Thread: Playing with a Jnat

Just thought I'd break-out the Jnat and give it a go tonight.

I touched up an edge that was finished on a 20K with Tomo Nagura,
Honed one up from 1K thru 8K than a full progression for the Nagura stones,
And one more from 12K to slurry from the base stone a Shoubudani type 100.

Here is one pic I took of a finished edge. Not much to see but its a Jnat edge...



Shave test all 3 tomorrow.

Yup, test shave that puppy for a base line, the edge looks good.

I have also been playing around with some Jnat nagura stones and had one of the best shaves of my life yesterday. As smooth as any coticule or Escher edge that I’ve had but extremely keen too. I think I might be a convert.

This was an Eye Opener!

I did 4 Razors last night before going to bed. All from different stages of the synthetic line-up to Jnat. Finishing on Tomo, base stone slurry, and going from Botan thru Tomo. Test shaved all 4 just now. If I had to pick the worst edge, I'd say it was 3K to a full progression on Nagura stones. It didn't mow down the long whiskers as well as the other 3 razors, but after the first pass, it held its own just fine to the others.

For the best, I'd say it was a toss-up between an 8K edge to Tomo and 20K edge to slurry from the base stone. All 4 gave a great shave as in my face liked it very much. I normally have a touch of irritation on the high side of my cheeks but not this time. The edges all felt keen but not keen like a 20K edge. And a little smoother feel than what I've been finding with all my testing of stones lately. Not the comfort level of a soft Thuri but more keenness too with comfort.

So at this time, I'd say what worked best for me was to finish up to an 8k at least, then go to a heavy slurry. Then dilute the slurry until mostly water. Then clean and do straight water for a finish.
All 4 were stropped on linen and leather only.
This is the winner of the lot. You can still see some Stria under the finish so maybe I could have gotten more out of it.



This is my first real testing of Jnat edges so I'm not sure I'm ready to say I'm a Convert like @Steel just yet. But my face is sure pointing me that way at this time.

It looks to me as if the section closest to the Apex is not making as full a contact as the rest of the bevel.
Hence the striations close to the edge..
....
Joe

Originally Posted by JOB15

It looks to me as if the section closest to the Apex is not making as full a contact as the rest of the bevel.
Hence the striations close to the edge..
....
Joe

Hard to say as the opposite may also be true. Depends when those scratches occurred. Lightened pressure on water alone can cause striations closer to the edge than the shoulder.

Jerry that's the kind of edge I'd start doing 5 strokes at a time on a 20k then shave test. It's also an edge that could be considered pre-polished if you had the right Jnat to follow it.

I think you said it all in the title of the thread

Playing with a Jnat


You have the right idea and attitude, J-nats need a true romance to get the most out of them, they are fun to play with

I didnt get any time for the Jnat last night so it will wait for another week. I was thinking i might have added those scratches by going with straight water on the finish. My Jnat is not extremely hard. But more playing needs to be done to be sure. This is going to take some time to figure out. Ivdud watch a few vids to see what others do try to learn some.

Not too sure why id want to pick up a 20k after the jnat.

I had a few minutes before it was time to shave and shower for work. Went with straight water on the Jnat and found more scratches up by the edge. Then went with a thin Tomo slurry and the scratches got much less. Still some there but I only spent 5 minutes on it. So... Scratches are from not working them out enough on a lower grit Nagura or, my base stone is not made to be used with straight water.

The testing continues next week! Going to go give it a shave test in a few. Learning this stone is going to be more of a delicate learning process.

Guessing on the above theory. I dont know enough just yet to be sure. Shave test was ok. Not very keen. Lacking. Good enough to get a close shave for my Monday but not good enough to say its done. SOTD Pic. I think this will be my tester razor until i get the Jnat figured out. Cattaraugus Cut Co made in Little Valley N.Y.