Thread: the best synthetic finnishing stone

sounds fair enough, Jimmy. Thanks for the response

I like the Naniwa 12k SS myself. It's my go to syn finisher. I prefer naturals, ie. Escher, Nakayama, Shoududani, etc.. I have a Shapton glass 16k that I rarely use. I personally don't like the edge imparted by the Shapton GS's, but that's me. I never bought the 30k, because I heard more bad than good. Shapton is an expensive synthetic hone. I'd rather spend my money on Diamond paste, it's a lot cheaper, and will give you a wicked sharp edge after your 12k. YMMV

thanks gents for all of the replys i love to hear others opinion's i have a few finnisher's on hand a ark translucent a shapton glass 16k stone a nakayama a thuringian a coti and a c-12 the shapton 16k gives me a harsh shave i think i'll try to soften the edge with crox i think i'll acquire a Escher next thanks gents

Glad to see all the love for the Naniwa 12K. Finally broke down and got mine from SRD yesterday. I've got a couple of razors that just don't respond to my arsenal of naturals (3 Nakayamas, couple of Thurris, multiple cotis, 12K). Hoping a synthetic will break the backs of those bad boys.

Originally Posted by pcb01

Glad to see all the love for the Naniwa 12K. Finally broke down and got mine from SRD yesterday. I've got a couple of razors that just don't respond to my arsenal of naturals (3 Nakayamas, couple of Thurris, multiple cotis, 12K). Hoping a synthetic will break the backs of those bad boys.

You also can reverse engineer with that set up, myself I switch to a natural finisher at the 8k synthetic level, but you can also go to the 12k Naniwa then do a natural finish after that... lots of ways to play...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

You also can reverse engineer with that set up, myself I switch to a natural finisher at the 8k synthetic level, but you can also go to the 12k Naniwa then do a natural finish after that... lots of ways to play...

Since I never had a synthetic finer than 8K, I always followed your way described above -- switched to a natural after the 8K for final finish. But some blades don't get right for me with that strategy -- frequently these are SS blades. My theory is that, while naturals are best for most edges, maybe there are a few that will respond better to a synthetic (again, maybe the SS?) So the Naniwa 12K is my latest experiment to see if this might be correct.

BTW, this thinking is a corollary to your belief that certain razors love certain kinds of finishers. (I know you don't necessarily hold that SS is best finished on synthetics, though. Just trying to work it out for myself.)

Originally Posted by pcb01

Since I never had a synthetic finer than 8K, I always followed your way described above -- switched to a natural after the 8K for final finish. But some blades don't get right for me with that strategy -- frequently these are SS blades. My theory is that, while naturals are best for most edges, maybe there are a few that will respond better to a synthetic (again, maybe the SS?) So the Naniwa 12K is my latest experiment to see if this might be correct.

BTW, this thinking is a corollary to your belief that certain razors love certain kinds of finishers. (I know you don't necessarily hold that SS is best finished on synthetics, though. Just trying to work it out for myself.)

Let us know how it works, at those levels of polishing sometimes it does come down to the touch, the razor, and the stone... So what works for me, might just need a slight tweak to give you the best feel...
I prescribe to the theory that you are shave ready at the 8k or equivalent level, and after that is all just polishing and FUN !!!!

I noticed no one had mentioned the Spyderco UF. Does the lapping scare everyone away from this stone, or does it just not measure up to the Shapton's and Naniwa's?

It is the only synthetic finisher I have, but now that I have the UF lapped I'm getting some decent results. I'm just hoping that its worth while after all the time I put into flattening it.

i have a spyderco uf too i just havent gotten around to flatten it

Originally Posted by eleblu05

i have a spyderco uf too i just havent gotten around to flatten it

Just remember to wash the slurry/gratings off very often. I cut my lapping time in a third when I started to wash off the stones every 30 or 60 seconds. The first side I did under running water, and the second I just did wet, but with constant rinsing and it went MUCH faster. Basically, if I could see slurry I washed everything away. This is probably old news for the experienced guys here, but it made such a big difference I still thought it best to pass on.