Thread: Experience with Naniwa + Coticule

I think the Pums green is CrOx as is the TI green. Wouldn’t surprise me if they all came from the same source.

Red paste followed by black paste gave a great pleasant and easy shave, but it felt different than a Coticule edge. Very sharp and quite smooth as well, I didn't get any small nicks, and I see it as a sure improvement coming off a Synthetic edge, as in taming it a bit.

All things considered, I'm more of a Coticule followed by clean linen kinda man.

The paste's edge seemed a bit crisp, but by all means was it smooth


I've also used the pastes on my EDC knife and it has worked really really well, great smooth and sharp edge, color me impressed by them, easy to use and fast, thumbs up!

Originally Posted by cau

When I choose to kill an edge and restart, the dilucot is hit or miss for me. I'm too stubborn to use synthetics and not yet ready to splurge on an Escher; an unfortunate Limbo to be in...

I tired of the hit and mostly miss of the dilucot, so I bought these. Lapped them today, will put a blade to them another...

I know what you're saying

that's also why I got the synthetics, took the guessing out of the game

I mix it up, sometimes I hone only on naturals, bevel to finish

Other-times I go all synthetic


All I got from it all is more experience and a better feeling for what an edge feels like in every stage


I still prefer my naturals for their charm and they work really well

a synthetic is just a no BS approach, which I can always appreciate


BUT with all the trouble naturals give an unexperienced user, I'm very glad I got a synthetic line-up, made my life easier!

Often take a blade to highest synthetic, SG20 then finish on a natural.

The synthetic progression gets the bevels flat and near stria free, then joint/kill the edge and reset a the natural, for me Ark or Jnat.

I have even stropped a 20k edge, on metal polish (on cardboard, inside of cereal box) to remove all stria on the bevels, then joint and use a natural finisher. 50 laps on metal polish is all you need, but will heave a harsh edge, most metal polish is probably Aluminum Oxide and other grit, can’t shave off it.

The new edge is pure natural finisher.

That's a good idea, similar to the secondary bevel idea for finishing.


Today I tried out my new Mühle silvertip fibre brush, fantastic brush btw, and shaved with two razors I refreshed on the Naniwa 8k and 12k, both under running water.
That had been a while and boy, those razors shaved like a dream. Effortless and very smooth, I don't think there are more efficient stones in my arsenal.

For very good reason the Naniwas get recommended a lot to anyone new to honing.

I think I'll keep shaving off these Naniwa 12k edges for a while before I finish them on an Escher or Coticule.

It's always when I'm shaving with a 12k edge that I wonder how good the Suehiro 20k is. Although I feel there's not much that can be improved upon whilst shaving off the Naniwa 12k.

I decided to do a final experiment and honed 3 different vintage Henckels razors, put them through a Naniwa progression 5k -> 8K -> 12K.

One razor I kept the finish on set by the Naniwa 12k under running water
the second I took from the 12k to a boxed Thüringer stone finished under running water
the third razor went from the 12k to a La Grise Coticule also finished under running water

They were all rigorously stropped on both linen and a horsehide strop by Scrupleworks.

I used my new Mühle STF synthetic for the second time, what a fine shaving brush, and paired it with the Baume be cream.

I don't do pre-shave things, I face lather and shave.

In random order let's label the razors A, B & C.

I had a VERY hard time discerning the three different edges, they all shaved somewhat alike, which tends me to agree when I read people mention that a good stropping evens things out.

A & B shaved almost identical, very sharp and very smooth, B might've been a TAD smoother/easier on the skin, but not by much. Razor C did stand out above the other two, it was keener and shaved easier and better than the others whilst also being smoother. (The difference wasn't that big, but I did notice this quite well probably because I've been shaving over a decade with SRs, it's the little things)

Again, the difference wasn't much, but C was unquestionably my favorite shaver.

To my very own surprise C was the Naniwa 12K edge, B was the Coticule and C the Thüringer.

I'm contradicting my original post, but I don't think I've had ever experienced a maxed out Naniwa 12K edge, because it's simply sublime and an outstanding shaving edge that leaves nothing to be desired.

Never thought I' say this, but I atm prefer a synthetic stone and synthetic brush over the natural variants, heh.

All three edges can be improved, though admittedly slightly and maybe more so depending on your technique, by fresh lapping the stone face and using 3-4 drops of Smith’s Honing oil or Ballistol on a wet stone, for the final finish laps, if you really want to max out the stones. Especially the 12k as they have a tendency to load up.

Both Smiths and Ballistol wash off easily and fully with water and drop of dish soap, make sure to rinse the 12k thoroughly to remove all the soap.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

All three edges can be improved, though admittedly slightly and maybe more so depending on your technique, by fresh lapping the stone face and using 3-4 drops of Smith’s Honing oil or Ballistol on a wet stone, for the final finish laps, if you really want to max out the stones. Especially the 12k as they have a tendency to load up.

Both Smiths and Ballistol wash off easily and fully with water and drop of dish soap, make sure to rinse the 12k thoroughly to remove all the soap.

Ive only used Smiths honing solution om a Welsh slate but with great success.

I do notice and you can clearly feel when the swarf builds up, that's one downside, but seeing how little of the 12K is actually removed when lapping it, I do feel it'll still last a long time.
They feel very nice freshly lapped. Great stones, haven't tried oil on them, I have a big can of Ballistol so will give it a try.

Does anyone know what exactly happens when the Naniwas load up? Do they become inefficient and very slow or ... ?
I think I wanna do a comparison of a freshly lapped vs a fully loaded 12K