Thread: JNAT Choice

I am wanting to add another stone to my bag but am undecided between these two and looking for advice on how to choose, I have not tested either one and I know it's a crap shoot with naturals so with that said how do you guys choose

Nakayama Kiita from online dealer that is supposed to be fast and fine and pretty hard and almost self slurries:





This one is also a Nakayama but from a private seller that said it's kiita-ish and has some nice reddish/orange coloration to it:





I would like to take both but it's not in my budget so what say the JNAT guys out there, which one looks to have more promise on delivering

Personally I am drawn to the one with the wooden base..

That is just a pure guess but I am always mostly rite

I agree, the stone with the base.

One thing I noticed with the first stone that I never picked up on is in this pic, the left side looks like it might be prone to flaking, a close friend that uses pretty much only JNATS pointed it out and said that would be the only concern but it's a big concern

Second one for me. I far prefer the stones that have a more uniform surface/makeup personally. That one also displays the "cloudiness" and sort of "burnt umber" looking kawa - those are supposed to be characteristic of Nakayama stone.

Originally Posted by Jnatcat

I am wanting to add another stone to my bag but am undecided between these two and looking for advice on how to choose, I have not tested either one and I know it's a crap shoot with naturals so with that said how do you guys choose

Nakayama Kiita from online dealer that is supposed to be fast and fine and pretty hard and almost self slurries:

I think a few questions arise for this stone:
What does almost self-slurries mean? Does it self slurry or not? Hard stones should not self slurry, and in general kiita are not the hardest specimen out there (exceptions exist of course). How does the stone perform? May be the seller provided that information but if not those are relevant questions to ask before making a decision.

Originally Posted by Jnatcat

This one is also a Nakayama but from a private seller that said it's kiita-ish and has some nice reddish/orange coloration to it

Same here, how does that stone perform for razors?

In general when shopping for J-Nats ask the sellers to provide information about performance of the desired task.
Also make sure they will accept returns should the stone turn out to be not what you were looking for.

Originally Posted by mainaman

I think a few questions arise for this stone:
What does almost self-slurries mean? Does it self slurry or not? Hard stones should not self slurry, and in general kiita are not the hardest specimen out there (exceptions exist of course). How does the stone perform? May be the seller provided that information but if not those are relevant questions to ask before making a decision.



Same here, how does that stone perform for razors?

In general when shopping for J-Nats ask the sellers to provide information about performance of the desired task.
Also make sure they will accept returns should the stone turn out to be not what you were looking for.

The online seller accepts returns, I don't believe he's tested it with a razor he did advise this as far as testing:

Hardness-------------8.7

It raises good amount of black slurry. It might not need tomo nagura or the device to produce the slurry like Diamond lapping hone. (Scale; 1 to 10, 1-3 is very soft muddy rough grit whetstone 3-6 is soft medium grit whetstone, 6-8 is hard medium grit whetstone; 8-10 is fine grit whetstone)

Particle Size----------9.0

It makes my blue II steel kasumi blade knife Hagane became from semi-mirror finish to mirror finish, and Jigae became bright silver color finish.

(Scale; 1 to 10, 1-3 give deep scratch marks to the steel, 3-5 is delete the 1-3 scratches, 5-8 makes the steel cloudy, 8-10 makes the steel semi-mirror finish or mirror finish)

The private seller I did not ask about returns but he's an avid JNAT user and reason for sale is just to many stones, here is his descrition:

Each stone has it's nuances for sure but they're so easy to use! I think it's why I've been bitten so badly by the bug.

This stone is exceedingly fast for it's hardness and it's a hard one. I'd give it a solid level 5 but it's very creamy and smooth.

Check out the pictures I attached. This is the stone i used with a Japanese knife. The stone cut steel very quickly and finely and there was no stone slurry raised. All you see is the steel/iron from the knife.

I can look into a matching nagura for you!

I've honestly honed a bunch of razors with this stone. Very buttery smooth edges and a huge slurry gap to play with. Some stones need specific slurry to work but I've found this one works with thicker slurry as well as thin slurry.

This is a nakayama. I'm not so sure it's a kiita but it's definitely kiita-ish and has some nice reddish/orange coloration too.

Based on the above you have one stone that has not been tested on razors and maybe auto slurries. Second stone has been tested and seller is happy with how it performs on razors. FWIW if it was me I would be buying the second one.

Thanks for all the great input guys both here and thru PM's & emails, I have replied to all and will patiently wait, will post up some honing pics in the near future as I am sure I am going to be doing lots of testing.

Originally Posted by Jnatcat

The online seller accepts returns, I don't believe he's tested it with a razor he did advise this as far as testing:

Hardness-------------8.7

It raises good amount of black slurry. It might not need tomo nagura or the device to produce the slurry like Diamond lapping hone. (Scale; 1 to 10, 1-3 is very soft muddy rough grit whetstone 3-6 is soft medium grit whetstone, 6-8 is hard medium grit whetstone; 8-10 is fine grit whetstone)

Particle Size----------9.0

It makes my blue II steel kasumi blade knife Hagane became from semi-mirror finish to mirror finish, and Jigae became bright silver color finish.

(Scale; 1 to 10, 1-3 give deep scratch marks to the steel, 3-5 is delete the 1-3 scratches, 5-8 makes the steel cloudy, 8-10 makes the steel semi-mirror finish or mirror finish)

The private seller I did not ask about returns but he's an avid JNAT user and reason for sale is just to many stones, here is his descrition:

Each stone has it's nuances for sure but they're so easy to use! I think it's why I've been bitten so badly by the bug.

This stone is exceedingly fast for it's hardness and it's a hard one. I'd give it a solid level 5 but it's very creamy and smooth.

Check out the pictures I attached. This is the stone i used with a Japanese knife. The stone cut steel very quickly and finely and there was no stone slurry raised. All you see is the steel/iron from the knife.

I can look into a matching nagura for you!

I've honestly honed a bunch of razors with this stone. Very buttery smooth edges and a huge slurry gap to play with. Some stones need specific slurry to work but I've found this one works with thicker slurry as well as thin slurry.

This is a nakayama. I'm not so sure it's a kiita but it's definitely kiita-ish and has some nice reddish/orange coloration too.

The second stone sounds like the better option based on the information provided.