Thread: Question about new jnat.

Hello all I was just curious about a new jnat that I just purchased from Chefknivestogo. It appears to have a lacquered surface which I have definitely heard of before when it comes to japanese hones. My question is, how do I proceed? Should I lap the stone with my DMT 325 until the surface is gone or just leave it and work right off the present surface?

Normally, The sides and bottom of J-nats are lacquered to protect it, as far the surface being lacquered, I don't know about that...It should not be. With Lacquer on the surface it would be impossible to hone, it would have to be lapped off, and you would lose the Kanji. I would check the surface of the hone with a straight edge, like a metal ruler for flatness. Lay the ruler diaganolly across the hone, corner to corner while holding it up to a light. If you see light through the ruler and the stone, lapp, if not, it's flat and good to go..That's how I check...It's hard to tell in the pic, but the surface doesn't look like it has lacquer on it.

Thank You, I didn't realize that when people were talking about a lacquered stone they just meant the sides. I am new to jnats so I appreciate the feedback.

The original purpose for the lacquering was/is to prevent the stone from absorbing water and delaminating. Many stones were left out in the weather as opposed to being treated like a precious commodity (at least in my house ).

This should not be lacquered on the top only sides and may be bottom.
Mark gets his stones from Takeda so this one should be good within the grit range it covers.
I got Ozuku Asagi from Mark and it fits great in my progression, hope this one works well for you.

Mainaman that is the exact stone that I have here. How do you like yours? What do you use it for? And do you have and hints or tips about it? It's my first jnat and I was hoping to be able to use it for touch-ups. Do you think that this hone is capable of being used for touch-ups?

Originally Posted by borebrush

Mainaman that is the exact stone that I have here. How do you like yours? What do you use it for? And do you have and hints or tips about it? It's my first jnat and I was hoping to be able to use it for touch-ups. Do you think that this hone is capable of being used for touch-ups?

Mine is Asagi, yours looks Namito with some Asagi.
I can't say what yours is because they can be very different, I use mine i na progression of 4 stones. The range is 6-10k, very hard and buttery smooth.
Use yours as a finisher and see if it can produce smooth shaving edge.
A top notch Ohzuku in that size is worth a lot if its a quality finisher, because they are usually finer than Nakayamas.

I'll give that a try and see how it does. It is an Ozuku Asagi (Koppa) at least that is how it is advertised. The lighting in the picture can be deceptive. Last thing did you lap your stone just to be on the safe side when you first received it?

Originally Posted by borebrush

I'll give that a try and see how it does. It is a Ozuku Asagi (Koppa) at least that is how it is advertised. The lighting of the picture can be deceptive. Last thing did you lap your stone just to be on the safe side when you first received it?

IMHO for the money its a great stone to have, mine also is extremely fast, hope yours is similar.

I agree it was a great price. I didn't want to spend a fortune buying more stones so I am hoping it works out. I also bought a Hideri Tomae Koppa but it has been out and was just shipped the other day. So I will see how that one works out as well. Thank You everyone for your feedback.