Hi! I received a gift from a fine gentlemen earlier today. These are my first nagura, besides the Tomo. I know that some folk use clear nail polish to seal jnats. That is what I used (not pictured). They have well rounded or beveled edges, and the bottoms look flat, so I don't think too much work is needed, although I may put just a bit of a curve or convexity to the surface that touches the hone, just to help break surface suction. Can't wait to start honing with these. Thanks for looking.
Thanks. I'm thinking it will take a bit of time to see what these will. I have never used anything but a tomo and a dmt card. But I'll post up as I get to know them.
The two stone, on top of the hone are called Nagura stones, from Japan. They are used to create a slurry, on a hone, which speeds up the cutting ability of the hone. This is done because the slurry is a gritty composite of the Nagura/Hone combination. Did I get it right ????
Almost, I think. I'm new to this. But to my understanding, each of those stones is supposed to be softer than the base stone, but different from one another, so that you go from coarser to finer. Each of those stones is considered part of a mid range. Then you would go traditionally to a Koma nagura, then a Tomo, which is supposed to be similar in hardness and fineness to your finishing stone. Lots of people go from the Tenjyou to the Mejiro, then straight to Tomo, as I believe the Koma is pricey. There is a stone before these called a Botan, which is I think generally used in bevel setting. I don't have one. Bear in mind I am new to this, and take what I just said with a hefty grain of salt.
You have it The only thing I would add is about using a Botan for bevel setting If you think of Bevel setting as maybe setting the bevel on a New razor or about that intense, for many of what we get from Ebay and out in the wild they need something more like a 1K Synthetic Using the Botan to take out the normal 1K stria is also a good progression
I wouldn't mind a good Nagura or two, to build slurries, but dang, they sure are expensive. I haven't found a site that offers them inexpensively. Maybe there are synthetic slurry stones that do the job, just as well.
That makes sense. I have "heard" people say Botan is for bevel set, but I have read so much about there being no really good bevel setters in the jnat world, so I was confused. But what you say helps me understand, I think. All of my razors are restores, and the bevels were set by me, and sometimes not just set, but completely restored. DaltoGang, you can get a nagura set from here(japanesenaturalstones), for not too much, depending how much the "playtime" is worth to you. And depending on stock, which goes in and out frequently, I think. http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/asano-set/ But I don't know what shipping costs, which you'd have to consider. I believe mine came from there, but don't know what the shipping was, as they were a gift from a very cool friend. They will take some time to learn, though. The first go 'round with them I got a shaveable edge, fairly comfy, but not what I am used to with just tomo and shobu. I think I may have spent too much time on each slurry, or let them go too dry. But I'm having fun, either way.
Try rottenstone. Or, as I've seen elsewhere, a pumice stone. Frankly, I don't get the point of a slurry. If you're using enough lubricant, the swarf won't clog things, and fresh material is exposed as you go along. It seems, to me, to simply be a way to try to make people replace their stones faster, thus increasing sales.
I didn't get it either, until I started making a slurry on my 1k. It does make a big difference, it speeds things up. . Btw, I use dishwashing soap in my water to hone, so the clogging the stones, with swarf, has not been an issue.
I _believe_ that all of the slurry stones are sedimentary rock. You might try picking up some potters clay (the very fine stuff), cut off some blocks, and harden them in the sun. Rub one of those on the stone for a second, then try it. You should get the same effect.
