shaved fairly well, but not very well. I only did a touch-up on a coti-honed razor though. I will do a full bevel reset next. I was able to get BBS out of it but it only lasted about 12 hours, so not as close a shave as I normally like. Alum afterward produced maybe a 1 or 1.5/10 level sting.

I have a decent amount of experience shaving with a straight razor and with honing but I don't have enough to (at this point) be able to tell much difference between finishing with my Cnat or finishing with this stone after the Cnat.

They both seem similar to me in terms of using them and with the resulting edge.

As I continue to play with them I may come to a different conclusion but that's about all I can contribute to this subject at the moment.

Don't worry about it, I think everyone should take everything they read with a healthy grain of NaCl personally. Who knows if maybe I had a bad day with the hone one day, or you did. Or maybe my beard shaves easier than yours - or tougher. Yet again, maybe my skin is a sissy and yours is made from naugahyde -or vice versa. It's why reviews should be taken/used as a guide but not a definitive authority. If you want it done right...well, you know what to do!

I read a review or saw a video, don’t recall where, on some of the “New,” found old stones sold on eBay and other places, I don’t think it was this stone, might have been the ILR.

The guy suggested that some of these stones were/might be, reconstituted stones. Ground up stone material, possibly containing some of the “old” stone and formed in a mold and baked and cut. Then sold as new finds…

I have a couple of Coticles, like that.

Seems like a lot of work… And not that there is anything wrong with that, if it works.

What are your thoughts on that Ed, with these stones?

If you are referring to me as Ed, (not sure, I'm Eric BTW) I have tried both the ILR and this stone now and I don't think either of these are reconstituted. They both show all signs of being natural stone by their layering and surface appearance to me. I'll post some better pics of this stone soon taken with my DSLR. I do believe that the purveyors of this stone (TOB) have purposely tried to obscure its origin by lapping all sides until there are no saw marks left though.

I've used this hone some more now. I like it. I think it's a finer stone than the Cnat but I can't really prove that.

Lately I've been going back to my 8k, and then the Cnat, Jblue (or whatever we are calling this one) , ferox on a paddle and then plain leather.

I've done this to about 5 or so blades now. They all shave very nicely. Sharp and pretty smooth. I shave my whole face obviously but in my mind the standard test area for me is how it shaves just under the lower lip and before the chin juts out.

This is a fairly smooth area and yet the facial hair is coarse here so it's a good standardized test area for me to compare various razors.

A duller razor will pull hair here, a sharp but harsher razor will cause a little burn or irritation and a smooth blade...won't.

My facial hair grows slowly enough that I haven't done any more extensive testing (one stone at a time).

I do like the feedback on this stone a little more than with the Cnat.

I hope others that buy this stone will post their tests and feedback as well.

I have both a CNAT and the ocean blue JNAT, but I have not tried using both in combination. I also have a Naniwa 12K SS. The Naniwa gives a sharper, mirror polished edge, but ocean blue gives a smoother, more hazy edge.

I may have to try using a combination of the stones to see what gives the sharpest, smoothest edge. However, I suspect that different razors will respond best to different finishers due to differences in steel quality, hardness, razor geometry, etc.

The reason I purchased the ocean blue is to see if I can get a clean, comfortable shave off my Hart Steel quarter hollow O1 tool steel. I have still not figured it out.

Lapping film works well with Harts, it is fine enough to prevent chipping and 1um with paper, will leave a very nice shaving edge.

Originally Posted by RayClem

The reason I purchased the ocean blue is to see if I can get a clean, comfortable shave off my Hart Steel quarter hollow O1 tool steel. I have still not figured it out.

Harts and PRCs get super sharp, almost Feather-like and that's what I like about them. I can slightly 'soften' them with a few coticule laps afterwards.

Have any others gotten their stone and shaved with it yet? I'd like to hear how others are getting on with it as far as shaves.

If anyone has a Thuringian how does this finish compare with that as far as the actual shave goes?