Thread: J-Nat club

By the way, what do guys recommend when I want the sharpest edge as possible (because of my heavy beard).

• Diluting the slurry a couple of times and then strop?
• Diluting the slurry a couple of times and then finish on only water on the stone, and then strop?

I like to finish on water. I think it's not about sharp, but more about comfortable.

Originally Posted by coachmike

I like to finish on water. I think it's not about sharp, but more about comfortable.

Thanks for your input

I have a very heavy and coarse beard, so to get a comfortable shave I need the sharpest edge possible. The best edges I get is from a full synthetic progression(1k,3k,5k,8k,12k,20k) and then stropping on 0.10 micron diamond paste (160000 grit)

With DE shaving I only use Feather blades, the sharpest blades out there.

What grind razor are you using?

Originally Posted by coachmike

What grind razor are you using?

Mostly near-wedge and 1/4 hollow.

I finish with or without water depending on the stone and i don't dilute anything.

#For me it is about how much work can you do without doing too much..which also relates to slurry thickness.

Every stone is different. A softer kiita will give me the same skin comfort finishing on water as a very hard Jnat on slurry.

You just have to try and see what works the best for your beard/skin/razor.

So I went off the Jnat deep end recently....

Left to right: Aiiwatani (L5), unknown JNS tomo nagura, Nakayama Tomae (L4), Shohonyama Nakayama (L4), and Shobudani tomo nagura.

As discussed in another thread, the Aiiwatani and the unknown but huge tomo just arrived from JNS, and I will be sealing them with urushi very soon.

The one I've had the longest is the Nakayama Tomae, but only since mid-May, so I'm still getting to know it. I've recently been getting good shaves off of it, but nothing spectacular yet. However, I used this stone the last time I refreshed my chef's knife, and the results were simply spectacular.

The Shohonyama Nakayama was a cheap local find. It was unsealed, but glued to a wood base. Lapping it revealed a crack down almost the entire length of the stone (possibly why it was so cheap), but I can't feel it with my fingertips. I just finished sealing it with nail polish, but haven't used it yet. You can't see in the photo, but it's an odd shape, and I might remove the nail polish and seal it properly with urushi to make sure it doesn't fall apart. I'll test it out first, to make sure it's worth the effort. I kind of want to take it off the wooden base, but I haven't looked into how to do that yet.

The tomo at the right just arrived, I ordered it 3 months ago from an eBay seller in Japan (I was warned shipping would be slow, so it's ok). I find it odd (maybe suspicious) that the tomo is sealed, but the stamps are on the unsealed surface. Anyways, we'll see how it performs.

I think I have some honing in my future....

Originally Posted by joelkerr

The one I've had the longest is the Nakayama Tomae, but only since mid-May, so I'm still getting to know it. I've recently been getting good shaves off of it, but nothing spectacular yet. However, I used this stone the last time I refreshed my chef's knife, and the results were simply spectacular.

That can often be the case. Generally speaking, a good knife stone isn't always a good razor stone & vice versa. Depending on its quality the other Nakayama could be a better razor stone but time will tell.

Originally Posted by joelkerr

The Shohonyama Nakayama was a cheap local find. It was unsealed, but glued to a wood base. Lapping it revealed a crack down almost the entire length of the stone (possibly why it was so cheap), but I can't feel it with my fingertips. I just finished sealing it with nail polish, but haven't used it yet. You can't see in the photo, but it's an odd shape, and I might remove the nail polish and seal it properly with urushi to make sure it doesn't fall apart. I'll test it out first, to make sure it's worth the effort. I kind of want to take it off the wooden base, but I haven't looked into how to do that yet.

I purchased an Oozuku that had a hairline crack running roughly perpendicular lengthwise across 3/4 of the honing surface, and which penetrated fairly deep into the stone. It was not immediately visible, but I could feel it when honing, and upon exposure to water it revealed itself.



The seller sent me a replacement stone, but let me keep the original cracked stone. I repaired the crack with CA (crazy) glue, letting it seep into the crack, and sealed the sides so water wouldn't penetrate into the crack from the sides. The stone is still a high performer...

Long story short, before you break up the Nakayama, there are ways to repair hairline cracks.