Quote Originally Posted by Marshal View Post
Well since we want to focus on speed, based on what experience? How about Onimaru's from post 31 in this thread?
My whole post was based on your implying that the two fast hones mentioned were outliers, i.e.: unnaturally fast. You made that statement as if it were fact, when you have no experience with Jnats (that I recall seeing) to back your opinion up. Throwing synthetics into the discussion, especially how fast Lynn Abrams can hone a factory edge, is off topic to the point I was making. Lynn has honed more razors already than I could ever hope to, so comparing his speed on a Norton 4/8 that he has used for years to mine on a Jnat that I have only been honing with for a year is absurd.

Prior to switching to Jnats last year, I spent several years honing with coticules only. Using fast stones for the grunt work and finishing on fine finishers, I got exceptional results with good speed. I get the same with Jnats, but I enjoy the process much more, and the coticules are long gone to pay for my current stones. I do most of my work on a bench sized Shinden Hon Suita, which is very fast and can even finish decently if you want to finesse it. Once I get to the Tomo stage, I finish on either a Nakayama Kan Kiita, an Oozuku Kiita, or a Nakayama Asano Suita - whichever I think will work best for the razor at hand. All three are excellent finishers, and their speed is less relevant because I do all the pre-finishing on a fast stone.

As for my experience with synthetics, I have owned a Norton 4/8, 2 sets of Naniwa SS 1k-5k-8k-12k, and 2 Chosera 1ks at various times. They did their jobs well, but I did not enjoy using them and sold them all off - some on eBay, but most through here.

All of this is based on my real-world honing experience with synthetics, coticules, and Jnats. I hone nearly every day of the year, often experimenting to broaden my knowledge and to test theories. I need no quotes from others to make my points for me.

Since you seem so willing to dismiss my opinion and experience, I can't see having anything further to contribute to this thread.