Thread: HELP!!! Please help verify if stone is Karasu

I have try out both stone last night and here is what I feel about them :

Grey Stone(Karasu) - Tried my straight razor on it and did made my razor sharper but I am unable to get mirror finish(can show some reflection but cloudy & blurry), should I continue to hone til it's mirror? The stone feel very smooth and hard when honing(I have no other stone to compare so this comment is rather useless). Just realize the base is lacquered as well. By the way, what is A.Q lacquer? Anyone know?

Iyo Stone - I tried using it to hone a scissors(a long one) which my grandfather gave me and the crack got worst. The crack became longer and slightly deeper. How come I salvage this piece before it get deeper and crack into half? Please advise.

Thank you all for your help.

The hazy finish may just be the finish the stone is capable of, some will go to mirror some will only go to hazy if I understand right. I think it is a function of the grit, since 330mate lists grits 1-3, 2= hazy and 3=mirrored.

As far as the crack in th lyo, the woodworking forum link in an earlier post talks about some of them using certain glues(cant remember which) and one used just urushi(japanese laquer). I have also read that some use rice paper and urushi around the outside to keep the crack from growing, kind of an added binder.

I am just beginning all this, so hopefully I am not giving wrong info, please take my post with a grain of salt and double check me.

Is there a way to flatten the crack instead of glue and lacquer?

I am sure you could lap it flat but if you dont stabilize the stone I would think the crack will just keep growing. You might epoxy it to a piece of hardwood to make sure the stone sits flat and secure so when using it it wont put pressure on the crack then lap it and you might get lucky, of course you would still want to laquer the wood so that while honing it doesnt absorb water and expand and rip your stone in half, although that would probably take a lot of water. Sorry I cant be of more help but like I said before I am just beginning this journey.

on the iyo; what does the other side look like? I find mine to be the same essentially on all sides. Maybe you can lap the other side

Try some thin CA in the crack regardless

i'm the furthest thing from an expert on japanese hones, but here's what i think based on what i consider a common sense

you made a mistake.

if you don't have the money to throw away you should not gamble on stuff that you have no idea how it will turn out. i always think that the best way to save money is to pay the extra for the expertise and ensure you are getting what you want.

from your posts it seems that you bid double the ebay seller's opening bid. i recently read a thread where he and his hones were discussed at length and it seems that his opening ebay bids are just the price he wants for that hone without providing any additional tests or guarantees. if you want these extras you have to pay extra and he will take the time to find a hone that matches what you want. but you have to contact him and arrange that. if you just win a hone from him on ebay you are not getting any of these additional services he is willing to provide, regardless of how much you pay.

the hone may be excellent, but i'd be betting that this is less likely than more (given that the seller actually deals in these in bulk and the stuff he thinks is top choice he sets aside, tests and lists for much more money on his website).

so, you just took a big gamble and more likely than not you overpaid for a hone by a factor of two.

I realize that's not something that's going to make you feel good, but that's my honest analysis and I hope that it may be useful to you and anybody else who reads this thread for any future purchasing decisions.

Originally Posted by Jasongreat

I am sure you could lap it flat but if you dont stabilize the stone I would think the crack will just keep growing. You might epoxy it to a piece of hardwood to make sure the stone sits flat and secure so when using it it wont put pressure on the crack then lap it and you might get lucky, of course you would still want to laquer the wood so that while honing it doesnt absorb water and expand and rip your stone in half, although that would probably take a lot of water. Sorry I cant be of more help but like I said before I am just beginning this journey.

I don't really get it, what wood? I just place a piece of tower underneath the whetstone when honing.

Originally Posted by kevint

on the iyo; what does the other side look like? I find mine to be the same essentially on all sides. Maybe you can lap the other side

Try some thin CA in the crack regardless

The other side of the stone look much better without any crack but smaller honing area plus the end of 2 side look like the base of my karasu.
What is CA? Can I just use any lacquer to fix the crack?
I will try to post some pictures later.

Originally Posted by gugi

i'm the furthest thing from an expert on japanese hones, but here's what i think based on what i consider a common sense

you made a mistake.

if you don't have the money to throw away you should not gamble on stuff that you have no idea how it will turn out. i always think that the best way to save money is to pay the extra for the expertise and ensure you are getting what you want.

from your posts it seems that you bid double the ebay seller's opening bid. i recently read a thread where he and his hones were discussed at length and it seems that his opening ebay bids are just the price he wants for that hone without providing any additional tests or guarantees. if you want these extras you have to pay extra and he will take the time to find a hone that matches what you want. but you have to contact him and arrange that. if you just win a hone from him on ebay you are not getting any of these additional services he is willing to provide, regardless of how much you pay.

the hone may be excellent, but i'd be betting that this is less likely than more (given that the seller actually deals in these in bulk and the stuff he thinks is top choice he sets aside, tests and lists for much more money on his website).

so, you just took a big gamble and more likely than not you overpaid for a hone by a factor of two.

I realize that's not something that's going to make you feel good, but that's my honest analysis and I hope that it may be useful to you and anybody else who reads this thread for any future purchasing decisions.

I spend the trouble creating this account and thread because I want to verify whether or not did I get the right product which I paid for.How did money and gamble came into place?

First of all, I did not place a bid on his ebay's whetstone because the stone I want is not there in the first place. I did contact him and ask for a quote razor size Karasu & Iyo plate. However, I did not know Karasu has so many grade even though they have the same name and yes, somehow I did not know what I had paid for in some way. Luckily, the karasu is doing its job just fine and I am pretty happy(just some fear that the huge crack will cause it to break into 2). So the problem has reduce to only the razor size Iyo stone as you can see I am asking for advise.

I do agree on your analysis but I think you make a mistake here.
Not trying to start any flaming war, please do not feel offended in anyway.

Originally Posted by Maplelite

I don't really get it, what wood? I just place a piece of tower underneath the whetstone when honing.

The other side of the stone look much better without any crack but smaller honing area plus the end of 2 side look like the base of my karasu.
What is CA? Can I just use any lacquer to fix the crack?
I will try to post some pictures later.

CA= super glue

Originally Posted by Maplelite

I don't really get it, what wood? I just place a piece of tower underneath the whetstone when honing.

Well it doesnt sound like your towel is too stable if the crack is growing. Even though it feels stable on the towel the crack is still growing which means the stone is flexing a little. If you permenantly glue the stone to a piece of wood the stone will not be able to flex and the crack should quit growing, that is as long as the wood doesnt expand or contract. It may be easier if the stone would just completely break in half,as long as it is a clean break, that way it would be very easy to get the glue or laquer into every facet of the crack.

Originally Posted by Maplelite

First of all, I did not place a bid on his ebay's whetstone because the stone I want is not there in the first place. I did contact him and ask for a quote razor size Karasu & Iyo plate.

OK, my mistake, I thought you did.
Buying something you don't know much about without trust in the sellers knowledge and integrity, and/or having to rely on a third party to evaluate your purchase = gamble.

Originally Posted by Maplelite

Not trying to start any flaming war, please do not feel offended in anyway.

Good, because that would not be a good thing.