Originally Posted by
JOB15
I don't mean to be awkward and I assume you are more knowledgeable than me but:
""My 2k stone gets rid of 1k scratches quicker than any Nagura or Jnat"" speed vs end result imo.
Sorry, I tend to be a bit laconic :) You said how fast your Nagura were & I thought to my self , that's relative.
End result is the last stone or 2in the progression, provided you did everything right up to then.
""An 8x loupe is plenty magnification if you know what to look for."" I know what to look for and the view is mostly always perfect.
I can see lots of imperfections in a bevel thats not set at 8x. To my eyes it's only perfect when it's set.
""Sometimes I find it hard to tell the difference between a Jnat finish & a synthetic finish"" I can only speak for myself but I see and feel a big difference between the two.
If the finishes can be equal then surely we would all work off 12k Naniwa? (hang on, most ppl on earth do finish on a 12k Naniwa)
Ha! It seems they do. Well, I'd say a good Jnat finisher can exceed any 12k finish as can say, a 20k Gokumyo so you have to go above 12k to find the imperceptible difference I referred to..
""The benefit of Jnats is that they polish well & the benefit of synthetics is they cut fast but if nothing is nothing, then the edge you achieve is majorly a result of you, the honer & not so much the tools."" If this really is the case then I am really in tune with natural stones..
Good natural stones are a pleasure to use but they can also be a challenge depending on the individual's skill level.
There are no absolutes but synthetics tend to provide repeatable results due to them being mostly the same.
You make it sound like all stones are equal but synthetics are just faster..
Well, it's a bit of a generalization but... A synthetic bevel setter is 99.9% of the time always faster than a natural. End result , both types of stone set the bevel, one is faster.
Middle stones are where speed can overlap but even here fast naturals are not common.
The 20k Gokumyo is faster than my fastest Jnat finisher. Of course if if it only takes a handful of strokes to finish, the speed is not so relevant but yes, it's possible to get results that are close enough to equal with synths or naturals & yes, synthetics are mostly quicker but at end game it's always minimal strokes & minimal pressure regardless of the stone..
Cheers ..Joe