Thread: Looking for advice.

I am looking for advice on what stones I should get on my vacation to japan in two weeks. I currently have a couple of cotis and figure thats as good as I will get for a finishing stone so I am looking for something to cover the needs of before the finishing stone .. if that makes any sense to you.

Looking at the naniwas but I know there are others out there.

any advice.

IMO, coticule gives a better and smoother finish than a naniwa 12K super stone, I own both and used both quite a bit. Coticules offer smoothness to their edges that is hard to find in any synthetic stone which is why so many people finish with a natural stone.

If you are trying to enhance your coticule edge and finish then I would recommend a thuringian stone. You can find the old ones on EBAY that are about a inch wide and four inches long. They are great stones, they usually are in a small wooden latch box. Escher stones are thuringians but they're expensive because of their bigger size and Brand name.

Cheers for that ,
but I knew I wasn't too clear when i asked the question.
I am not looking for stones after the coticule I am looking for stones to use before the coti . edge restro would finish with the coti.. sorry for my badly formed question.

thats why I am asking about the naniwas or these Ha no kuromaku stones which I cant seem to get my wife to find on japanese net.

Then the naniwa set would be just fine, I also recommend the humble norton 4/8k for honing and a dmt 1200 plate for bevels.

Cool so what grit would you suggest can only get two stones . and would the nani"s be on the same level as the Norton's or are they better? or is it subjective ?

My question is why would you need full compliment of stones for a vacation?
Isn't is easier to have a shave ready razor with you and a coticule to touch up if needed?
In two weeks you should not need anything but a strop and may be a CrO paddle or fabric.

Originally Posted by mainaman

My question is why would you need full compliment of stones for a vacation?
Isn't is easier to have a shave ready razor with you and a coticule to touch up if needed?
In two weeks you should not need anything but a strop and may be a CrO paddle or fabric.

Ha ha god no , not taking anything other then my barbers hone with.
its just that since I am in japan I want to buy some hones is all. I cant really afford to buy J-nats so synthetic seems the way to go. I am only looking for advice as to which to buy on this trip. ( I go about every three months )

Originally Posted by shayne

Ha ha god no , not taking anything other then my barbers hone with.
its just that since I am in japan I want to buy some hones is all. I cant really afford to buy J-nats so synthetic seems the way to go. I am only looking for advice as to which to buy on this trip. ( I go about every three months )

I see, well that is another story.
I would say naniwa set but I think you can get them here in US for about the same prices. SRD sells the thin naniwas which are cheaper and will slat you long long time.

Well I live in china so paying shipping charges gets a little steep at times.

so considering that I have a finishing stone already and am not going to buy that, on the lower grit level what would your suggestion be . two stones remember. from looking at the Japanese website http://search.rakuten.co.jp/search/m...A5%E7%9F%B3/-/ seems they have from 600 to 10,000 grit. I know anything lower then 1000 would destroy my razors so .. suggestions I really don't know the naniwa line up or how they are or how the nortons are for that matter. or if there is a difference I assume there is .

Originally Posted by shayne

Well I live in china so paying shipping charges gets a little steep at times.

so considering that I have a finishing stone already and am not going to buy that, on the lower grit level what would your suggestion be . two stones remember. from looking at the Japanese website ???????????? ????? - (??? ??????)????????????????? seems they have from 600 to 10,000 grit. I know anything lower then 1000 would destroy my razors so .. suggestions I really don't know the naniwa line up or how they are or how the nortons are for that matter. or if there is a difference I assume there is .

I see now that we know all that important information that was missing in the initial post, obviously buying from Japan is the best option. I still vote for nanaiwas.