Thread: J-nat & Coticule where to start.

It seams as if both of these stones have a following of there own. I have been at this str8 thing for about 2 mounths with good results. But it's getting time to touch up my razor. And would like to get into natural stones. I dont know where to start.Coticule or J-nat I know whear to buy a coticule but what is a good sit to buy a J-nat. How much do they differ from one another? I'm looking for a good stone to maintain my razor? I don't want to buy a lot of stones so witch one is more versitial? Thanks

Good question! For me, this is what I learned from this site. Got a Norton 4/8 combo and learned to hone on it with an old $25.00 razor that I bought from one of the members. I also got a stone to lap the Norton, to make sure it was perfectly flat. After a while I got a 12 K Chinese natural. I also learned how to use this stone by practicing with that old razor. This is the point I'm making, learn first how to hone, it is an art unique unto itself. Take lots of time to learn. See if you can find someone in your Atlanta area who could help you, maybe lend you the stones b/4 you comit to buying. Now I use my J-Nat (Shoubudani Aisa)with tomonaugra. All of this, for me, is a process. A small step after a small step. It is not a destination but a journey and I hope yopu have as much fun with your journey as I have had with mine.

There would be many different views on that around here

I have, and use, both, and must confess to preferring the various JNats I have.
That said, used correctly, both will work splendidly. That is if you get a good one.
These are all naturals, so they do not all perform equal.

As for versatility, I would say they are both usable for many aspects of honing. With a JNat, I would typically use Naguras and finish on a light TomoNagura slurry or water.

On my Coticule I will normally use a slurry which I would dilute and then finish on water only.

I do not use either for bevel-setting, although I'm sure it can be done, and that some do.

To sum up, if you get a good specimen for touching up a blade that is loosing the keenness, both will do you fine.

My favorite place for Japanese naturals is Japanesenaturalstones.com. It is run by an enthusiast, and member here.

Good luck with your choice

I'd get both if the money was not an object, for me my Jnats work much better than my 3 Coticules for getting the best edge possible.

I agree with all of the previous posters. The norton 4/8 is very good for all around sharpening and finishing IME. I like that as the foundation for a honing arsenal. The coticule is good for sharpening and finishing, depending on which one you end up with, but on average they are all good. The j-nat is also a 'depending on which one' situation and will produce a superior edge ..... IME. OTOH, the coticule is a nice edge too so getting both is a good way to go if the $ and the desire allow it.

No issues w/ what's posted - fine stuff. That's certainly no surprise.
What I'm wondering is what stones you have now? '...don't where to start - coticule or jnat'.
I'm w/ Jimmy - unless you already have and can get good shaves w/ a synthetic (norton or nani), either the coti or jnat can become a longer road than getting basics down with the synthetics, and then taking those basic skills to the naturals. Can you start w/ the others? Sure. But cementing good basic skills will be harder to get good feedback on - 'cause of the variation in the naturals. The number of people that can help with issues on Norton or Nani is HUGE. Help on the others is more difficult to convey, unless you use that person's stone. Here, you're needing someone's help that's used alot of stones of the type you're learning with. And they're trying to guide without knowledge of your stone's characteristics.
The excitement/romance of the natural can overwhelm the mundane road of cementing basic skills. Those skills will take you WAY further than any gucci rock.

As stated, if the money is not an object, get both. It's nice to experiment and try to find a balance between aggressiveness and smoothness.

I have no stones now. That is why I'm asking. I don't want to have a big stock pile of stone would like just one or two. I want a stone to get me to shave ready and or to maintain it. After seeing the price of the J-nat and coticule for that matter I definitely don't want to spend 70-80 on a 4/8 when I want to get to the naturals and have a maintanece stone. I'm I wrong thinking that way. For that matter Mabe I just need to start with a barber stone and drop some more money there. Or is that the place to start just seamed to me that if all these people where so crazy about these stone that hey are so good why wast time and money on anything els.

For what you want to do, a coticule, a japanese stone, a chinese stone, or a barber hone should be fine. Each of these has its own following so you'll have a tough time determining a "best" fit for you. It is my opinion that you don't need to develop your skills on another stone to be able to use any of these four proficiently. It may help, but I don't think it's vital. There are lots of videos on youtube as well as information here for you to use (regarding any of the four). If you don't want to spend the 70 bucks on a synthetic, don't do it. The perhaps bad news is that you'll need to personalize whatever you read/see to your particular stone, but I see that as more of a fun thing than a burden. Opinions vary. Also, you run the risk of getting a "dud" natural stone. I've never seen one of these but they exist. Buying from a reputable dealer can help to minimize this risk. Good luck!

I own both as well, and have been using the Coticule before the J-Nat to smooth out the 1k scratches a bit quicker. Only takes a few laps on moderate slurry, but requires much less work on the Botan nagura.
Big +1 on the Norton 4k/8k, another stone will simply be luxury.