Thread: Handholding a Naniwa Superstone

I have a question for the Superstone owners: how awkward is it to use the hone handheld. Seems to me the Norton approach to the plastic base would have been more flexible.

How hard would it be to remove the hone from the base? Is it tightly cemented or is it just a few drops of sticky silicone?

I've honed handheld with it. I dont' find the base to be too bad, but then again, I'm willing to do it with the Chinese hone, which is a brick. The underside of the superstone has a curvature to it but you can hold it just fine.

I don't know how well it's glued in, as I have not attempted to remove mine. Unless the adhesive can be melted, I'd consider cutting away at the base instead of risking the hone.

I'm wondering if they went to the added expense, time and trouble of adding a base to insure the integrity of the stone. It might be that the material used in the binder needss the support of the base to prevent cracking or breaking without it ?

I never could get with hand held honing. I'm not knocking it but having tried it I prefer the stability I find in honing on a fixed surface. The possibility of one variable, my stroke, is enough rather than adding a possible variance in the stability of the hone. That's just me though, I know a lot of members do fine with the hand held option.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I'm wondering if they went to the added expense, time and trouble of adding a base to insure the integrity of the stone. It might be that the material used in the binder needss the support of the base to prevent cracking or breaking without it ?

I think Jimmy might have a point here.....thinking about the Shapton's too here they are on a glass plate maybe for the same reason???? Besides the flatness thing that is.

I never could get with hand held honing. I'm not knocking it but having tried it I prefer the stability I find in honing on a fixed surface. The possibility of one variable, my stroke, is enough rather than adding a possible variance in the stability of the hone. That's just me though, I know a lot of members do fine with the hand held option.


Yeah I am with ya here Jimmy.... I can barely pull it off with small barber's hones....

God I hate that you have to write ten things to save a message LOL

The hones are quite thin, so if they were removed from the base and placed on a table top, I think you'd end up bumping your knuckles on the table. Thus the base serves both to elevate and to support the hone.

You know, I just put mine on the counter, never really needed to hold it. I love the results, and the feedback from it. Great Hone, Any of you guys gone to the Shapton 16k after? Also, as thin as it is, I don't think I'd try to remove it, it'd probably break, If you do break, put me down for a slurry.....
Lynn uses these a lot, maybe we can get his insight...

When I first tried the Naniwa Super Stones some were on stands and some were not. I really thought the stands would be better for people off a stable base and requested them that way. They actually come in two thicknesses and both work fine on their own or on a Norton type stand or other stands out there. Personally, I really prefer the stability of a table for my honing and find there is way less room for error on my part that way. Another personal preference thing. Most hand honer's that I have known of usually are using smaller stones.

Lynn