Thread: OOzuku Asagi

Originally Posted by mainaman

Each mine can produce hard stones, however Oozuko and Shobudani seem to produce more hard stones than other mines.
I have tried a lot of Nakayamas and only one was close but still not as hard as my two hardest Oozukos.
I do not know why Nakayama is the most popular mine, may be the guys that live in Japan know something about that.

does hardness or softness of the stone has anything to do with quality of the edge they made?
Personally i can't find yet?

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

does hardness or softness of the stone has anything to do with quality of the edge they made?
Personally i can't find yet?

IME no difference as far as final result as long as the stone and the razor are compatible. For me most razors finish great on my hardest stones, bit there are some that finish better on softer stones. IMHO it depends on the steel, harder steels tend to like softer stones an softer steels tend to like harder stones.

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

does hardness or softness of the stone has anything to do with quality of the edge they made?
Personally i can't find yet?

Sham that's correct. Taken escher for example, escher stones are soft compared to other stones but they leave a very fine edge on a razor.


I just shaved with an edge off the oozuku and its the finest and smoothest edge I have used yet. It cuts effortlessly, like most honed razors, but on a whole different level.

Here's a link that some may find helpful. Japan Tool - Technique&Knowledge - Natural Stone Mines

Also, When it comes to the hardness of these stones, many of us are looking for something to use the Nagura on (I am). Nakayama, while a quality stone, is to soft. Shoubudani, and Oozuku are better suited for the job. Any of these stones will produce a fine edge on your blade on it's own, just like Coticule, Norton, Escher, Naniwa, Charnley, etc...
If you want to use Nagura, the host hone must be harder than the Nagura.

Funny you mention that--my Kiita (Nakayama, Maruichi) is quite hard & could probably work for nagura--definitely want to try it eventually for fun, although for day to day sharpening, I sort of prefer my Naniwas for getting the edge sharp, then going to naturals for finishing--much faster that way!

The stone actually looked like it had su in it--there were little spots the exact color of the slurry raised. Not sure if there were su or not, however. Since having to lap out 2 nasty inclusions (hard & black), the surface is much more uniform--the resulting edges, however leave much to be desired.

That being said, despite its hardness, I'm pretty sure there are stones finer than it & that's what I want to look into when the funds become available: something like an Oozuku asagi or Okudo suita (if I can afford the latter!) Something extremely sharp, but still smooth!

My Nakayama Kiita is very hard too but it doesn't leave an edge at fine for some reason...hmmmm

Originally Posted by Disburden

My Nakayama Kiita is very hard too but it doesn't leave an edge at fine for some reason...hmmmm

if you rub your nakayama on the oozuko do you get nakayama slurry?

Yeah, I just edited my post--worst shave I've ever gotten off that stone--not even 8K sharp, although it was smooth. Pulled & cut. I've tried it every which way after the lapping & still, the best I can get is maybe a 10K finish ( a little bit less fine than my barber's Thuringian)--it actually changed well before. I figured it was the inclusions, but apparently not. The slurry when it worked well was a deep orange color--now it's a yellowish white.

The bad thing is I paid a decent amount for it (compared to other stones its size) & the vendor is no longer in business, so I can't send it to him for testing. This has me worried that other stones might do the same thing, starting out good & upon moving to a different layer, having properties totally unsuited for finishing a razor.

The stone was a finisher at first (although probably not as fine as a good asagi or something like it) & now it's pretty useless for my purposes--abso--lutely infuriating.

so far this is what i have found.
Mostly German blades will not like Japanese stones.
i have not try new dovo etc just old ones.
Just experience.
i have great results using Escher on German Blades.
hope will save you some time when you stuck with the edge which doesn't get where you like.

This was a W&B that previously gave amazing edges off of this stone. I have a Sloingen blade that took a very nice edge off of it also. Probably the best was my barber's Randall Hall 6/8. Most blades used to give at least good edges off of it.

Really curious why that might be. You think the steel doesn't like the cutting action as much. IIRC, the Eschers have quartz as the abrasive & Jnats have slilca, but I could be wrong or have it backwards.