Thread: Picking A Japanese Hone

Here are two hones I am currently playing with at the moment. On the left is a Nakayama Asagi (1061 grams, 200mm x 107mm x 35mm) I bought from a gentleman in Hawaii. On the left is a Shoubudani Asagi (811 grams, 195mm x 70mm x 27mm) I purchased from a gentleman in Netherland.
My dilemma is trying to pick just one to keep. So far I have shave tested the Nakayama on 3 razors, the Shoubudani on 2. Honestly, I can't quite tell which is superior yet, only time will tell. Or maybe Stefan will tell me. Both feel extremely smooth to the touch, and to the steel.
My suspicions are that the Nakayama is softer but finer than the Shoubudani. The shape is also awkward at first but works out just fine with X strokes. If I lapped it down a bit more I would have even more surface area. Whereas the Shoubudani is the classic brick shape which might make using naguras via JimR's method a little easier.
I think I'm just going to have to stick to one razor (Oh MY!) for a while, and hone, shave, hone, shave with each to determine which stone is easier, faster, smoother, more versitile... this will be fun.
I have many thoughts about these hones, but I finally got a chance to photograph them and share them with some friends. Enjoy!

Personally I'd pick the one that fits my honing style, all things being equil.

You have a great opportunity to try many different stones, Enjoy

That’s a tough one. All things being equal between the 2 stones performance, pick the one that looks best. That Asagi looks to have some orange skin on the backside making it more valuable. As you know looks mean nothing about the stones performance. But it sure is nice to have a stone that looks nice AND performs well. That’s my logic. GO with the Asagi Bassguy.. The irregular shape is cool.

Mike

Shoubudani Asagi it is BLUE.
Mike

The nakayma is not as uniform as the Shobudani, the pic does not show the actual features.
If the stones indeed are equal in performance I'd go with the more uniform one because uniform stones of such size are more unique.
Now if the personal preference is towards one stone no matter of appearance then the choice is clear.

So to help make things a clearer for me, I have picked a razor to audition the stones with. This JA Henckels 98 came from a friend's grandfather, who was a barber in Italy then immigrated to New York. It was likely his work horse razor and exhibits a bit of hone and toe wear.

I removed old steel, set the bevel no tape, then patiently polished one of the most perfect edges I've ever put on a Solingen blade, up to Naniwa 12k (this steel doesn't like my King hones, or vice versa; was very prone to micro chipping). Pops hairs nicely now.

SO>>> the game plan now is to roughly follow Stefan's suggestions which are: do 20 laps only water on one stone, shave test no strop, evaluate. Then take the blade back down the progression a bit, 4k perhaps, finish on 12k, then do 20 laps only water on the other stone, shave test no strop, evaluate. Do I have that right?

That does sound like a pretty good way to do it but what do I know? You shave every couple of days right? I bet it'll be tough to hone a razor and then have to wait to test it out...at least it is for me, lol

you do not have to go down to 4k, just run the razor on the 12k and switch stones.
You can also try one of the stones after the other and see what happens,

I don't see any benefit in not stropping prior to the evaluation. The shave test might as well replicate actual use.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I don't see any benefit in not stropping prior to the evaluation. The shave test might as well replicate actual use.

I thought about that, as I have never shaved without stropping on leather at least 60 laps.