Thread: Chosera 1k: First try

MVCrash (Jeff) was nice enough to let me borrow his chosera 1k to try out today. We hung out for a bit and he left the stone here. As soon as he left I just had to try it.

I picked out a Joseph Rodgers razor, a short blade which was most likely cut down at some point, that I had never shaved with. I suspected the bevel of not being fully set and some quick testing confirmed that.

I gave the chosera a few minutes under running water to soak it. After only a 3-5 minutes the stone was not drinking water and was ready to hone on. Then I did some slow, controlled x-strokes. After a short time the blade was undercutting a nice wave of water and felt like it was really taking hold on the stone.

The blade was now cutting arm hair effortlessly. I tried the magic marker test, and that showed a nice complete bevel. The chosera also left a pretty good matte, almost hazy polish from toe to heel.

I usually use the Norton 1k to set bevels. I will say that this stone compares very well to that. The chosera was at least as fast as the norton while feeling a lot smoother. The norton has a soft, gritty feel, but the chosera was smooth and had excellent feedback. I also loved the polish this left, which was almost a little hazy looking.

Overall I was very impressed by the Chosera. I'm seriously thinking of getting one for myself now.

Michael

I thought the naniwa stones were meant to be used with a splash of water and don't need to be soaked?

I wonder if that makes a difference to the feel of the stone? I haven't honed anything myself and have yet to complete a full shave. I can see I'm goin to want to at some point and this forum's brilliant for info.

Its speed of the cut & responsiveness of the feel. What more could you hope for in a bevel setter?
There worth every penny. And they do cost alot of pennys.

Originally Posted by Duckcm18

I thought the naniwa stones were meant to be used with a splash of water and don't need to be soaked?

I wonder if that makes a difference to the feel of the stone? I haven't honed anything myself and have yet to complete a full shave. I can see I'm goin to want to at some point and this forum's brilliant for info.

In my limited experience the Naniwa stones will drink a little bit of water at first. This is also true for the norton 8k which is also a "splash and go" stone. After they stop "drinking", they keep water on top of the stone. Very different from the norton 1k which needs a spray bottle to keep it wet since water just drips through it.

Michael

I just got my chosera 1k and the place i got it from recommended NOT soaking the stone. It's apparently more prone to breaking down when soaked compared to the naniwa ss.

I've had great luck with just keeping the surface wet and find no reason to soak it any further.

The bevel I achieved from the 1k was exactly as described and I feel it was better than the naniwa ss 1k. Just my opinion.

I really don't like the response when honing on the 4k side of my norton. I have been meaning to try out the Naniwa stones. How do they compare? Does it need to be lapped tremendously like the norton before it starts to feel smooth? Even after lapping my 4k norton numerous times, it still feels gritty.

Originally Posted by Badgister

I really don't like the response when honing on the 4k side of my norton. I have been meaning to try out the Naniwa stones. How do they compare? Does it need to be lapped tremendously like the norton before it starts to feel smooth? Even after lapping my 4k norton numerous times, it still feels gritty.

did you lap your 4k norton well? It has ~1/8" gritty full with holes texture, but after a good lapping it becomes rather smooth

I guess I will have to really get that 1/8 of an inch of the stone. What grit sandpaper do you recommend? Or is a lapping plate better?

Originally Posted by Badgister

I guess I will have to really get that 1/8 of an inch of the stone. What grit sandpaper do you recommend? Or is a lapping plate better?

400 grit sand paper should be fine, I use #140 Atoma then well used 325 DMT.

I bought my Chosera 1k from Chef's Knives To Go. At that time instructions that came with the hone said a 15 minute soak. In this thread here Seth says that in Japanese the box says 40 minutes but he has been just misting. I'm doing the 15 minutes and it is working well. Read the whole thread for best results.