Thread: zulu grey + asano nagura = good idea or bad

picked up a set of asano nagura (botan, tenjyou, mejiro) to experiment with and am wondering if a zulu grey can be used as the base stone. would it be considered a 'high' enough level stone in JNAT terms for the job? thinking i can try using the nagura progression after i set the bevel on synthetic and then just finish with the zulu grey with water only. kill two birds so-to-speak by using the zulu as both the nagura base and the final finisher.

has anyone else gone this route?

so much interesting information on SRP i cant not want to try new things. so far my 1-3-5-8-12 synthetic progression is making fine shaving edges (for me). but thought id finally take the plunge into some naturals - i.e. nagura, coticle etc.

as always, appreciate any advice.
thanks.
-s.

give it a try and see how it works. As long as the nagura can be broken down by the base stone it should do something to the edge.

true. thanks mainaman. since im so new any type of natural honing i was looking/hoping to minimize some new variables. even with synthetics i only have a solid year+ under my belt so i dont feel fully 'connected' with the stones. was just wondering roughly where a zulu fell on the hardness scale.

besides traditional jnats, what other stones have been used to good effect with nagura? can you use a 12k nani? or would that be too soft and transfer its own grit to the swarf and muck things up?

I like the fact that you are wanting to plunge into naturals. I set my bevels with synthetics but mostly use naturals after that. I really like the shaves off natural stones.

Don't be afraid to experiment, that's half the fun of this sport!

I wouldnt try it with the Nani. But I would certainly give it a go on a good Black or Translucent Arkansas stone.

Give it a try and keep us posted.

My favourite combo "at the moment" is mejiro slurry on my grey/white Translucent Arkansas. It is interesting how little slurry is needed to refine the edge. The edge doesn't look like either a Jnat or Arkansas edge under my loupe but is so good to shave with. Extremely keen but also wonderfully smooth. I have done the same with my C12k using mejiro slurry, good results but again different to either hone used individually. The Arkansas combo seems the best so far and not a second best kind of best either.

Although I have no experience with jnats, I can certainly say the Zulu Grey is one of the hardest, dense, and heaviest stones I've encountered. I know others use the Arkansas True Hard as a base so the Zulu should be no problem. Let us know how it goes.

success! i think.

snowed in today so i had some unexpected play time. cleaned up a nice 13/16 full hollow tower brand #6 and gave the zulu/nagura experiment a whirl. also decided to go tape-free as well. the edge isnt as striation-free as my usual synthetic progression under magnification but in the end it was cutting hair just as easily. looking forward to a full shave with it tomorrow.

wondering if i should pop for a koma nagura to add to the others to help kick things up another notch. and now i need to also look into translucent arks as well. please let me of any trusted vendors.

thanks again for the recommendations everyone.

“Since I’m so new any type of natural honing I was looking/hoping to minimize some new variables”

Well, you won’t be minimizing variables, you will be increasing them, exponentially, by the thickness, type and grit of slurry, pressure and how the slurry is broken down. But not necessarily a bad thing. The trick is getting repeatable results.

Slurry is a curious thing and can in itself, be an art form.

While I have not tried Asano Mejiro Nagura on the Zulu, I have on Arks and Chinese naturals and European hard naturals, all with good results, Arks and Chinese the best.

Also, try Coticule and Slate slurry as well a Jnat Tomo nagura, on any hard naturals. It is a game of experimentation, where the razor and technique play a part.