Thread: Naniwa questions

Hello

Ive looked up but havent found answers on exactly these questions, so i hope someone here got the knowledge!
Im have some questions about naniwa stones. I can see the professional line only has 5000 and 10000 high grit stones. Is the 10k professional stone better than naniwa speciality 12k stone?
Also how does the speciality 8k stone compare, and what is the naniwa 8k white stone ive seen people talking about, and the speciality 8k?

Thanks very much

Might not help you much, but I use the Sharpening stones. Although my 1K is the Pro series. I was told that the difference wasn't worth the cost of going with the top line on all of them unless you hone for money. Was also told that the 1K (Green Brick) does make a difference and was worth the extra funds. These are the full thickness stones. 3/4 inch thick. I thing the Specialty stones are the 3/8 thick stones. But with standard use, I'd think the 3/8 thick stones would be just fine. Now my 12K is the 3/8 thick stone but I glued it to a piece of granite tile cut the same size and its now just as thick and the 3/4 thick stones. Fits in my holder better that way.

So that whatever you want from that and hope it helps some.

If you search a little more with terms like "Chosera v. SS" you will find more information. I'll provide a bit of synopsis based upon what I've gleaned.

Though there is no absolute consensus for those that use / like Naniwa products, one trend seems to be that the Chosera 1K (now called/marketed as "Professional" I believe) is a top-notch bevel-setter and worth the extra cost. Thereafter (3K, 5K, 8K, etc.), the Naniwa Specialty Stones (or Super Stones) perform exceptionally well compared to the cost of the Chosera/Professional series for the same or similar grits. So, a common progression will be Chosera/Professional 1k, and SS 3k/5k, 8K, 12K. Some people have and swear by both lines though for different reasons. The "feel" of the stones also often comes up in the discussion and is talked about in terms of preference for one line or the other.

If you are new(er) to honing, the SS are a great and economical way to go and maybe pick up a Chosera/Professional 1K if you are going to tackle bevel setting / restore projects.

You read from time to time about the bevel setting stones. Many agree on the 1k stones, esp the Chosera. As a hobbyist, you can get by fine with the Specially 1k for bevel setting, (super stone). Remember though that really the bevel on a razor should only require setting once. So if your new or only have a few razors the cheaper 1k is fine. Anyone who isn't honing for dough, that goes through a 1k stone in a year is doing something very wrong. As far as a good workable progression jseitz has nailed it. Whether you move on later to naturals or other higher grit synthetics does not change the role of your bevel setting stone. So as a regular bloke with half a dozen razors, your 1k stone will last you your whole lifetime, unless you expand a great deal.

I never use a 1K on my razors after the bevel is set unless I ding the edge and my bevel setter of choice is the Chosera after that I use Shapton 4/8K GS stones and then a NN 12K SS and then either .5 and .25 Crox/Diamond spray or JNAT final finish, if I get a razor in to hone for somone else I always go to the 1K to ensure it's my bevel, I honestly believe one could get by with a bevel setter and JNAT and just use a nagura progression to finish. I think all makers compared side by side are pretty close and you have to remember we are just shaving not doing surgery so how sharp does it really need to be, sharpe is easy sharp and smooth are hard.

I use the Naniwa 5k, 8k, 12k then on to my Escher and Mastro Livi loom strop. Usually depending on the blade and what needs to be done, I will go to the 8k and 12 k for touchups. The specialty stones give great results and don't cost an arm and a leg. Watch Lynn Abrams using them in his video.