From what I've seen the naniwa don't come with stands anymore. Like I've said before I have plenty of wood laying around but the stands are only $15 each.

Ok

Sanded Cedar
Bridge pieces attached with Gorilla Glue and Finishing Nails
Stained
3 coats of Poly Finish paying extra attention to the seams and end cuts
Attached the hones using 3500# Marine Epoxy If I were mounting Rare or Valuable Naturals I might try Silicon Sealer instead so that I could razor them off later

No I did not patent it I proudly stole the idea from whoever mounted my Nakayama on almost the same design

I would not recommend the Steelex style pressure stands for the Naniwa SS hones that might be a recipe for problems,, a stand like I made would probably work better

looks easy enough.

Warping problems? I was going to get the 2 middle grits as a combo stone to save a few bucks so I won't be able to stick it to a homemade stand.

Would a DMT Dia-sharp double sided work in a course/fine? its a few bucks cheaper and I would have that fine side for the finer hones. I've been lurking on other forums and reading about people saying that the 325 tore up some finer grit stones.

You know I used to buy into the higher grit stuff too

Then I bought the stupidly expensive Shapton 30k the highest grit hone known at this point in time, I also bought the stupidly expensive DGLP to lap it and keep it nice and clean thinking "For $300 this must be special for a special hone"
Yeah it is a 325 grit and does the exact same thing as a DMT 325, so i realized that if a 30k hone uses a 325 grit lapping plate then everything else can too..

Haven't looked back since


**** The above info works for Waterstones only,,,,
Oilstones have to be burnished to get the most out of them ****

I've probably been overthinking things but has anyone heard anything about the naniwa economical combo stone? I'm going for the least money I can spend because 5 kids cost a bunch during the holidays and I was reminded that I couldn't spend $300 that close to the holidays until the kids gifts are bought and hidden. I may endup getting things one stone at a time starting with the dmt since I would need a lapping stone to do anything with any other stone. I was looking at the economical stones for the lower grit stones. I hope they end up being decent stones. $32 for the 1k-3k combo stone seems like a good deal but, almost too good. I'm caught between wanting decent things and trying to afford them.

I haven't purchased any lapping stones yet. I have been using wet/dry sandpaper to lap my stones. With Waterstones, it seems to go pretty fast. I will get a lapping plate at some point, but it didn't seem like something I needed right away.

edit- where are you seeing that Combo stone for $32?

http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Naniwa-Economical-Combination-Waterstone--P559.aspx

I haven't seen that one mentioned for straights. I will defer to some of the more experienced folks here for that.

I'm tempted to try it. I can always use it for my woodworking tools if it isn't good for my razors. or for kitchen knives. right now I have a green DMT card and some unknown grit stones to sharpen everything. even if its not good enough for razors it will still be an upgrade for me.

The more I look into it the more it looks like the economical stones are just smaller naniwa traditional stones. so maybe the cheap combo won't be too bad.

Well I think I have my order pared down to the least expense possible Its $247 with free shipping. I included the naniwa economy combo 1k/3k, a naniwa specialty 8k and 12k, a DMT 6inch combo 325/600 and a stone holder for the DMT. I'll make my own for the naniwa out of wood. Will probably carve out a hole in one for the combo so I can flip it and glue on the other 2. I will split it in half and order the first half in Nov and hopefully the 2nd half in Dec if I have anything left after the children are gifted in a thorough and satisfying fashion.


Split in half with the Specialty stones in an order of their own screws me out of free shipping by $0.04 so I'll pay the extra to get a 2nd stone holder for the combo stone. Shipping is $9.99 and the stone holder is $16.99. I'll pay $7 to save myself some work in making a stand that doesn't need to be glued onto the stone. Still make some like Glen did for the 8k and 12k. If I'm not happy I'll upgrade to the chosera 1k and a specialty 3k during the new year and use the combo for kitchen and shop tools. don't need as good of an edge with those.

My advice is do not short change it... Save all the money and wait until you can buy exactly what is needed

Just for clarification and my reasoning, The 6 inch DMT will NOT do the job you need it to The lapping plate needs to be as large or larger then the hone you are lapping ..
The Combo 3/8 is the ONLY Naniwa that I have ever heard of anyone ever having an issue with real warping..

Now you can keep asking until somebody gives you the answer you are looking for, or keep adjusting the list to save money and rush into it, but waiting until you can get the best setup for the money is going to be a benefit in the long run and make things much easier for you

What is the "Best" way to success


Chosera/Pro 1k = The most used bevel setting hone by the most professional SR guys,,, you can save money here with either of the SS or Traditional and still be ok

Naniwa SS 3k = Not the 5k because most newbs have issues with the bevel set so the 3k will help make sure you have it solid

Naniwa SS 8k = Awesome pre-polisher very smooth

Naniwa SS 12k = Very hard to beat this edge at any price

DMT 325 D8C Dia-sharp = can be used for so much more

All in separates and all in the (appox) 3x8 size..

My recommendation is based on teaching people to hone, not on my personal preference


ps: If you chomping at the bit to get a razor up and running so you can SR shave, package one up toss in money for return shipping send it to me and I will send it back Shave Ready on those exact hones for you..
That gives you a benchmark edge also to test out so you have a goal when you start honing...

Its less that I'm wanting one shave ready and more that I'm excited about starting honing. I have one on the way from a forum member that is shave ready and if it ever comes back from its trip to CO I'll have it to shave with. I tend to get over excited about things that I want to do. I guess I need to relax and wait longer. An order with just the DMT D8C and a specialty 1k is about what my pared down cheapo list's first half was so I guess I'll go that way. I'll just have 3 orders instead of 2. Might still pick up the economy combo stone later to use for kitchen knives and shop tools.

I was going to send you the best of the Blades I get in for a restore and rescale as soon as I'm able anyway but I don't know when I'll be able to. Right now I don't have anything in the house with scales on and only 1 coming that will have them and its the shave ready one. Thank you for the offer.

It's really not much of a price difference. If I don't get the chosera then its only about $40 difference in cost if I do its $80. Looks like if I get the DMT and the 1k and the 3k I can take advantage of the free shipping on straight razor design which is about the same cost as the site I was on before but easier to navigate. Now I see that the 3 pack with the 5k,8k and, 12k saves me over $20 off the 5k, is there a good reason to get that stone because if there is then I'll save up and get that for my 2nd order instead of the 8k and 12k by themselves. My plan is to do the rough work and bevel set then finish off the razors when I can get the rest of the hones. I need to find a place to buy washers in brass and steel. I have brass rod already in a few sizes and I'm thinking of doing most of the scales in wood since I have so much of it. I'm keeping the metal wedge out of the Razor I just took apart so I don't have to fabricate that but the other razors either have nothing but a blade or already had a broken wedge.

I started this thread to get decent sources for the pins and washers and stuff too so Now that the hone questions are mostly answered what are some good places to find scale material, washers, and rod for pinning. Also I've read that micro fasteners make fabricating the wedge easy because you can test fit. Where would I get those?

Ok one last hone question. Is the steelex stone holder worth it for the DMT? It looks rather thin and hard to hold and I don't think the steel plate would stick to any adhesive as well as the Naniwa stones. The steelex looks like a pretty good non-slip when its set down and it lookos like a really good handle when used to clean up stones. I'll just make up a batch of the wooden bridge style stands for the naniwa stones. Might be red oak because that's plentiful and cheap around me. I might also dip the leg ends in rubber tool dip to try making them more nonslip. I'll figure that out in November when the first stones come in.

I use the Steelex on my DMT but honestly I am looking to change that setup soon..
It works just fine but is rather cumbersome and makes for an unwieldy combination, haven't figured out what or how yet

I might actually do a handle attached to the bottom using blind taps

How would the handle effect using it as a chip repair stone? I'm able to visualize that but it must be a challenge to drill into the DMT without ruining it. I saw your breadknifing video and I have seen plenty of blades messed up enough to need that. I think I have a few but I'll post picture of them after they come to get advice on them each by each.