Any experiences with these Jnats from aframestokyo?

I have just ordered this small whetstone from Aframestokyo, has anyone else tried one of these stones? If so I am interested in hearing some feedback.
Nakayama Honyama Natural Whetstone 439.6g (15.7oz. )
I have been wanting to try a Japanese natural hone for a while now, and at this price how could I say no? I've read positive reviews of the stones from this site, so I have high hopes. I am hoping for a good finishing stone, but if it ends up not being a good finisher I could possibly use it for my woodworking blades.
Also a couple questions:
- I did not order a nagura stone, will raising a slurry by diamond plate be sufficient?
- Since the stone is thin, should I mount it to a block or wood with epoxy? Gorilla Glue? Any other suggestions.

Thanks in advance for the wisdom shared here.

I got a very nice kiita from a member here who got it from him. I guess there is always a bit of luck involved when buying a stone that has not had much expertise evaluation.
As far as mounting, I have mounted various stones artificial and natural on slate using epoxie and never had one fail. If you use clear epoxie, you can color it with earth pigments for asthetics.
You can definately use diamond nagura to increase cutting power. Nagura usage is a whole new game and not exactly cheap.

I suggest you get a stone from a trusted seller.

Japanese stones are overpriced, for 60$ I don't think the stone will be as good as you think. For someone who sells stones, and he has pieces with the same dimensions as this with 500$, means he knows which one is a hard-fine-fast one and which one isn't. I don't think you found the seller with the exceptional pieces with very low prices. I don't question the reliability of the seller, I'm just stating the obvious.

Hello Matt,

Vasilis is right - you probably get what you pay for. He has stones priced at 1,760 dollars so he obviously knows what he is doing. I have had dealings with him several times - not only is he an experienced seller who knows what he is doing, but he is a very nice chap too. You can ask him any questions and he will do his best to help.

Regards,
Neil

I had several stones from this this gentleman namedTakeshi. In fact, I own lots of jnats from various sellers like Alex, Maxim, So, 330mate and Morihei and I can tell definitely tell you that I've got some of my best stones from him! He never claims himself as an expert about jnats anyways, and he says that he is more liked tuned to knives since he is a chef himself. He's been very decent, very honest and a humble seller to me so far... That's been my experience with him and thanks for that Mr. Takeshi Aoki!!

I've purchase two stones there, both were exceptional, but I know what to look for... that's the trick with aframestokyo.com

You know, All natural stones are a crapshoot imho. All you can do, is give it a go, and see how it does.
Like the other's mentioned, you get what you pay for, and that was very low priced for a Japanese Natural.
Sicne it has no tomonagura, or slurry stone, you can raise a slurry with a diamond plate, atoma, or even sandpaper.

You can absolutely mount it to a base if you like. I'd use some type of epoxy, something with some substance to it. If it's small enough for hand held honing, you may want to consider that. That's how I use my 7x1.5 Escher, and smaller hones.

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Originally Posted by nerve

I had several stones from this this gentleman namedTakeshi. In fact, I own lots of jnats from various sellers like Alex, Maxim, So, 330mate and Morihei and I can tell definitely tell you that I've got some of my best stones from him! He never claims himself as an expert about jnats anyways, and he says that he is more liked tuned to knives since he is a chef himself. He's been very decent, very honest and a humble seller to me so far... That's been my experience with him and thanks for that Mr. Takeshi Aoki!!

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I agree. I got a nice hone from him. He's a good guy.

Thanks for all of the comments.
To explain a little further my purchase, I am not expecting a $50 stone to necessarily perform like a very expensive on, or one that has been performance tested (thought this stone at least has a general grit/use rating). I have enough hones to get my razors shave ready to my liking, but I have been honing a lot recently and am just looking for something new to experiment with that I can afford right now. I know many Japanese naturals can get very high in price, so I figured for this price I can get something pretty cheap to play with, and will have a rough grit rating and multiple photos of it unlike the cheap Nakayamas from 330mate on ebay for example.
Once I get the stone an try it out I will post an update on what I think.

I can't see how anyone here can tell you any more about the stone you bought than the information you already have from the ad.

"Nakayama Honyama Natural Whetstone 439.6g (15.7oz. ) 137mm X 83mm X 13-17mm #6000 to #10000 or higher grit for fine finishing razor blade or high carbon small blade"

It is a razor sized stone from Nakayama in a grit range that most Jnat buffs here would rate as a pre-finisher.
Will it work as a finisher for you? That may depend on the stone you use prior to it but you will have to try it to find out. You may need to drop 1 or 2 of your synthetics from the progression so the slurry has a chance to break down to it's finest potential but for the price, I'd say you got what you wanted, an entry into the world of Jnats. The pre-sale price was much higher. I think it'll be quite ok.

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

I can't see how anyone here can tell you any more about the stone you bought than the information you already have from the ad.

"Nakayama Honyama Natural Whetstone 439.6g (15.7oz. ) 137mm X 83mm X 13-17mm #6000 to #10000 or higher grit for fine finishing razor blade or high carbon small blade"

It is a razor sized stone from Nakayama in a grit range that most Jnat buffs here would rate as a pre-finisher.
Will it work as a finisher for you? That may depend on the stone you use prior to it but you will have to try it to find out. You may need to drop 1 or 2 of your synthetics from the progression so the slurry has a chance to break down to it's finest potential but for the price, I'd say you got what you wanted, an entry into the world of Jnats. The pre-sale price was much higher. I think it'll be quite ok.

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One thing to note about Takeshi's site: He just makes those "pre-sale" prices up. There is no sale, he always does that. He also puts the same grit rating for every finishing stone (6000-10000). Just one of his quirks. Another of his quirks is, he doesn't actually seem to know much about razors or razor stones, I think the increased attention he was getting from razor users the last couple of years drove him to source razors in Japan, and sell more hones. He also has been known to sell Sazare/330mate stones, so watch the stamps.

I like Takeshi, he's a friendly and helpful guy, but just be aware of his limitations as a razor hone source.

In regards to this hone, it looks very much to me like it has been dropped and it split in half. You'll have to lap it a lot, I think. No reflection on the quality of the hone, just what it looks like to me.

It also looks to me like the surface is rough very rough. In it's current state not suitable as a hone unless it's the lighting.

However I like his high end chopsticks.

MattW..........

My experience is that Jnats are like women. There are some very good ones out there and then there are some that just don't fulfill your needs.

I have tried eleven stones and only two have suited me so far. Make it your life's mission to find a good one.

Jerry

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Originally Posted by mrsell63

My experience is that Jnats are like women. Make it your life's mission to find a good one.

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And be prepared to spend more than $50 in both quests :p