Thread: Jnat "grit" question

Originally Posted by Srdjan

I have a few that do this, but I never finish on water, they are fine enough and finished on slurry they produce the comfortable edge that I like. These stones don't really burnish to the point where the surface becomes glassy (like you can see a reflection in them). Some people, whose razors I have finished this way, on slurry, told me they would prefer a sharper edge and finishing on water would do just that. To me, those edges are too sharp and uncomfortable, so I just don't do it for myself.

As I have 3 bench sized jnats of three different hardnesses, maybe we could trade? PM me if you'd like... save us both some money we don't have [emoji16]

Same for me. The only JNats I finish on clear water with are the softer ones. Occasionally I will do a few strokes on clear water with a harder JNat but it's very few or the edge is uncomfortable for me. If the stones are used with slurry they won't burnish, the surface will stay slightly matte. Used with straight water the harder stones always burnish up. Some get that sticky feel and some don't. It's also more likely that you'll get that stiction if your razor has a very straight edge rather than a smiling edge.

Originally Posted by Srdjan

I have a few that do this, but I never finish on water, they are fine enough and finished on slurry they produce the comfortable edge that I like. These stones don't really burnish to the point where the surface becomes glassy (like you can see a reflection in them). Some people, whose razors I have finished this way, on slurry, told me they would prefer a sharper edge and finishing on water would do just that. To me, those edges are too sharp and uncomfortable, so I just don't do it for myself.

As I have 3 bench sized jnats of three different hardnesses, maybe we could trade? PM me if you'd like... save us both some money we don't have [emoji16]

Originally Posted by eKretz

Same for me. The only JNats I finish on clear water with are the softer ones. Occasionally I will do a few strokes on clear water with a harder JNat but it's very few or the edge is uncomfortable for me. If the stones are used with slurry they won't burnish, the surface will stay slightly matte. Used with straight water the harder stones always burnish up. Some get that sticky feel and some don't. It's also more likely that you'll get that stiction if your razor has a very straight edge rather than a smiling edge.

Am i correct in my understanding that you are using slurry generated from the base stone itself? or are you using slurry from a nagura of a differing stone?
If its a different stones slurry, why even bother with a Jnat bench stone, and why not just use a piece of frosted glass with powdered Jnat dust sprinkled on it?
I thought the purpose of the finish stone was to be the pure, last touch.
I'll send you all PMs in a little bit. I actually have some work to take care of first.

Oh, and THANKS EVERYBODY! I appreciate all the input.

It doesn't work the same way if you try to use a piece of glass. The slurry also pulls particles from the stone as you hone and the stone itself is actually textured on a microscopic scale, which lets the slurry do is work better too - the slight texture on the stone helps the slurry particles to roll and catch a bit so that the edge actually drags across them rather than just pulling the slurry along with.

I use nagura both from the base stone as well as from other stones - each stone seems to work best with a certain nagura - or a certain few. You find which by trying the various ones you have.

Eric is right, and I asked Alex Gilmore about slurry a couple of years ago and he also said that skurry transferred to plate glass broke down within a minute or two and became useless.

You can put it on a piece of cloth or lint free paper towel and use it to polish even delicate items like razor gold wash, fointain pen nibs and barrels, jewelry, or just about any metal. Over time my Gold Dollar test razors get shinier and don't look half bad for a Gold Dollar.

Cheers, Steve

Originally Posted by Steve56

Eric is right, and I asked Alex Gilmore about slurry a couple of years ago and he also said that skurry transferred to plate glass broke down within a minute or two and became useless.

You can put it on a piece of cloth or lint free paper towel and use it to polish even delicate items like razor gold wash, fointain pen nibs and barrels, jewelry, or just about any metal. Over time my Gold Dollar test razors get shinier and don't look half bad for a Gold Dollar.

Cheers, Steve

Polished my wedding ring this way, I tried to give it kasumi finish using some suita dust. Didn't really work as I expected, but it sure fixed up minor scratches nicely!