Thread: Learning Jnats with Microscope

Originally Posted by planeden

"The chip on the edge keeps on becoming smaller than before."

I generally look at the pictures, then read the post, then look at the pictures again. I swear I was going o say "if you keep honing this same blade eventually that chip will disappear". But, it seems like you know that .

Edit: You keep saying that it passes finger and tree top tests. Do they keep improving, or is it about the same each time and you are just getting a different comfort level?

Well, as you know I'm quite a newbie and maybe I say/do often something wrong...

Anyway, I believe the chip won't disappear until a new bevel will be set. But this is not the purpose of this comparative series, and it stands there just as a reference point to standardize the images. Of course it's so small I don't even feel it when shaving.

Finger and treetop tests are just a rough and fast way to check if I made some damages during the honig session. The final judgment comes from shaving and I update each time the general results.

Actually I'm preparing a more analytic ranking of the shaves and will post it when all the Tomos will have been tested with each base stone.

Nice looking edge, the bevel looks a little scratchy from the Kita, but that stria is very thin and does not go all the way to the edge. It does appear aggressive on the chip. Yes

Btw. as we used the Tsushima "instead" of the diamond slurry, I guess if it could be useful using it "after" the Tsushima (a sort of Diamond Nagura)?

Yes, you will want to compare a straight Diamond slurry to the tomo and Mikawa slurry, to better quantify the base stone performance from the Nagura.

Originally Posted by Skorpio58

Well, as you know I'm quite a newbie and maybe I say/do often something wrong...

Anyway, I believe the chip won't disappear until a new bevel will be set. But this is not the purpose of this comparative series, and it stands there just as a reference point to standardize the images. Of course it's so small I don't even feel it when shaving.

Finger and treetop tests are just a rough and fast way to check if I made some damages during the honig session. The final judgment comes from shaving and I update each time the general results.

Actually I'm preparing a more analytic ranking of the shaves and will post it when all the Tomos will have been tested with each base stone.

Using the chip as a reference is quite smart. But I was really just making a joke about it disappearing and thought it was really funny that you mentioned it at the same time.

Originally Posted by planeden

Using the chip as a reference is quite smart. But I was really just making a joke about it disappearing and thought it was really funny that you mentioned it at the same time.

Planeden,
I like jokes very much (I'm from Rome and typically, we Romans, have a keen taste for jokes) but unfortunately, English is not my mother tongue, and for this reason I find it difficult to grasp the subtle nuances of a speech and, even more so, colloquial or idiomatic phrases. To write to me you have to think about addressing a bit dumb child...

Update after the Fourth round:

A very close shave!

1) Nakayama kiita koppa + Tsushima Black Nagura + Nakayama (1) Tomo Nagura = Shave Test OK

2) Nakayama kiita koppa + Tsushima Black Nagura + Asagi Tomo Nagura = Shave Test OK

3) Nakayama kiita koppa + Tsushima Black Nagura + Ozuku Suita = Shave Test OK

4) Nakayama kiita koppa + Tsushima Black Nagura + Nakayama Kiita = Shave Test OK

Originally Posted by Skorpio58

Planeden,
I like jokes very much (I'm from Rome and typically, we Romans, have a keen taste for jokes) but unfortunately, English is not my mother tongue, and for this reason I find it difficult to grasp the subtle nuances of a speech and, even more so, colloquial or idiomatic phrases. To write to me you have to think about addressing a bit dumb child...

I will type very slowly for you to carefully annunciate all the words .

To be fair, I have such a dry delivery that even in person people sometimes don't know whether I am being serious. Then add the internet and language and it is a recipe for disaster.

But, I only pointed it out to avoid confusion. I feel really guilty when I make some dumb joke and come to find people debating strokes, layers or tape, and type of slurry that you could use to get rid of that chip with your Jnat in just 10,000 strokes (serious statement told with an attempt at humor).

Well, as I can't only test and shave with the same razor all the time... every now and then I make some new "experiment" with the stones.

This time I wanted to check if the italian stone (Curgèle) I talked about on page 2 of this thread, could be suitable as a base stone for Japanese Naguras. The stone is hard enough for sure, but is it also equally fine?

So, I kept the good ol' Gold Dollar and tested it with Black Tsushima -> Asano Mejiro -> Ozuku Suita.
The G.D. previous finish was from a Sho-Honyama's slurry on Ozuku.

Microscope evidences seems to confirm it can be done, with a quite nice outcome. My fingers & Arm's hairs seems to agree... tomorrow we'll see what my face thinks about...

The Mejiro appears to have made deep stria and the Ozuku Suita appears the finer finisher and straighter edge.

Make sure the nagura is wet. I keep a small bowl of clean water on the bench and dip and hold the nagura in the water for a few seconds prior to use. It makes a smoother slurry. The slurry quickly settles to the bottom so cross contamination is not an issue.

How hard is the base stone, Curgele, does it slurry easily with a diamond plate?

Originally Posted by Euclid440

The Mejiro appears to have made deep stria and the Ozuku Suita appears the finer finisher and straighter edge.

Make sure the nagura is wet. I keep a small bowl of clean water on the bench and dip and hold the nagura in the water for a few seconds prior to use. It makes a smoother slurry. The slurry quickly settles to the bottom so cross contamination is not an issue.

How hard is the base stone, Curgele, does it slurry easily with a diamond plate?

Yes, I wetted the Mejiro before using it... but will try to let it into the water for more time. Although I rounded all the corners as you suggested, I still have to learn how to pass it over the base stone (without flacking it), as it feels quite hard.

The Curgele is very hard and makes slurry easily with my Eze-Lap 1200 G small plate.

If you radius the nagura like the top of the Mejiro in the photo you will get a smoother less flaky slurry.

If that is the top where the stamps are and want to preserve the stamps, then round the bottom corners with a diamond plate. It may seem like a waste of stone, but that stone will last lifetimes.

Once you lay down slurry crush it with circles on the flat part of the stone.

And sometimes some stone are better than others. The stone can also change as it wears into other layers.