Thread: Japanese Natural Finishers...

Originally Posted by Gunner777

I hear ya I also looked at the wedge shaped one. You have to hold that one in your hand but it would work and at less than half the price.

I was eyeing that one up, too. Unfortunately, holding it in a hand is out of the question for me.

Man, those Japanese stones are sure beautiful. The Kanji characters add a good bit of flavor to them, as well. Too bad they're always on the honing surface.

They really are gorgeous. I would buy one at $200 and hold it. I normalluy don't hold a hone in my hand but with that one if you out the largest part of the wedge at the base of your palm it should be pretty stable to hold and not get close to your fingers. It may be wishful thinking to:-)

All you "research" guys- I think that is par for the course. When you deal with vintage stuff like ours... and you're as addicted as we are... you can't help but spend hours looking at razor and stone porn....

Yep , pretty much sums it up:-)

What do you research? There is only so much written on the web; very little.

I cant decide which is a better route to get a couple of cheap ones; then a more expensive-really good one; or get the good one first and then try others if you feel the need.

I've bought stones for 30 bucks that can whip the pants off my coti.
-just sayin'

For small stones you can make a holder: for instance you can take a wider board and mount the stone(inlet) to one side- then use your other hand to hold the block as it sits on an elevated surface. Or, you can make a thick holder which elevates the stone and is heavy enough not to scoot.

I dont mind hand held for touching up or final strokes; but I'm not into it for a full session

I research here, by asking people stuff, and reviews online, and anything I can find.

As far as research I'll give you a for instance. I look at types of metal and uses as well as history of hone materials things not directly about razors themselves. Oh also scale materials and really there is more out there but it does take some serious searching.
There is another area some of us have gotten into and that's using a microscope to look at edges not only how well they look for a good shave but which hones do what to the steel.

Originally Posted by FloorPizza

I have 16k and 30k Shaptons. As much as I like them, I still get the most comfortable edge following the 30k Shapton with .25 diamond paste on a paddle.

How do the good Japanese Naturals compare to the 30k Shapton, and .25 diamond paste?

I like an *extremely* sharp blade. The closer to shavette blade sharp, the better.

Is a Japanese natural going to get me to that level of sharp better/more comfortably than .25 paste, or is their level of sharpness limited to, say, the coticule level? Coticules leave a nice smooth edge, but aren't capable of achieving the level of sharpness I like. I'd rather find out about such sharpness limitation *prior* to spending the huge amount of cash on a Japanese natural.

This is one thing I really do like about the 30k followed by the .25 paste... it is capable of putting a *really* sharp edge on a blade. Now if I could just get that edge to be a bit smoother...

Sounds to me like you've got 'sharp' well covered especially with a 16 & 30 k Shapton . If you want smooth tho, an Asagi could be your next purchase. I don't use pastes anymore since buying an Asagi.

I noticed you use the .25 diamond paste after the 30K. Have you tried using the .5 CrO after the 30K instead of the diamond paste. I have tried it with both .5 diamond and .25 diamond and I get a smoother edge with the CrO than the diamond paste. The 30K gets my blades sharp enough. I just like the smoothness of the CrO.

bj

Originally Posted by 2Sharp

I noticed you use the .25 diamond paste after the 30K. Have you tried using the .5 CrO after the 30K instead of the diamond paste. I have tried it with both .5 diamond and .25 diamond and I get a smoother edge with the CrO than the diamond paste. The 30K gets my blades sharp enough. I just like the smoothness of the CrO.

bj

I've followed the 30k Shapton up with ChromeOx, .50 diamond, and .25 diamond, but mostly the .25 diamond. The 30k Shapton is supposed to be .49 micron, so I figured it would make sense to go to a smaller grit size than repeat the .49 shapton by following up with either Chrome Ox or .50 diamond. But I gotta agree: the blade is smoother following up the 30k Shapton with the chrome ox, even if it is the same grit size.