Thread: Okudo Karasu

Thank you very much for your help. I got the stone on Ebay, from 330 Mate, I know is a gamble with this seller, but I was thinking at 70$ can't go wrong. I just want to make the stone as rectangle as posible. It is 7x 2 1/2, almost ideal for razors.Is Karasu a good stone?

I saw that Thuringian you won on Ebay the other day too...How's that working out for you? It looked like a nice stone, you'll probably enjoy the edges off the Thruy.

Jnat's can be finiky. Atoma is good in lieu of Tomo Nagura.

I guess HAD has kicked in.....

The Karasu is more of a collectors thing, if it's good or not only you can tell.
I've tried a few of 330 mates stones now and can't find anything wrong with them, would like to try one of the stones that has been described as crap and see.

I've found the same as Jimbo said about some jnats can give you an edge that won't be HHT but strop it and see, the shave is the only certain test.

You can do some tests on the stone, like use water only and an old blade to see if the stone will scratch or self slurry.

When it comes to tomo nagura I and others have found that exactly the same stone is not always good to use.
The only way to know what works is trial and error.

Good luck!

HAD and RAD are terrible disease, I get both.

How many passes you do on a Jnat. I know is not an easy answer, but on a shave ready 12K I go 50 laps on water on my Hohenzollern , just to get where I like the edge.

Originally Posted by livio

How many passes you do on a Jnat. I know is not an easy answer, but on a shave ready 12K I go 50 laps on water on my Hohenzollern , just to get where I like the edge.

Well, how long is a string?
I never count strokes so I don't know.
It depends on so much, the stone, the steel, your style of honing and how you want the edge.
Get some razors and practice, it takes some time to learn a new jnat.
Try different ways to hone, the Japanese way is with more weight on the hone than the feather light strokes some do on the Eschers.

Thank you, I will hone couple razors, and let you know.

Interesting to see this thread as I just bought an Okudo Karasu from 330mate. Mine looks very similar to yours, despite it being misshapen...I have not had a chance to use the stone as of yet, but it seems to be a nice stone...

Nice stone, I think was from same strata. How big is yours? I consider cutting mine and make it more like a coticule 7x2

Thank you, where I can buy a Atoma card?