Thread: Naniwa or King?

I use a King, 1000/6000 and a 12000 for finishing, I have found that the King stone doesn't last long on the 1000 side as I lap about every 3rd or 4th hone. Every time I lap I loose a lot of stone, I only had this stone about a month and have about 1/2 in left. I am thinking about getting a Norton next stone as maybe it will last a little longer. I made the mistake of getting the smaller stone and wish I got the wider stone, 3 inch. I can relate to loosing a edge when I set my bevel and then go to the 12k Chinese stone and wondered why myself. Maybe we are polishing the edge to much. It would be interesting to know for sure what is happening.

While I don't use a King Combo, I've used the King 1200 for years now! I lap it Every Time before I set a bevel! It doesn't take but about 8 figure 8's to raise a slurry! It hardly shows any wear at All!

If you are wearing that stone down that fast and only lapping every now and then, perhaps you could try using less pressure when you lap and less laps.

I use a pencil to mark when I am flat like Lynn does and I leave my Chinese 12k and king both in water. Since the king is clay based should I not leave it in water? Leaving it in water may be making it to soft so when I lap it wares down fast. When I lap my 12k it seems to take forever to lap.

Originally Posted by bookdoctor

I use a pencil to mark when I am flat like Lynn does and I leave my Chinese 12k and king both in water. Since the king is clay based should I not leave it in water? Leaving it in water may be making it to soft so when I lap it wares down fast. When I lap my 12k it seems to take forever to lap.

You only need to 'Flatten' the King ONCE!! After that, it's just making sure that the surface is 'FRESH'/Only a few circles 8's!! The King can be stored in water! Use about a capful of non scented liquid clorine bleach per gallon of water. Change the mixture every 6 months.

Glen personally told me that he keeps his King 1K stored this way and he's been doing so for years! I followed suit and it works great!

I think most of us have stones we prefer. The 1/6K King gets me to the polishing stones, and I like the result the 6k gives. (It's a clay based stone), whereas the nanis are resin based. Now I have discovered that I'm using way to much pressure on the 8k, 10k naniwas, I'm getting better results. More so though by just shave testing rather than the myriad of tests of sharpness out there. So I have a routine, depending on the blade, going from the 1k (If needed) to a 4k samurai deluxe naniwa, the 6k king, and seriously delicate use of a dozen or so strokes of each of the 8k & 10K nanis. I am putting the sharpness tests aside, apart from the tpt, if it feels good, it generally is. As to wearing out your 1k, I reckon it would take me a lot longer,, but mate I'm a newbie, in any event, keep at it. It's a top hobby/interest that gives a tangible result. You are on the other side of the world, and we both are at odds at times with honing bloody razors! Cheers Rob and my best advice is lessen the pressure, works amazing, because soon as you do a half dozen firm strokes, the blade dulls....true

Thank you both for the advise and I will try some 8's next time and see how it works, also I will ease up on pressure and see if I can hold a edge. This is what this form is all about, learning from people who have been there and done that. Great advise