Thread: 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

Originally Posted by Claude

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

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Hi Claude,

Very nice review of these top shelf finishers.

Thank you Claude. That is a wonderful review . I have never used a CF.

Thanks for sharing!
Your description is similar to what I have experienced with
my Shapton Glasstone 30k, Nakayama Kiita (from Yamash(i)ta) and my vintage Thuringian (esher-like).

All three of them deliver very good shaving results, right off the stone.
But an advantage I have found for the Shapton 30k over my naturals
is that the 30k does not produce any visible scratches, whereas my Nakayama as well as my Thuringian kind of disrupt a perfect 8.000 mirror finish with small, light scratches

Enjoy your very very nice finishers. I hope you have a matching setup for sharpening and bevelsetting?

Originally Posted by Lesslemming

But an advantage I have found for the Shapton 30k over my naturals is that the 30k does not produce any visible scratches, whereas my Nakayama as well as my Thuringian kind of disrupt a perfect 8.000 mirror finish with small, light scratches

Agree about the scratch pattern but the actual bevel is so small on a razor (as opposed to a knife) that I don't really think about visual polish.

Originally Posted by Lesslemming

Enjoy your very very nice finishers. I hope you have a matching setup for sharpening and bevelsetting?

I use choceras for bevel setting (1k, 3k) and then normal naniwas for "sharpening" (8k, 12k (is 12k still sharpening or already finishing?)). I am still playing around with going 1k, 3k, 10k all on choceras but so far I haven't got the best results.

Claude

Basically anything above (or at) 8.000 can be considered finishing.
The razor should be able to shave your face at that level just fine.
The Nainwa 12.000 is considered a very nice finisher, as well.
Well, that makes for four top notch finishers!
D`you have that much razors, as well?

Originally Posted by Lesslemming

Basically anything above (or at) 8.000 can be considered finishing.
The razor should be able to shave your face at that level just fine.
The Nainwa 12.000 is considered a very nice finisher, as well.
Well, that makes for four top notch finishers!
D`you have that much razors, as well?

I have about 20 razors now with a Livi and Buddel coming as well as a W&B "For Barbers Use" that Glen is redoing for me. My biggest problem is that there is no real need to hone as often as I would like. I suppose this justifies the RAD.

Claude

Guys,

What is a CF?

Originally Posted by ShoreBird

Guys,

What is a CF?

Charnley Forest hone