Thread: Koma Nagura worth the money?

I see most going for atleast 3 times a

Tenjou or Mejiro. Trying to form this not in a "is this a good deal", is a Koma Nagura worth looking into over and Tenjou or Mejiro for finishing? Or can I do everything I need (sharpening traditional and kamisori razors) with the Tenjou or Mejiro?

Thanks!

Most razors can be finished on most Mejiro with excellent results going to Tomo afterward. IMO, Koma does add a marked level of refinement to most edges making them, again, IMO, worth the +/- $10g price, this is subjective, of course. I don't think you'd be looking at Koma over Mejiro or Tenyjou, they all bring something different to the table and have different functions.

I wouldn't care too much about getting a Koma, it sure would be fun to have but I don't feel it's necessary.
In my honing or straight razors and kamisoris on Jnats I want to remove all scratches from the previous step, ALL of them.
That done there isn't much a Koma could matter for my shaving since the last step with the tomo would have erased everything the Koma could have done.
It would fill the gap between the Mejiro and the Tomo, but that's a small gap anyway.

So pretty much tomo is really where you want to finish?

IMO, that would depend on the razor, it could be "there" at Mejiro or Koma and ready for stropping. I personally don't hone by numbers or set progressions, I let the razor guide me where to go or stop.

Asano Mikawa Nagura progression is just one way to get there.
Some like to use a Diamond Nagura, then they get a quite course slurry, way courser than Koma, and they let it break down.
You can also use a piece of almost any other Jnat as nagura, I like to use some soft Ohira, it's fast and nice.

Ok,

I am just learning to use my jnat for kamisori's. It is a Nakayama. It has the exact same marking as this FINAL PRICE DROP *RARE* Nakayama Maruichi Brand Asagi for razors with Kamisori Kanji - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

It did not come with a tomo nagura? Is it safe to assume it is in my best interest to get a nakayama tomo nagura? (coticules where so much easier lol)

Thanks!

Originally Posted by suits123

Ok,

I am just learning to use my jnat for kamisori's. It is a Nakayama. It has the exact same marking as this FINAL PRICE DROP *RARE* Nakayama Maruichi Brand Asagi for razors with Kamisori Kanji - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

It did not come with a tomo nagura? Is it safe to assume it is in my best interest to get a nakayama tomo nagura? (coticules where so much easier lol)

Thanks!

Any tomo that works on your hone will be fine, doesn't have to be Nakayama at all, you can use many different tomos, they will all give you different results.

Originally Posted by suits123

I see most going for atleast 3 times a

Tenjou or Mejiro. Trying to form this not in a "is this a good deal", is a Koma Nagura worth looking into over and Tenjou or Mejiro for finishing? Or can I do everything I need (sharpening traditional and kamisori razors) with the Tenjou or Mejiro?

Thanks!

In general no, they vary in quality as any other Jnat so you may have to go trough a few till you find one that you like. Therein lies the issue, they are rare (the Asano stamped ones) and expensive. Koma is so famous because it is used a lot in sword polishing and the reason for that is the speed it offers, nothing more. You can get the same results with Mejiro nagura.

My experience with Japanese natural hones and Nagura stones is very limited, however I can't see needing anything in between a Mejiro and Tomo... at least for the razors that I've honed thus far.