Thread: Hone of the Day

Finishing some of my Heljestrand MK 31s

- Jnat
- Escher
- Hybrid Les Latneuses Coticule

The stone at the top of the picture is intriguing. Is it a broken Jnat or a Jnat with matching rubbing stone?

Originally Posted by Kees

The stone at the top of the picture is intriguing. Is it a broken Jnat or a Jnat with matching rubbing stone?

Ow yes, those are two stones. It is a matching rubbing stone, they do seamlessly transition into one another.
No idea what exact stone it is, the seller acquired it from a Japanese barber, described the characteristics of the stone as Nakayama Kiita.

It's 'our' first Jnat and also bought an Iwasaki kamisori, both are a present for my dad. But of course I have to try it out first

I do read about sealing Jnats, no idea if I should?

I don't seal them, I dry them well after use with a tea towel. Never had the sides or edges crumble. Nor do I use more water than necessary. I carefully wet the surface with a pipette. Some water will spill over the edges but not much.

Originally Posted by TristanLudlow

I do read about sealing Jnats, no idea if I should?

Usually only the softer stones or brittle stones get sealed & often just the sides not the bottom.

Alrighty, thanks very much.

Interestingly I had a 4 day growth and did a side by side of my Coti vs Escher vs Jnat.

Usually when shaving this much hair, I really enjoy a good smooth and keen edge, I sometimes feel I need something a bit more than my Coti.

This time the Escher won cleanly, followed by my Jnat and then the Coti.
Escher felt the smoothest and keenest, especially noticeable on the ATG pass. Truly a pure magnificent finisher.

I finished all my edges on each stone the same way, slurry - dilution steps - finish on plain water.

I hear the slurry on the Jnat gets thinner with use, so I wondered if finishing on worked slurry would give better results, will have to try.

Not sure the slurry gets thinner, as far as I understand the slurry particles break down into smaller ones with use. Coticules have hard garnets that will hardly break down. Not sure about Escher slurry.

“I hear the slurry on the Jnat gets thinner with use, so I wondered if finishing on worked slurry would give better results, will have to try.”

It is very stone dependent. Also, different nagura can produce different finishes with different razor steels.

I have better finishes/edges with a thin finish slurry than water as a rule. Lots of combination and experimenting can produce exceptional edges.

I prefer a Jnat edge over an Escher edge.

I have also sealed and not sealed with no issues.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

I have better finishes/edges with a thin finish slurry than water as a rule. Lots of combination and experimenting can produce exceptional edges.

Thanks, good idea.

I haven't shaved with a thin slurry finish yet, but while honing I've felt that a thin slurry felt "smoother" / better while honing than vs plain water.

My Jnat has a nagura of the same fragment, but also came with a ultra-hard Ohzuku Nagura. I'll give that a try.

I could actually feel the stage where the slurry got too thin and too watery that made the feel of the hone and razor feedback change for the worse, actually both on the Escher and the Jnat.

Gonna try a water vs thin slurry side by side shave both on the Jnat and Escher.

Take a look at Skorpio58’s thread on Jnat honing, (Learning Jnats with Microscope).

A relatively new honer transitioning to Jnats, he has documented his honing journey of different razors, base stones and nagura with great, clear micrographs.


(Learning Jnats with Microscope).