Thread: Naniwa Chosera and Super Stone opinions, please

I am not sure how many razors you have honed on what stones, but I can say that I cannot concur with you as a result of honing thousands of razors on each of the stones I mentioned.

Lynn,

I'm not trying to cause any trouble, just posting my opinion.

Originally Posted by jendeindustries

Lynn,

I'm not trying to cause any trouble, just posting my opinion.

Opinion appreciated.......

Lynn

I have had 1k SS and definitely did not like it, very lousy on stainless, and pretty slow to.
The 1k Chosera I have now is the best 1k I have had (I have tried 1k King, 1k SS, 1.2k DMT)
3k Chosera is another great stone, it brings close to 5k edge, it is fast and has great feedback.
I have not tried the 10 Chosera because its so expensive, but I am completely satisfied with my 10k SS. The 10k SS does not dish fast at all, so not a lot of lapping is required.

Originally Posted by mainaman

I have had 1k SS and definitely did not like it, very lousy on stainless, and pretty slow to.
The 1k Chosera I have now is the best 1k I have had (I have tried 1k King, 1k SS, 1.2k DMT)
3k Chosera is another great stone, it brings close to 5k edge, it is fast and has great feedback.
I have not tried the 10 Chosera because its so expensive, but I am completely satisfied with my 10k SS. The 10k SS does not dish fast at all, so not a lot of lapping is required.

I agree i found the 1k naniwa slow compared to my 1k n and dmt1200 !

I am relatively new to all of this, and have the Nani 1k, 5k, 8k, and 12k Super Stone series. The fact that Lynn's using them with consistent results was enough for me. The price didn't hurt, either.

I found these exceedlingly easy to work with and to maintain. I have DMT 8c which makes lapping a breeze. I have no difficulty at all touching up on the 12k, or bringing antique store razors back to life starting at the 1k and working the circles technique as shown by Lynn on video.

Originally Posted by Basset

I am relatively new to all of this, and have the Nani 1k, 5k, 8k, and 12k Super Stone series. The fact that Lynn's using them with consistent results was enough for me. The price didn't hurt, either.

I found these exceedlingly easy to work with and to maintain. I have DMT 8c which makes lapping a breeze. I have no difficulty at all touching up on the 12k, or bringing antique store razors back to life starting at the 1k and working the circles technique as shown by Lynn on video.

+1 IME. I have been pleased with the 1k for bevel setting and it seems to cut fast enough without tearing up the edge. I have the DMT 1200 as well and now I only use it on chipped up stuff and follow it with the 1k naniwa.

Talking about the Chosera line of Naniwa, I still stand by my original review.

I can't compare them with Naniwa's Superhones, because I never used those.

The honing feel and feedback on the 10K resembles that of my Nakayama. The Chosera 10K delivers its best performance when it is slightly glazed. You just need to stay on it a bit longer when you hone on it freshly lapped. Possibly the exposed cutting particles need to loose some bite. Choseras don't overhone. You can hone on the 5K or the 10K all day, it would be a tremendous waste of steel, but they don't overhone.
The edge is too sharp for my liking.

I use it often to test other hones. I simply hone till the edge maxes out on the 10K, apply a layer of tape and create a secondary bevel with whatever hone needs assessment (It's one of the 3 test procedures that I use on each Coticule I test).

The Chosera 5K is a great hone all together, but it sees little use around here, because it is so redundant in my setup. It is a bit muckier than the 10K, as if it is somewhat softer. It's fast and leaves a very smooth bevel, that quickly responds to the 10K. Yet the 5K is not quite sharp enough to shave.

It's sad that the Chosera 10K is so highly priced. I was lucky to buy mine at considerably less, probably by some misunderstanding between the European importer and Naniwa headquarters. If they weren't so highly priced, I am convinced they would have a very enthusiastic user base.

I don't know about speed. It's true, at least in my experience, that honing on a Coticule takes many laps.
But I'm doing those laps while I was otherwise waiting for the Chosera to soak. (You can't keep it submerged at all times - Naniwa specifically warns against that - and those thick heavy chosera's sure take a long time soaking 20 minutes minimum). I can see how that soaking time becomes unimportant when you need to do 5 razors in a row, but for doing one quick razor, what beats a hone that you take from a drawer and start working on? (Am I correct that this can be done with the Shaptons? And a Coticule obviously)

I got my Choseras because I was on a trip to get a razor as keen as possible. The first thing I bought on that trip was the Nakayama, that delivered me nothing I couldn't already achieve (later I tried another and came to the same conclusion). The second purchase were the Choseras, that taught me that: A. those few stubborn spots at my neck didn't require a sharper edge, but a better stretching strategy. And B. that I wasn't fond of those sharper edges and the sliced skin papillae that came with it. That's where the trip ended for me, but that doesn't mean it has to end there for you.

Kind regards,
Bart.

Bart,

I use my shaptons in the manner you described (pull 'em off the shelf, spray 'em, and use 'em). This is why I went with them versus the super stones. I just didn't want to mess with soaking them, but like you say, it's because I'm only honing 1-3(max) per session. However, I've got no experience with anything but the Shapton line and Norton 4/8K plus a couple of finishers.

I know that the Naniwas must be nice because all of my edges honed on them have been nice. I've just not used them myself.

Fantastic post, Bart. I swear, sometimes I get the feeling you can read minds; often you discuss things I've been thinking about but haven't even posted. You nailed a bunch of the stuff I've been wondering about.

I *love* my coticules, and I have really enjoyed honing with them. However, I do have "benign tremor", aka shaky hands. So I have to hone with two hands. As you can imagine, my strokes-per-minute suffers greatly, which can make honing a bit more of a chore than it should be. Throw in the rather slow speed of my rock hard natural combination coticule, and it can *really* make honing tedious. The other coticule that I kept is faster, but it is really old, narrow, and thin. There's about an eighth of an inch of usable stone left on the yellow side. So it doesn't see much use. The other coticule I had I sold when I sold my Shaptons, Norton, and Spydercos. I wish I hadn't sold that stone. It was a yellow coti, slate backed, faster than my natural combination, but it was narrow and I prefer wider hones.

I would *love* to try out what would be considered a "fast coticule" and see if it would take the place of a full set of synthetics, but "fast" is so subjective; how do I call up a vendor and order a "fast coticule"?

Even after reading your Chosera review, it's hard to drop that kind of cash without trying the stone first. Awesome review, btw.

I wish someone around here would start renting out stones. I'd give them enough business to make it worthwhile, that's for sure.

Originally Posted by FloorPizza

Fantastic post, Bart. I swear, sometimes I get the feeling you can read minds; often you discuss things I've been thinking about but haven't even posted. You nailed a bunch of the stuff I've been wondering about.

I *love* my coticules, and I have really enjoyed honing with them. However, I do have "benign tremor", aka shaky hands. So I have to hone with two hands. As you can imagine, my strokes-per-minute suffers greatly, which can make honing a bit more of a chore than it should be. Throw in the rather slow speed of my rock hard natural combination coticule, and it can *really* make honing tedious. The other coticule that I kept is faster, but it is really old, narrow, and thin. There's about an eighth of an inch of usable stone left on the yellow side. So it doesn't see much use. The other coticule I had I sold when I sold my Shaptons, Norton, and Spydercos. I wish I hadn't sold that stone. It was a yellow coti, slate backed, faster than my natural combination, but it was narrow and I prefer wider hones.

I would *love* to try out what would be considered a "fast coticule" and see if it would take the place of a full set of synthetics, but "fast" is so subjective; how do I call up a vendor and order a "fast coticule"?

Even after reading your Chosera review, it's hard to drop that kind of cash without trying the stone first. Awesome review, btw.

I wish someone around here would start renting out stones. I'd give them enough business to make it worthwhile, that's for sure.

currently you can get 1/2 thick 10k Chosera from HERE
I think you need to drop Dave and e-mail because he does not have them pre-cut i think