Chosera Users - Feedback Please

[holli4pirating]

So I have the Chosera 1k, and I love it. I also have the SS 5k and 8k. I'm debating buying the Chosera 3k next, and then possibly replacing my 5k SS with the 5k Chosera.

I've done some searching, but, aside from Seth's recent post (which I really appreciate), I'm not finding too much feedback about the Choseras. Does anyone have them? What are they like to hone on (cut speed, gentleness on the spine, do they load up fast, what's the feedback like, how is the finish given the grit level, etc)? How would you compare them to other synthetics?

Like I said, I'm mostly curious about the 3k and 5k, but please share your thoughts on any of them, as others may be interested.

Thanks, and all hail the shrimp! It gives the taste of natural stone!

[mainaman]

I have the 3k chosera and I like it a lot, it is a very smooth stone that releases a bit of slurry when honing. IMO it is pretty fast and aggressive for the grit. It does not load at all with razors.

I do not have the 5k chosera, but I have the 5k SS and for what is worth I am very happy how it takes and refines the 3k chosera scratches.

[holli4pirating]

What do you mean by aggressive? Do you mean it leaves deep scratches? yields a harsh edge? can cause microchipping? something else?

[mainaman]

What do you mean by aggressive? Do you mean it leaves deep scratches? yields a harsh edge? can cause microchipping? something else?

it cuts fast.

[Lesslemming]

I had the Chosera 1k, 5k and 10k, along with a Superstone system to compare.
I will be the voice to tell you "there are people that don´t like them".

The 1k is still in my posession. It is a hard yet quick cutter for bevelsetting.
The 5k felt very nice but left horrible scratches,
even after taking off a few inches off the top.

I made sure the beel was scratch free with my usual SS routine up to 8k,
and did some light lapps on the Chosera 5k again,
and they popped right up in the angle I was sharpening on the C5k.

No 8k I owned was able to get rid of these scratches.
That´s why I bought the 10k.
Well, it did remove these nasty scratches, but left it´s own.
Finer ones, yes, but inacceptable at a 10k level.

The sharpnes achievable from the 5k was another thing I grew suspicious about.
I didn´t seem to get the edge as smooth on the Cho5k as I was used to on the SS5k.
Under the microscope I had much more waviness/burr/microchips from the Chosera.

So I decided to back down on the Chosera and buy a shapton set instead.
Since then I am a happy honer.

Maybe you will like the chosera better, or get them to work for you just fine

[Claude]

I have the chocera 400, 1k, 2k, 3k, 5k and 10k. I also have the SS8k and 12k. I originally bought these for knife sharpening and found that on the medium to finer choceras I could happily go 2k - 5k -10k or just 3k - 10k. Both work great. When I got into razors I tried to play around with the sequencing. My current thinking is that I prefer the ss12k to the chocera10k as a finishing stone so if I am am going to stop at 12k I find that working backwards I go chocera 3k, ss8k and ss12k. I have not tried to replace the ss8k with the chocera5k in this sequence as the 3 and 5 seem a bit close. If I am going to a final finisher after the 10k/12k I find I can happily go for the full chocera setup of (1k) - 3k - 10k and then finisher. I could also go 1k - 2k - 5k - 10k but I am not sure I gain that much and it takes longer.

Personally I really like the chocera stones. I think they they are slow wearing and fast-cutting with lots of feedback. I also find that you can make bigger jumps with the choceras than with other stones because of their cutting power. For me this saves time and reduces the chances of messing up your edge.

In terms of the individual stones:
400 - not super fast but good feedback and dishes slowly (personally I think all stones <1k are awful)
1k - excellent
2k / 3k - both very good bevel setters: 3k is my go-to stone
5k - I never really warmed to this stone. For some reason I find it quite difficult to use (especially for knives) but this says more about me than the stone I suspect
10k - I think this stone is great for knives and as a final sharpening stone for razors before moving to a finisher. Money well-spent for knives (kind of). I wouldn't spend the money for razors.

Claude

[hi_bud_gl]

I Think you have got all above holli4pirating.
In short words.
They are aggressive cutter(faster then any other synthetic out there as of today)
In fact they do load up fast but as soon as you washed it goes away.
thickness is more then compare to rest synthetics .
if in case you are honing a lot razors a day it is worth it to have it.
i really liked how fast Naniwa's could get job done .
As Claude mention they are very good finisher for knifes but for razors you should make 1 more step.
hope this helps.

[Lynn]

I have the full set Dylan.

You can use them the next time you're over.

They are actually quite comparable to the SS stones resultwise but definitely have a little harder feel to them. Consistency and reliability is quite good. Feedback is still very good. They are much thicker and will last you forever. They do cost more than the SS, but as said definitely a thicker stone. I still have barely put a dent in my 1K, which as you know is my main bevel setter.

Have fun,

Lynn

[Stubear]

Lynn, how does the Chosera 1k compare to the Shapton glass 1k?

I've got the Shapton (and the SS 1k) and the next bout of HAD is going to be a few new bevel setters, so I was wondering about the Chosera 1k and/or the 1200 DMT?

[Lynn]

Lynn, how does the Chosera 1k compare to the Shapton glass 1k?

I've got the Shapton (and the SS 1k) and the next bout of HAD is going to be a few new bevel setters, so I was wondering about the Chosera 1k and/or the 1200 DMT?

Not as hard feeling as the Shapton. I like the feedback on it with the circles a lot.