Thread: A question to the honemeisters out there

First let me thank you gentlemen again for welcoming me to the site so warmly!!
Have a question to throw up but first a little backround to help reduce variables in this equation.... I absolutely hunt down the worst cases of neglected stepchild razors from wherever I can find them solely because I love to sit down at the table with a light and about a dozen stones and just simply become "unavailable" to the rest of the world!! My wife says my meticulous nature borders on high functioning autism... I have been collecting homes for a few years and probably have a half ton of them between the shop, the bathroom, the truck, wife's bathroom, under the kids beds, and storage... drives the wife batty!! I have yet to find a razor that I couldn't get to scare a hanging hair in two pieces at the sight of it!
My question, more my conundrum, is to all the masters out there.... I am above all patient and light handed but as of yet, cannot get the finish everyone talks about from nakiyama or other higher end j-nats that I can from let's say a naniwa 12k or shapton glass.... really into old school methodology, but have the old ways given way to superior "manufactured" stones?? At the 6-8k level I'd much rather a coticule than a newer stone, but when finishing, I get them to a sweet shaving state on the j-nats and always find myself going to a man made after I check the bevel under magnification.... just seems a little "matte" after the naturals and mirror smooth after the MM stones.... is this normal?? Am I being too OCD about the finish?? Any input from you gentlemen would be highly appreciated!!!

That is kind of funny, most of the threads I have read about Jnats have been all about the beautiful matte finish. So just because it is not mirror polished does not make it not sharp. Once we go past the 8K level it all becomes all about technical sharpness and the feel of the edge. So really my question back to you is how does the difference feel when you shave. I am not a Jnat person, that is a rabbit hole I will leave for others, but I do love to experiment with finishers too.

You can coax the edge you want off a good Jnat. It's just a whole lot quicker on a synthetic.
If you hone a lot of razors, 5 finish strokes on a 20k will save you a bunch of time on Jnats. If it's too crisp 5 strokes on a dry Jnat can drastically ease that edge.

Bevel cosmetics often play no role in the shave quality.

Ah those dirty Jnats...

I am austistic, and my level of function remains under debate.

Yes, a matte finish on the bevels is normal for a JNat, but they make a sweet edge where those bevels meet.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Yes, a matte finish on the bevels is normal for a JNat

Despite the greyish colour imparted, they can also be quite reflective, depending on stone, steel, slurry or plain water finish.

If you are using true finishing stones (they will improve an 8k edge) it doesn't really matter what the edge looks like as long as it's not adding scratches. Let your face be the final judge and not your eyes above 8k

Thank you greatly for the wisdom Gentlemen!! Looking back, I don't think I can feel a difference on the face while shaving.... thinking that because when I started this journey I heard mirror edge equals a good shave, I've been obsessing on the mirror....will definitely try to leave the matte alone today and give it a go! Thank you again!!

I used my coticule for years as a finisher. It produced a matte finish. After a few days of shaving/stropping, it turned to a mirror finish.

God I wish I could remember who said it on here so I could give them the credit

"Once I lowed the magnification I was using, my honing looked a lot better"

There is some truth to it

The downside of magnification is that people start to chase the "Pretty Picture Bevel" rather than the "Comfortable Edge"

There really is only so much steel at the "Fin" and when you keep trying to chase it, there is a point of diminishing and even detrimental returns.

In general the consensus is that Natural stone give a Softer feel to the face yet Natural stones are known for Scratched / Haze finishes


Once again proving SR Honing is NOT Rocket Science it is much more challenging and Fun