Thread: Finisher after the Naniwa 12k

Hey guys, for those of us who use naniwa 12k stone, what do you do to a razor afterwards? It'd be interesting to see the replies and then make a survey.

i, for example just strop the razor and shave with it. Usually shaves great! Some people do stripping on a diamond pasted strop some go for even finer grit.

what do you do?

I have a naniwa 12 but I find 1 micron lapping film finishes better (on a granite surface plate,)then .3 micron film then crox on linen. 50 on leather. I have used .25 dia spray on felt hanging and paddle and on balsa. I'm not saying not to use the 12 k, I just prefer the film.YMMV.

Most of my blades are the Naniwa 12k, strop linen/leather and go.
A few of my wedges I hit 5-7 passes on a paddle with CrOx, then linen, leather and go.

Razors do shave great after the Nani 12k and some good stropping. Generally now! On blades with particularly hard steel I go 5 laps on balsa with .25 diamond, 20 on Croox on suspended balsa after the 12k followed by the leather.
On old English or German blades, I go a bit on 12k and a lot of Escher blue/green followed by croox and stropped good.
Most 20th century blades respond perfectly with the 12k and stropping alone. It gets so you can tell what is required as one passes the 4k range. They all are, of course, all different!
Until you have honed all types several times, You won't see. Sticking to your favorite type of razor (grind/size) will bring you closer to success quickly instead of dealing with the other, many variations.
JMO

My blades off the 12k Nani get 5-6 passes on croox, and then a decent amount of stropping. more then my normal stropping routine. My last razor I honed, a big 15/16's Wostenholm, with my normal progression was weird. the blade left a lot of swarf on every stone I used, including the 12k Nani. Almost like I was taking charcoal and drawing lines one my stones. Usually If this happens on my 8k I jump back to my 4k but the results were the same over and over again. When I got to my Nani 12k it was still doing the same. The steel seemed very soft. I finished it my usual way anyways, and the edge turned out to be really nice. Unlike my J.R. Torrey thats super hard and I didn't even see any swarf when honing. Just goes to show how different razors react differently to the hones. I do love the edges I get off my 12k Nani!!!

It's all about what you have experienced. The Naniwa 12K produces a very sturdy, shavable and smooth edge. If you stopped there you would be at a very fine place. There are some things (both nostalgic naturals or the non-nostalgic mediums) out there that can improve it further but they will in my experience only improve the edge slightly. But that 'slightly' sure is a lot of fun for a lot of us here.

I usually go from the Naniwa 12k to a strop made of pvc-covered fabric which works very well for taking the harshness off an edge, then my normal linen/leather strop. Recently I've been experimenting with crox on balsa before the pvc strop, but I haven't noticed it making any difference.

Pasted strops feel the same to me. Except .25 spray on balsa and .1cbn on nano cloth. 1st time this am on the nano cloth.

Originally Posted by 1holegrouper

It's all about what you have experienced. The Naniwa 12K produces a very sturdy, shavable and smooth edge. If you stopped there you would be at a very fine place. There are some things (both nostalgic naturals or the non-nostalgic mediums) out there that can improve it further but they will in my experience only improve the edge slightly. But that 'slightly' sure is a lot of fun for a lot of us here.

That is exactly where I am at with it. When Randydance got me to stop going straight up the grit ladder, and shave test @ the norton 8k level, I was surprised that it was such a good shave, I didn't really need to go further. Leaving need out of it, the nan 12k sure does give a smooth shaving edge that is an improvement over the 8k.

As 1holegrouper so aptly stated it, going further than the 12k is fun for some of us, and in my case, more about testing my honing skills than getting that 'slight' improvement. I don't always do it. Depends on whether I feel like it that day, after all, it is about having fun. So if I feel like it is going to fun and not a chore I go for it. One way or the other, nice to have the options.

I recently got the nani 12k and so far have only used it with a Damascus which has hard steel. The few times I used it while OK I prefer the finish off my Escher. Once I try it on some "normal" blades I'll be better able to evaluate it.