Thread: Just got a JNat today - any feedback or info?

No, thank you Alx. The link I posted I sourced from your site which I consider a primary source of information on Japanese natural stones. Thank you for the information on this thread as well, very useful,

Originally Posted by Bayamontate

No, thank you Alx. The link I posted I sourced from your site which I consider a primary source of information on Japanese natural stones. Thank you for the information on this thread as well, very useful,

You are very welcome, and I hope you get a chance to read my somewhat controversial blog everyonce in a while. Alx

As always Alex, thanks for sharing your knowledge and work expertise with us. I not only enjoy your blog I enjoy gazing at the amazing stones in your online inventory.

Originally Posted by alx

Bayamonte

The kiita stone that Stefan mentioned at $5,000 is not a new thing in Japan. But I can assure you that there are no Ohira kiita at that price, or Ozaki kiita or Ozuko kiita or Shobudani kiita at that price. Why?
First lets assume that the miners and wholesalers and the collectors and the carpenters who can build a house using only joints and were born and raised in Japan and can speak Japanese, might know a little bit more about stones then us here in the U.S.. Why? The reason is because by the experts the Nakayama stones have alwasy been regarded to be superior to the other mines. It is no mystery that some mine has to have better stones, and the experts in Japan have recognized that for hundreds of years. Just like Ferreri's are faster than Fords. Sure there are a handful of Fords that can compete but as a whole the Nakayama stones have always been better and it is just a fact of geology and geography.

Back to the stamps. Hatanaka-san is trying to maintain his copyrights, but there are no owners of Shobudani or Ozaki or copyrights to defend, so there will be some stones that are stamped Ozuko that are not really Ozuko stones. They could just as easily be stamped Tommy's stone. Ozuku is not a mine or a place now, just a name of a memory. Any plain gray stone on all 6 sides is just that, a plain gray stone. If that stone has some kawa skin on one side or the back it can be traced to a particular mine with some accuracy. Ozuko is trendy now and ripe for false statements or stamps, but if it is just a hard gray stone its no big deal at $150-$500 a pop. When a stone goes over $1000 it should have some kawa to deciphor or of a particular strata that is easily recognizable like the strikingly lovely renge from Ohira, the diagonal grain of Mizukihara or the before mentioned kiita of Nakayama.

Rarity is important in Japan but in the trades quality is king, every mine in the Atago area has kiita and renge layers, but some mines stand out above all others for particular strata. I can assure you that Nakayama has level 5+++ stones, it is just that in Japan those 5+++ stones are not well thought of, too hard-too scratchy-too slow. With a diamond nagura they can be used, or with Aichi nagura they make a great platform to sharpen with your expensive nagura grit but the stones provide very little action with just clear water. All the mines in Japan produced very hard gray stones and most of it has never been sold and now are in storage or were crushed into abrasive powder for polishing lenses and such.


Alx

Sorry but that is quite big misinformation there !!

there is many Ozuku kiita Shoubu Kiitas at 5000 USD and even more !
I Personally seen some other then Nakayama stones was sold at much more then Nakayama

For the gray stones also, believe me i have seen Gray stones sell for more then yellow stones. So it is not as simple as you describe !

Level 5+++ stones is charged by some that knows Jnats, for beginners in japan or newbes yes they cherish more lv 3 stones, Different stones for different tasks !
Why so Nakayama Kiitas Lv 5+++ almost 150 % more expensive then softer Kiitas

For the kava all recommend to lap it down stones over 1k USD and up usually come with skin gone or laped down !!!!!
No one in Japan can recognize stones by skin or Kawa that is quite of the biggest lie i ever have heard !
Even some of the biggest stone collectors in japan i have asked and all miners include Ohira miner told me its no way to tell !!!
You can only tell by testing the stone! Only couple of people in japan can do that !

Again a lot of misinformation and confusion

Originally Posted by alx

You are very welcome, and I hope you get a chance to read my somewhat controversial blog everyonce in a while. Alx

All the time, my pleasure.

LOL if you know what those stamps mean then you will not be so curious
To much information may confuse you even more

We can get into what the stamps mean later, that would be useful information, but you'd figure that a professional Japanese barber would lap the stone before he used it, therefore removing the stamps.

It is stamped after he have used it by someone els.
Only thing it say that it is Jnat and its for razors

And BTW did you not read my copyright at the button of my page ?
Maybe i wrong here but it is quite offensive to copy something without even asking

My apologies, OK, it was stamped afterward, it is a beautiful stone.

Originally Posted by maxim207

And BTW did you not read my copyright at the button of my page ?
Maybe I wrong here but it is quite offensive to copy something without even asking

Actually his use of the screenshot is not a copyright violation.