Thread: Shapton vs Naniwa

I have been looking to expand my hone inventory for a couple of weeks. Right now I only have a Norton 4k/8k and a Shapton 16k glass. I love my Shapton, and I do not really want to replace that. However, I am looking for a lower grit to set bevels, and to replace my Norton with higher quality hones. I am curious of peoples opinion of Shapton vs Naniwa. Price point between the two is not really an issue. I know I will like the Shapton but I have not experienced the Naniwa yet so I'm unsure as to how good they are.

I "think" that the Naniwa 1K may be a little more gentle on the spine, but other than that it's one of those preference things...I like the GS stones personally as it "seems" to take me less time to hone a razor with them.

I use shapton glass 220, 1x, 4x and 8x hones. I also have a naniwa ss 220, so my comparison is going to be a little limited.

Comparing the shapton 220 to the naniwa 220, the naniwa has better feedback, eats metal faster and works up a nice slurry. The only downside is that it wears faster than the shapton. The shapton 220 is a slower cutter and has no feedback, but it stays very flat.

The shapton 1x is okay. I can see it working, but I can't feel it; same goes for the 4x and 8x. When these wear out, I'm not going to buy new ones. From what I've read, naniwa chosera 1x, bester 1x and king neo 800 grit are fast cutters, relatively dish resistant and have good feedback.

I think, sigma, naniwa chosera, bester, king neo and kitayama offer more stone for the money compared with shapton.

I very seldom use a 220, only for chipped blades or those heavy old sheffields. They really eat some steel in a hurry. I've always taken the minimalist approach if at all possible.

I think the only advantage you would have staying with an all Shapton line up is that they are all relatively very hard stones to each other. This might make honing a bit faster being that the flater bevels will match up as you move up the grits.
Having said that it seems like many here like the softer edge provided by the softer stones.

There really is no "upgrading" from the Nortons. They are high quality hones that perform very well. I do prefer the Naniwas to the Nortons, but that is more a metter of feedback, but partly because they are a bit gentler on the razors.

For a 1k, I think the Norton is fantastic. The only one I like more is the Chosera. I find the Naniwa softer than I like, but I hone a lot. I haven't used the Shapton, so I can't comment on that. I really don't go under 1k much.

Don't replace the norton it is an awesome stone! If you want just get a bevel setting, either a naniwa SS 1K or a Shapton 1K and see how you like them.

I can imagine using my Norton until it wears to nothing...

I should clarify to those who tihnk I am 'throwing away' my Norton. I have no intention to let it fall into disuse. I sharpen my kitchen knives at home as well, and simply want two different sets of hones for each. Being that I really like my Shapton and there is no need to take a kitchen knife to that degree (in my humble opinion) I wanted to dedicate my Norton to my kitchen knives.
I don't want to say it's a bad stone, in fact I really like it. It's just that I have heard that the Naniwa and Shapton are better, and I tend to want to upgrade the stones for my razors.

Originally Posted by Kingfish

I think the only advantage you would have staying with an all Shapton line up is that they are all relatively very hard stones to each other. This might make honing a bit faster being that the flater bevels will match up as you move up the grits.
Having said that it seems like many here like the softer edge provided by the softer stones.

What do you mean by softer edge?

Originally Posted by 8BallAce

What do you mean by softer edge?

Softer stone conform more to bevel shape as they give. Shaptons are relatively very hard and produce very flat bevel shape, and for some harsher finish.