A couple of JNat questions...
My understanding is that Kitta and Asagi refer to appearance, and not "grit". If that's the case case, then how can one refer to a Nakayama Asagi as being finer, or not, than a Kitta? Wouldn't that be similar to saying that a red Pontiac is faster than a blue Pontiac?
Also... Lynn made mention of doing one-stone honing on a few JNats. My understanding is that a Botan nagura has a "grit" of approximately 8k, and that the other naguras used in a finishing progression are finer. If that is the case, what naguras are used on the Asewedo to set the bevel and sharpen?
Thanks,
M
One of a thousand questions
Hey, Mark.
They (eastern rocks) have my attention also. I can't say that alot of reading has produced much more understanding yet.
From what little I understand now, your observations about color being irrelevant seem to be true. Also, that individual variation in stones also make the mine and strata somewhat irrelevant also, though some tend to be better than others. Consistently, it seems that testing the individual rock is the only reliable measure of performance. This would seem to place a premium on rocks that are tested by a seller deemed trustworthy (by reputation), and who allows for a return if your blades(s) don't like the rock.
I'm too constrained by budget to gamble on buying a rock - especially a discounted rock, in hopes of getting a good rock. 'Seems you could dump a boatload of money & time into buying, testing, selling to try to get a good one.
The draw for me was a couple things - all related to smoothness. My experience is not extensive - done about 45-50 blades. What planted the Jnat seed/infection was a blade done on a high-end Asagi that seemed to defy ham-handed attempts to nick a face, yet gave unnaturally close shaves. There could be many fallacies in thinking this is all Jnat, but even with a fine blade (williams), it couldn't do this without a large contribution from the stone and the person driving the stone.
Probably the most controversial thing I was told by Mr. Yamashita (So), was that a good stone will have a positive affect on your honing skill. He described it as similar to the affect of driving a finely tuned sports car - actually improving your driving skills without much deliberate effort. That seems like a claim too good to be true, but his stature with Jnats makes me think he's right. Maybe this is simply gaining the tactile experience of what a stone/blade feels like when things are going as they should - allowing you to recognize when things do or don't go as they should on other stones.
Here's to wading through the eastern fog. I hope we both get smarter about it & get satisfying edges as a result.