Pictures of two hones

Just thought I'd share some photos of two hones that I'm using a lot these days.

The first is a Nakayama Asagi that I got from Alex Gilmore. It doesn't have any stamps or other markings, but according to Alex it is a true Nakayama stone. It gives off a very white slurry when rubbed with a diamond stone and leaves a very nice, well-polished edge. It cuts very slowly.

The second stone is a nice Escher that I bought recently. The label was in horrible shape so I sealed it with polyurethane, which makes the stone much nicer to use now because I don't have to worry about damaging the label further. It cuts and finishes similar to other Eschers.

Thanks for looking, and enjoy!

Nice!

I'm pretty happy with my hone collection as it is now, but if ever there were two stones that make the HAD flare up, thems are they..! :D

How does the edge from the Escher compare to the Asagi in terms of smoothness?

nice stones i'm getting real nice smooth edges of my escher' barber delight by using as recomended with a lather and shaving from there. very comfy and smooth

Thanks! There's so many here who have boxes and boxes of nice hones that I am a little reluctant to post pictures of my tiny collection, but I will try to post more as I have time.

The Escher certainly feels like it has the "finer" surface to work with. It is as smooth as glass, and the razor just glides right over the surface. I usually make a little bit of slurry on the top with my diamond stone, but even that gives very little resistance to the blade. The asagi is also very, very smooth, but I find that it's a little bit easier to work with, just because of the quantity of slurry and the speed with which the water soaks into the stone. When I'm using it, the water disappears very fast and what's left is a kind of sticky "paste" on the surface that gives very good feedback as you are polishing the edge.

I use both of these stones interchangeably and strictly for finishing purposes. I can tell when a razor has or has not been "touched up" on one of these two stones, but honestly I cannot tell the difference in the edges finished on one stone as compared to the other.

Jeff ,the water evaporates from the slurry it does not soak into the stone.

Without a doubt those are going to be wonderful stones. I use the Escher by building a slurry and doing about 60 strokes and then diluting it to water through about 50 more strokes. Works like a charm every time!!!

Now I need an Asagi! :mace:

Really? That's interesting -- I always assumed that some of the water was seeping into the stone. Anyway, I stand corrected! The asagi still seems to "lose" water faster, which makes for a more "pastey" slurry, if that makes sense. I'm probably not describing it well, but it's definitely a noticeable difference between using the asagi and the Escher.

I tend to agree with you Jeff. My Maruichi drinks water like its going out of fashion, and dries out far faster than my coticule with slurry. The first time I wet it, its almost dry inside a minute, whereas the coticule stays wet for a good couple of minutes.

I also find that it stays wet slightly longer each time I rewet the stone, hinting to me that its probably being absorbed rather than evaporating.

I might be wrong of course (it happened once before :D), but thats what it looks like to me!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JeffE

Really? That's interesting -- I always assumed that some of the water was seeping into the stone. Anyway, I stand corrected! The asagi still seems to "lose" water faster, which makes for a more "pastey" slurry, if that makes sense. I'm probably not describing it well, but it's definitely a noticeable difference between using the asagi and the Escher.

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to my knowledge the stones are way too dense to be able to absorb water in the duration of honing. You can soak for 6+ hours to somewhat soften the surface but the use for that is for polishing knives not for razors.

There are some stones that are porous and absorb water. I don't know about the japanese but the coticules and eschers are not and don't absorb water.

Well, the water might not be absorbed into the stone, but it definitely disappears faster on some stones rather than others, which makes me think that it isn't evaporation.

I'm going to try an experiment tonight that might shed some light on this. I'm going to fill up a small shot glass of water, put the stone on top and then turn the whole thing upside down. If the water from the glass disappears (and isn't running out of the sides of course), then I'd say it is pretty definitely going directly into the stone.

Anyway, I will let you know once I'm done.

Jeff, it looks like a true Nakayama to me anyway, and probably an old one at that. The overall cut, color, "skin", chisel cuts on the back, and saw marks on the sides all look to me just like all the stamped Nakayamas I have, down to the last detail.

I have one old Maruka stamped Nakayama that is a very fine polisher (my current favorite finisher), and it just drinks up water, too. Can't really explain it. My inexpensive Japanese stones all seem to suck up water too, and I used to think that it was a "sure sign" of a lower-grit Japanese stone. But it definitely isn't always so, I've seen it first hand. My other extra-hard Nakayamas practically bead water, especially the ultra-hard Karasu I have. It's like marble or something, yet cuts very fast.

I haven't figured out the feel of the Eschers just yet, but yours is very pretty and minty.

Thanks for posting your stones. I never get tired of looking at them. :beer2:

I have a few Nakamayas and have found them to be quite variable in there thirst. Generally the harder and more compact they are the less water they use. I have one that feels almost as hard as a really hard Arkie and it only take a couple of drops, others need water added a couple or few times in a honing session.