Thread: After nakayama, to paste or not to paste? (And mini nakayama review)

So ever since I got my nakayama, I have been forgoing my usual routine of hitting the pastes on my pasted balsa wood paddle strops because I've heard how everyone doesn't feel the need for the paste anymore, and because I wanted to evaluate exactly how my nakayama works for me as the final touch. My normal routine before the nakayama was to hit the hand american chromium oxide paddle, and then the red paste from karakoup1 in the classifieds which is claimed to be < 0.5 micron and my findings seem to agree with that claim.

Anyway, in the scope, the nakayama polishes like no other. The polish it gives is at least as good as the red paste, which I've found to polish finer/better than the green hand american CrOx. So the nakayama is certainly polishing at a very fine/high grit.

Let me preface the rest by saying that I've only been honing for 4 months or so and I'm no pro. I'm pretty confident in my ability, and I think my results are great, but I know I have plenty more to learn. So, results may vary based on honing ability.

The shaves straight off the nakayama, for me, are the best I've had straight off of a stone, but didn't feel as sharp as I was used to coming off the pastes. The sharpness felt more like that of a coticule. I liken the nakayama, in my head, to a "super coticule" of sorts, if that makes any sense. The feel of the edge is similar to a coticule, but in a bit sharper, bit smoother kind of way. This is to say I find the nakayama edge (at least mine) to be more like the coticule, than say an escher or chinese 12k.

Now, to the point of my post. This weekend I was finally satisfied that every razor I'd finished on the nakayama shaved the same way with the same feel, so I was confident I'd evaluated the nakayama to my liking, so I decided what the heck and hit the pastes with my normal routine, which is 15x CrOx with light/moderate pressure followed by 5x CrOx lightening the pressure each stroke until the last which is SUPER light. Then I followed with the red paste, same thing, only with this one I do 12x at first, then 3x lightening. Maybe too many pasted strokes overall, but I've experimented a bit, and this is what seems to work nicely for me. I want to mention too that I find the balsa paddle strops to work better than hanging pasted strops. At least, for me.

So, I stropped up and shaved.

WOW! What a difference. I've now tried this on two razors and the difference for both is the same and is nothing short of incredible. They are now two of my best shaving razors, but were previously middle of the pack. My favorite final edge combination so far.

Better than any other stone alone or followed by paste, and IMO, better than just the nakayama edge. It took the sharpness to a whole different level, and the smoothness came along for the ride.

Now, I honestly don't know where I stand on the HHT as far as how relevant it is, but I've not yet got an edge off the nakayama to pop hairs using the HHT. After the pastes, though, it popped hairs at every point, and as I mentioned it was noticeably sharper during the shave.

I think somehow the backhoning stroke (ie stropping), while still sharpening (ie with paste), somehow makes the edge sharper than you can get with the normal (forward) honing stroke. And I find this sharper edge to be to my liking. I can totally see how it's not for everyone, though. It is much easier, IMO, to get irritation with such an edge, because it is not forgiving to any extra pressure or lazy blade angles / technique.

I'm now kind of curious about this whole backhoning thing and have a couple other experiments planned, such as stropping/backhoning on the nakayama for a few strokes as a finishing move, to see how this fares.

So, sorry for the long read, but does anyone else care to comment on their experience with the nakayama and pastes? The difference for me with the pastes couldn't be more night and day. When I read that people didn't feel the need for pastes anymore, I wasn't sure if they just liked the plain nakayama edge better than adding pastes (I could understand this) or if they didn't/couldn't really notice the difference after hitting the pastes (I couldn't understand this). If people just can't feel the difference, then I'm pretty confused. Either my honing technique is not up to par, or somehow my nakayama polishes at a high grit but doesn't leave the same edge as other people's nakayamas? Either way, I'm still thrilled, because I've discovered a new holy grail in my honing journey.