Thread: Naniwa 3k or 5k?

Thinking about getting a set of Naniwas to maintain my razors. I will definitely get the 12k and the 8k. Just not sure if I should get the 3k or the 5k if I'm only going to have 3 hones for now. SRD sells a 5,8,12 set but they also sell a 3k/8k combo stone. Any advice? Also, should I get the Naniwa lapping plate or should I get a DMT?

i know Lynn likes the 1,5,8,12 nani progression but if you are going to attempt setting bevels it will be quicker on the 3k. buy a 1k chosera then the 5k nani is a good option.

I personally use the 5K. But, Naniwa wouldn't make a 3/8K combo if it didn't work.

Straight Razor Designs sells a starter set of Naniwa stones in a 5K, 8K and 12K progression.

However, if you only want to maintain your edge, I wouldn't get a Naniwa 5K or 3K. I'd get a balsa strop that is pasted with .5 micron Chromium Oxide.

If your heart is set on getting a Naniwa stone, though, I would opt for the 5K. Its close enough to the 4K - 8K Norton progression on its stone that so many honemeisters use.

Just my 2 cents.

I had this exact same dilema a few weeks ago as I had a friend going to the US and had room in his hand luggage to bring me back some goodies.

I ended up getting Naniwa 1k, 3/8k 12k and a DMT325. I've not had time to test them out yet but AFAIK there isn't a massive difference going 1,3,8k to 1,5,8k. I think it's just less time on 3k tbh.

If you aren't planning on restoring or having to set bevels the 8k and 12k are all you need. However, if at some point you think you "might" get into trying to restore hone then go the cheaper route and get a 1k and the 3/8 combo w/ the
12k; all you'll ever need unless you get some serious junkers; then the 325 dmt or 600 chocera are big helps. The combos last a good while, I remember Lynn saying in a video he gets around 1,500 razors from his norton 4/8's.

Yeah I personally got the 1k, 5k, 8k, 12k. Have honed probably about 15 razors through the full progression and can attest that progression absolutely works 100%.
For maintaining razors that already been honed you really don't need anything lower than 8k. Chromium oxide strop is a fantastic value. With it alone you could keep your razors honed indefinitely if you weren't developing any micro chipping. But since you do just by using the razor, having an 8k and a 12k will really help.

BTWs, shaving of off 12k is great, but if you add another finisher after it it'll be fantastic. Some people opt for an expensive finisher stone like a Japanese natural (you'll see people refer to them as jnat) or gokumyo 20k, which is what I use. Or you can just strop it on chromium oxide afterwards too.

Just be careful with all the stones, HAD is ridiculously contagious!

Thanks so far to all. I will probably start out slow with just a 12k first then work my way down as needed. Still curious if the Naniwa lapping stone is sufficient or if the DMT is necessary for flattening/cleaning the hones?

IMHO i'll buy the combo 3000/8000.in this way you can maintening razors with only the 8000 and 12000 but in the future you can give a refreshed with the 3000(very few passages) or(when you are ready) set a bevel with a lot of patience ... without having to spend more for the stones.
I advise you to buy a nagura stone, very helpful during the honing for clean the stone(and maintence the stone lapped)
For lapping naniwa stone: you can also use sendpaper(180/220) fitting on flat surface(like glas or granite) and pass the stones above untill they are flat is a cheap mode but very efficace.
If you want chose a flattening stone i think naniwa is sufficient