Thread: J-Nat club

Nothing can be determined from those pics. Either you trust the seller or you don't.

Originally Posted by JOB15

hmmm..
can I get more opinions guys plz

I was told that there was a faint Maruka stamp on the side but from the pictures I cant see anything apart from this mark on the end..
Cheers ..Joe

You said the stone was performing for you right? That is what matters, stamps do not hone razors, hones do. Enjoy it.

I do trust the seller. He has proven to be honest and very knowledgeable .

What I was thinking and maybe im way off the mark here.

This looks to me to be an old stone because of the way it was cut on the underside.
Yet the top stamps looked so fresh. Maybe the original stamps were worn away mostly and then the new owners of the mine re stamped the top at a latter date.

The thing that puzzles me about the stamp or ink on the front is that how could that be a Maruka stamp when the Maruka sign is like 4 symbols long and my ink is on a part of the stone only capable of holding one symbol, size wise?

At the end of the day, if we didn't question things then we wouldn't be human and we would never have gone to the moon , allegedly

It is not as complicated as it seems. There's generic Thuringians and Eschers. If you have an Escher you know you have a good Thuringian. If you have a generic one you may have a very good one but you may have a bad one.
When it comes to stamps etc. on Japanese naturals: a stamp means it is an approved quality stone (unless it is a forged stamp), but not necessarily a razor hone. Japanese naturals were used for sharpening all sorts of tools. Someone knowledgeable will be able to tell you whether a certain stone you are eyeing is suitable for what you want to use it for. Or you have to find out yourself. Stones with all the right stamps cost more than ones without.

Originally Posted by prodigy

Ok I ended up putting 5 coats of shellac. I want to preserve what is left of the fading ink stamp. This stone is very dense. I can't wait to do a real testing session.
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One thing I have noticed about the stamp on the fourth picture, is that it reads maruka shou-hon-yama from left to right. Other Maruka stamp I have seen being sold as legitimate, reads from right to left if you place the hone face up. Also, other Maruka stamps(that in my opinion are fake), tend to have straighter kanji? While legitimate maruka stamped toishi looks kinda curvy. Anyone else notice this?

Originally Posted by cenc

One thing I have noticed about the stamp on the fourth picture, is that it reads maruka shou-hon-yama from left to right. Other Maruka stamp I have seen being sold as legitimate, reads from right to left if you place the hone face up. Also, other Maruka stamps(that in my opinion are fake), tend to have straighter kanji? While legitimate maruka stamped toishi looks kinda curvy. Anyone else notice this?

In those pictures it's hard to read due to the glare, but good eye. I took this on before coating it. It does appear that the maruka circle is on the opposite side of what I'm used to seeing. For the quality of this stone, and the price I paid, I could honestly care less if the stamp is false. It's an heirloom stone that will remain in my possession until the day I die.

Here's the original ad. The seller found it in an estate sale and didn't know what it was.
http://m.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Natur...app-cvip-panel
If that link doesn't work, here's the ID number. 371756377963

Here are my 2 Shoubudani's. First with the ruler is a Shoubudani Karasu Lv5 with the ruler and the second is a new addition a Shoubudani Asagi Lv5+ with Asano Nagua set. I am just starting to figure out how to use these after 12 months of experimenting. I am a believer when it comes to using natural stones.

Some new additions on their way.

Originally Posted by JOB15

This looks to me to be an old stone because of the way it was cut on the underside.
Yet the top stamps looked so fresh. Maybe the original stamps were worn away mostly and then the new owners of the mine re stamped the top at a latter date.

Kato-San sold out in the mid-1960s and Nakayama also closed in the late 1960s IIRC. There are no new owners of the mine. It was mined to the water level and below according to Alex. If a stone has fresh stamps, I doubt it is an original maruka. There's no reason someone would obliterate an original maruka stamp and re-stamp it. No stamp is worth more.

However, a stone can indeed be old mined stock and have fresh stamps. There's a lot of material still in storage in 'storage lockers' which are essentially pole barns as far as I can tell. There is still material coming out of the pole barns of all different ages. Hatanaka-San also had access to a lot of good 'ore' which I believe, is not used up though the mines are long closed.

Cheers, Steve

Originally Posted by prodigy

Some new additions on their way.

Lol, I have 7 on the way. 3 bench or a little smaller and 4 barber size. You may have some nice stones there Kyle.

Cheers, Steve