Thread: Your preferred Japanese razor pyramid

I searched all over and I couldn't find anything...

I mostly use vintage Japanese stones to sharpen my Japanese razors but to be honest, they're expensive and hard to get. I could give recommendations but most people wouldn't find them useful since they don't have my specific stone. As a result, I thought this thread might come in handy. What is your sharpening pyramid and on what stone? Thanks.

The recommended stone for the Tosuke is the 12K Kitayama using the recommended ratio and using downward pressure on the razor. For the Iwasaki I find a diamond pasted strop seems to work fastest and best. I've never used a pyramid routine with either razor. But then again I've never been big with pyramids anyway.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

The recommended stone for the Tosuke is the 12K Kitayama using the recommended ratio and using downward pressure on the razor. For the Iwasaki I find a diamond pasted strop seems to work fastest and best. I've never used a pyramid routine with either razor. But then again I've never been big with pyramids anyway.

I'm not big on pyramids either but it seems to be a popular approach to sharpening so I mentioned it. What is your recommended ratio?

3 strokes on the concave side to 2 strokes on the convex side. The secret is knowing how much pressure to apply as you hone. Only experience can guide you there. However you really do need to press quite hard.

I've noticed that stropping my Iwasaki on leather does relatively nothing. Is there a special technique for that?

I've seen people say they strop their Japanese razors but I think it's on a pasted strop. I wouldn't expect a dry strop to do much. I never strop my razors. Maybe I'm wrong..

Nonsense, a japanese razor needs stropping the same as any other razor. My TI damascus has steel probably harder than the iwasaki and stropping still helps. Your not looking to sharpen the thing just dress the edge the same as any other razor. You just strop exactly the same as any other razor. Don't worry about ratio's here. The same strokes on each side.

Thanks for that info. I'm going to have to start stropping..