Thread: Nagura Pr0n...

After reading a reccent post on Jim's blog the Eastern Smooth about his full honing progression and the inclusion and use of nagura stones I decided to get a taste of the same, having easy access to these stones.

I have just placed an order for three nagura. I ordered a Koma, a mejiro and a botan.

A point I don't think Jim has made in his posts about nagura is that they are graded by name, but they are also divided in to four catagories within each grade. This extra labeling indicates the colour and shape of the nagura. Jim posted his nagura two of which are called 'Betsu jou' (別上) these are designated a white colour and an odd shape. The next is 'Bestu dai jou' (別大上), these are also white but are a uniform square shape. The next 'tokkyuu' (特級) has a striped appearance and is an odd shape. The last is 'Jou tokkyuu' (上特級) which is striped and a square shape. The divisions are not to designate a level of quality or fineness, but only denote scarcity.

I should also mention that I have seen nagura that have been stamped with a 'for razor use' instead of the above mentioned four divisions. And I have seen a stamped 'Iwasaki' nagura, although I don't know how authentic such a stone might be.

Here are each of the three that I bought, as advertised on the site I bought them from. They are all designated Tokkyuu nagura.

Koma:



Mejiro:



Botan:




I will also post some details of my own trial and I would assume errors when I have had success.