Thread: Jnat finishing ideas

Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

Steve

When you polish/burnish your Jnats do you just use water to finish razors or still use a nagura progression or do you have different Jnats to do lower end work?

My 'normal' progression is mostly synth: Shapton Pro 2k for a bevel setter, followed by SP 5k and 8k. Then koma followed by tomo on the finisher. I occasionally use a Mikawa nagura progression. I usually finish on thin slurry, when I begin finishing with fresh slurry, I can see the edge through the slurry until it darkens with swarf.

The heavy lifting stones are a Shapton Glass HR 500 and HR 1k, these get me to the 2k Pro.

Hope this helps!

Cheers, Steve

I live near a jnat retailer here in California. He offered that I bring a couple of my main razors to his home to test on several stock stones to see which one would work best for me. What shocked me is after trying 20+ jnats non of them really did anything to the edges of my razors (he has a 300 power scope). I had to leave my razors with him so he could spend more time looking for a stone that actually transforms the edge from synthetic 8k to a jnat thing of beauty. He ended up finding a stone that would positively affect the edge with a kasumi finish within 20 or so straight passes w/DN slurry that shave was awesome!

The thing that shocked me was that so many stones that had great number ratings for some razor don't work the same for others. Your Ozuku and Wakasa may need a heavily slurry from the atoma and a lot of time. I would raise a heavy slurry and spend some good time on them until the slurry dries a bit then strop and shave. No misty water or no water only strokes. Sometimes water only or misty slurry for that matter on certain stones/razors can make the edge regress. Hope that helps.

Thanks for that, it gives me confidence in the whole process. I had not at any time believed that I was any where near where I could be skills wise. To hear your comment lets me entertain the chance I will get some good things from these stones. I reckon lots of honers see the jnats, naturals in general as a panacea for all edges, which is of course not so, as your mate in California has shown you. So I'm going to muddy up the slurries a fair bit and keep at it. It's lucky I actually enjoy honing, I really do love it, and when you shave with a razor you've honed and its a good thing, it's all worthwhile!

Originally Posted by bobski

Thanks for that, it gives me confidence in the whole process. I had not at any time believed that I was any where near where I could be skills wise. To hear your comment lets me entertain the chance I will get some good things from these stones. I reckon lots of honers see the jnats, naturals in general as a panacea for all edges, which is of course not so, as your mate in California has shown you. So I'm going to muddy up the slurries a fair bit and keep at it. It's lucky I actually enjoy honing, I really do love it, and when you shave with a razor you've honed and its a good thing, it's all worthwhile!

I love honing too, thankfully with naturals the learning continues look forward to hearing how it goes?

Edge on Dovo 6/8 carbon steel on the Ozuku Asagi


I had put this edge up when I first got the Ozuku, and from memory the shave from this edge was Good, not a Wow edge though. Looking back after getting more stones, and learning a bit more, this edge looks OK, and by and large it is. So since acquiring the Shobu I am of the view that the edge or at least the shave was better than this first edge. I may well be being a bit picky here, but none the less it is what it is.

Originally Posted by dshaves

I live near a jnat retailer here in California. He offered that I bring a couple of my main razors to his home to test on several stock stones to see which one would work best for me. What shocked me is after trying 20+ jnats non of them really did anything to the edges of my razors (he has a 300 power scope). I had to leave my razors with him so he could spend more time looking for a stone that actually transforms the edge from synthetic 8k to a jnat thing of beauty. He ended up finding a stone that would positively affect the edge with a kasumi finish within 20 or so straight passes w/DN slurry that shave was awesome!

The thing that shocked me was that so many stones that had great number ratings for some razor don't work the same for others.

Natural stones vary a lot, and that is the reason there is no one stone that will do it all. Unfortunately for those of us that want to get into J-Nats and naturals in general that means collecting at least several stones to cover the spectrum of steels reasonably well.

Originally Posted by bobski

Edge on Dovo 6/8 carbon steel on the Ozuku Asagi


I had put this edge up when I first got the Ozuku, and from memory the shave from this edge was Good, not a Wow edge though. Looking back after getting more stones, and learning a bit more, this edge looks OK, and by and large it is. So since acquiring the Shobu I am of the view that the edge or at least the shave was better than this first edge. I may well be being a bit picky here, but none the less it is what it is.

Th at looks like a superb edge to me. If it's missing anything, I'd guess it'd be on the linen and leather side unless the bevel wasn't fully set and the edge still has some width.

There is lots to take in with natural stones and their use. That edge is ok, I think, coming from Suehiro 20k edges I maybe had a different idea of what I could expect from my naturals. Never the less, it's fun to to,learn from these experiences. Thanks for the input, but I still have a lot to learn.

Looks like a beautiful edge to me. I sold a couple of sweet JNATs myself, but I think at some point I'll get a nice Shoubodani again, as they seem to be one of simpler, more straightforward stones in the hard class.

It is very difficult to conclude what the edge really looks like, from only the one shot. If you're looking at the edge from the same angle, under the same light all the time, you are missing the real picture. Tilt the magnifier, use a different source of light, check under different angles. You need to be able to see the scratches, not just the haze. As a great honer once said, "I can show you anything I want under that scope".

As for honing, I would do two things differently. I would not dilute the slurry, but rather stay at the same (low-fat milky) consistency throughout the process. Add water as your stone absorbs it, just several drops at a time. Second, I would certainly not muddy things up. Yes, that will increase the cutting action, but is also likely to dull your edge, if the hone has any cutting power. Allow slurry the time it needs - as mentioned, maybe you need to spend a long time on it to see the improvement. I remember a while ago, seeing Takeshi Aoki honing some kamisori on the Tube, and he quickly did the ground and mid-range work, then when he raised Tomo slurry he said "I need to spend a loooooong time on this". Sounded as if he needed to spend the weekend on the damn thing...! [emoji38] But it's true - the finer you go, the longer you need to stay.

If you're gonna go to clear water, then spend some time on it (same principle applies). 20 strokes with no pressure may be doing nothing for your edge, unless of course you can prove/observe differently. You need to be able to see the change in the polish and that haze (as shown in the image) needs to darken quite a bit. I am almost certain it would, judging by the way you describe hardness of your stones. It could be useful to try it on a larger surface, such as a steel bar, a good knife, or a heavily used razor (with lots of hone wear). It will be easier to see with the naked eye. Don't count the strokes, but hone until you're done - meaning until you stop seeing any progress/changes.

Sorry, this was a bit long.. hope you find it somewhat useful though.