Thread: Diluting Slurry on Nakayama

Hey all,

So I've been experimenting a little with my Nakayama. I've finished a handful of blades now with my Nakayama with just water, and they were very very sharp and shave-ready. But just to see how the feel of the razor would compare, the last couple of nights I've tried finishing a razor on the Nakayama starting with a slurry. I have another small piece of Nakayama that I use as a slurry stone for my stone, so there is no cross-contamination, i.e. the slurry is pure Nakayama slurry.

So I just did a bunch of laps with the initial slurry, adding a couple of drops (literally) as I went along, and wiping the blade, until I had pretty much no slurry on the stone. Then I rinsed the blade and the stone off completely, to ensure no slurry was left, and did about 30 laps on the Nakayama with just a thin layer of water.

I stropped and shaved, and the shave with both razors was extremely pleasurable. The edge was very forgiving I found, and left my skin feeling very comfortable afterwards. But it was still really sharp. I was able to shave against the grain beside my chin without any pulling, and that's a very stubborn area for me. The alum block produced no sting at all, and my face felt really good afterwards on both nights when I used different razors finished the same way.

So I have produced really sharp edges (using Shaptons and chromium oxide for example), but the most comfortable shaves have been when I used my Nakayama last without a doubt.

I even tried a fairly heavy slurry at first which darkened slightly, so I know metal was being removed at a decent rate. But it really didn't seem to have a dulling effect, or at least not after I slowly diluted it. I like being able to use a slurry on it since it makes it more aggresive and faster, but can still produce a fantastic edge when I dilute it slowly.

So I'm not expert with honing or Nakayamas, but I can tell you that I like the edges that this stone has produced for me. It has provided me with some comfy edges. I just felt like sharing

Oh, and if you don't have one already, get a Nakayama! I'm already planning on getting my second in a while....

P.S. I also thought I should mention that this method leaves a nice looking finish on the bevel. It looks very different from polishing on anything else I've used other than a Nakayama. It's sort of a hazy looking bevel, which is probably a combination of the Nakayama finish and because slurry was used. Not really a mirror finish at all. But it looks very uniform under 30x.