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3 finishers - CF, Shap30k, J-Nat
Hello
I have recently been on a bit of a HAD spree. Until recently my finest stone was a naniwa 12k which worked just fine for me. I then bought a lovely CF from Neil Miller which took a bit of getting used to but really took my edges to the next level. Then, in one week I ordered the Shapton pro 30k and a j-nat from Morihei. For the j-nat I left myself pretty much in their hands and asked for something they would recommend for about 30,000 yen or so. They strongly suggested a stone they referred to as a Shouhon-yama Ohira-yama. I admit to being completely confused how this stone fits into the j-nat system of categorisations.
Anyway, I thought I would share my observations on these three stones.
CF
Very hard and slow (just using water). Takes a lot of laps but gives a really sharp edge. Very crisp edge - not harsh but doesn't let you forget you are using a very sharp blade.
J-nat
Used first with a Tenjyou nagura, a tomonagura and lastly just water. I kept thinking I wasn't getting a good edge with TPT tests etc but delivers a wonderful shave. Incredibly soft and gentle edge but takes some work.
Shapton Pro 30k
The first thing I will say is how easy and quick it is to use this stone. So far used it for two razors, one was already finished with a CF and the other one completely resharpened. Literally takes 10 X-strokes with a light touch and I had the sharpest edges I have ever achieved. I was pretty nervous about shaving off these edges but they were actually not harsh at all. Not quite as smoothe and gentle as the j-nat but certainly similar to the CF. If you enjoy honing for the sake of it this is quite frustrating as there is so little to do but for the least effort to get a fantastic edge, this is amazing.
Claude
