I just finished my Wacker Wedge on the new JNat. So the adventure begins! Going to visit Alex tomorrow in Sonoma for a lesson and another stone! This is my new Nakayama Asagi that I just bought from Stefan!
Printable View
I just finished my Wacker Wedge on the new JNat. So the adventure begins! Going to visit Alex tomorrow in Sonoma for a lesson and another stone! This is my new Nakayama Asagi that I just bought from Stefan!
Congrats. Looks like a nice stone, how did you finish your razor on it? To get the finest edge with a Japanese stone I always used a light slurry and gradually diluted it down until it was almost clear water. But others have their preferences. :p
Beautiful looking peice of rock!! I'll bet it put's a wicked edge on a Str8 razor.
Congrat's on your great find.
Hmmm. Jnats. Your doctor told you you have too much money. :)
You're gonna love them. Pls post your impressions after visiting Alex. His rocks seem, ahem, pricey. Maybe they're that good.
'Hope you just love the time on the asagi. I had issues w/ it not liking the stone I used just before the asagi. Thanks to a good push from Cudarunner, I got a Nani 12k to use before the asagi, and it's been a game changer - very satisfying.
Have fun, Carazor!
Congrats on the beautiful combination shown in your picture. I have a similar Jnat that produces very smooth edges. My favorite and current progression on the finishers is coticule with water, thuri with water, followed by the asagi with water. If I'm not happy after a test shave, I go back and throw in a Nani 12k before the Thuri but the need has been very infrequent. Best wishes on many happy shaves.
That's a nice looking stone! Let u know how it hones!
I am only just starting with the jnats and they are very moorish! If i wasn't broke from my last one i would have another on order now hehe :D
I ordered a fairly inexpensive asagi stone from alex. I have completely quit stropping and have been shaving with it a couple of weeks. 10 to 20 licks on the stone each day (couple of drops of water only) take the same amount of time as stropping, and just a few swipes on the palm to work off any edge boogers that might be there. So far, the edge hasn't changed at all - still sharp comfortable, still HHT 4 at least after a couple of very light strops on the palm, and it seems to get a little bit better each day as I get to know the stone.
Got a very fine small modern ozuku asagi stone cheaply in the interim, too (to leave a slurry on in case I need a bit of extra tooth - helped on working up to the finisher), but I have two of alex's stones - one for woodworking and one for the razor now - I can say that I like the older stones better. They are just as fine but less harsh feeling and more uniform. The ozuku with a little slurry will have just a slight amount of scratchiness, so I'll leave it with slurry in case the stone - it's just a little lacking compared to the very uniform old stone.
If you work with alex and ask for user stones that might be a little minus on the collector's side, you can get a very good working stone for not too much, and you can't beat his old school trial policy. I have bought a lot of stones for woodworking, some from ebay sellers, one from alex, one from someone who got one from So (though it's a semi-finisher, and I'm sure So sold it as such, but the person who then resold it to me neglected honesty when he described its fineness). I wish I would've just spent the money I spent on those four stones to get another stone from alex..
Where dose the asagi sit in the quarry, I don't see it mentioned on list that JNS has (asagi is the location of the quarrie isnt it?) lol
http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com...s/gora3-01.jpg
I only ask as i saw one for what seems to be a good price for the size was wanted to know what they are like and if they are any good! :D
This is the asagi i was looking at from 'chef knives to go'
Asagi is the color of the stone, it can come from different strata.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brighty83
Ah ok, so that stone on that site, where would that come from or is there not enough information on the site?
This Asagi Japanese Water Stone measures 8.25" x 3" x 2"
The Asagi came from Tanaka Toishi in Kyoto. Takeda is not sure about which specific mine this Asagi was quaried from. Grit level is very high. Tanaka Toishi is one of the most famous natural stone shops in Japan. Takeda requested that Mr.Tanaka choose only smooth and good quality Asagi.
The only reason i was looking at it is because of the comments about it, 2 razor users and all seem happy with it.
But if its no good i will skip it and keep browsing :D
Which site is that?Quote:
Originally Posted by Brighty83
I guess being on the other side of the world makes it iffy to try and send it back (you could always call them).
My small cheap ozuku is a koppa from them, and it is definitely fine enough for a razor - in fact, I would hate to ever numb my brain using it to sharpen a knife, it would be awful, it's too fine for anything other than sharpening a knife for show and tell.
I would imagine that big stone would be fine for razors if other people are finding it to be that. If you have other stones that work well already, though, buying from someone who isn't familiar with relative performance could leave you with a nice stone that still isn't quite as nice as other stones you have. I was looking at that same big asagi initially, but ended up going to alex because I have several times gone the route of buying a stone in the price range of that big asagi - that looks nice - only to find that in the end, I enjoy using other stones I have more because they are smoother, finer, faster, whatever. So, I end up with $250-$300 door stops, (and marginal natural waterstones don't sell that well in the woodworker arena - I have about 6 that I'm stuck with, and sold two off already at a loss of more than half as a reward for being honest about their performance).
they sell stones for knives, you can luck out on a stone that is decent for razors too but it's a risk.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brighty83
Mark has no experience with honing razors so I doubt he will be able to tell you if the stone is good or not.
I would recommend JNS for quality razor stones.
Thanks,
I have been keeping an eye on JNS but there hasn't been much on there for a while.
I have 3 jnats, all are not bad.
one is 'almost' a final polisher but still a pre-polisher
another that is definitely a pre-polisher
and the other is very hard but average, good for a gritty nagura to set bevels or after a bevel setter etc.
They are all fun to play with though. lol
Ill keep looking on JNS and apparently Alex (thejapanblade) is going on holidays so i cant get one from him for a while either lol