Thread: Naniwa Chosera and Super Stone opinions, please

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.