Hello, I need some advice on how long to work a slurry on a jnat. I just want to make sure I get the most out of each slurry and max it out: Can a fellow go too far with a slurry, meaning over cook/overhone? How does one know when he is done with a particular slurry? Is there a certain look, feel or feedback with the slurry when one is done? How many strokes does it normally take on DN, and Tomo slurry , or komo etc before this slurry is maxed out? So do I need to refreash each slurry or do only 1? For example DN, then Tomo - do I 'only' do one slurry with each Nagura or do I do 2? Thanks, Mike
You are really overpacking the questions But Overhoning, the answer is Yes But not because of anything you are doing with the Slurry, overhoning or creating a Burr/Harsh Fragile edge occurs from Pressure and Time The good news is that Slurry actually acts as a buffer against that, I can explain the theory behind it if you want to go deeper, but in general, slurry holds back the idea of overhoning Numbers, When honing with slurry you need to get the idea of "Number of Strokes" completely out of your head, this is, even more, an exercise in honing by feel than other types of honing, you have to have a good grasp of what each stage is before trying this type of honing. How many times you use a slurry is pretty much limited to the bevel setting stage, you continue there until you have a Smooth, Sharp, Even bevel the same as every other type of honing. Honestly, I find the idea of setting a bevel on a J-Nat using Nagaua a quaint notion, not a serious option when 1k hones are available and CHEAP. How the slurry feels is important and you can only learn that through experience with YOUR stone I think I hit all your questions but ask away if I missed any
Pretty much what Glen said. I’ve counted strokes until slurry starts ‘smoothing out’ in my earlier days, generally speaking you can feel the slurry ‘break’ at 15-25 strokes, but it may be more dependent on the stone and tomo. But generalizations won’t help you with a specific stone and/or tomo, like Glen said, you have to feel for it. Once you’ve felt it smooth out after several honings, then you’ll know how many strokes it takes. For that particular combination. Slurry at least partially regenerates itself on a jnat so I’m not sure it will ever stop cutting, the stones themselves can cut without slurry. Alex Gilmore and I have both put slurry on plate glass and it will stop cutting in a couple of minutes or so, but this is not true on a jnat. It will cut more slowly as time goes by, so refreshing slurry can add more cutting power. You’ll still need to work the refreshed slurry down for best results. You’re done at any stage of honing when the striae from the last hone is gone, IOW the bevel has a uniform finish, toe to heel, from the current hone. If the striae/finish is all from the current hone, you’re done, if not, refreshing the slurry usually helps.
lol - yeap that's why I am here. Lots to learn. I haven't experienced over-honed edges with Jnats, just curious if one can. I believe the notion that the slurry keeps the burr at bay. I have learned this slurry from a jnat doesn't really need diluted, but it needs to be keep wet, so it will no kill the edge. Ask me how I know -lol! The slurry from a jnat breaks down and gets finer in it's own. Me being new and all I just figured there was only a certain amount of time to spend on the slurry. So if I am doing a DN after 5k synth - do I only do one slurry, then move on to Tomo so one slurry, then clearwater? Thanks, Mike
Hmmmmm You have to test it yourself on your stone, but I have never used a J-nat liked a "Clearwater" finish over a well-worked slurry finish. Also, another trick is to leave the old slurry on your stone after honing, it helps to break down the new slurry better .. Try it, see if it works for you
This stone actually works good on clear water. It's like only a 4.5 - 5 hardness, but I'm not sure what the fine level scale is? Steve56 may chime in again, he would know it came from him. I remember him telling me it was a 5 or so in hardness, I forgot to ask how fine it is, but I do know it's on the finer side of the scale.
It’s around 4.5 - 5- in hardness and clear water finishing picks the edge up some over thin slurry. Clear water finishing won’t work with all stones, and you have to try it to see if that edge suits you.
This stone seems to do pretty decent on clear water - at least for me. How fine do you guesstimate it maybe a 5 or so?
Lol, no telling, everyone uses different numbers. 5 doesn’t mean the same thing dealer to dealer, stone to stone. It is what it is. I’d say that it’s about average for a jnat razor finisher. The only thing that matters is the quality of the edge that it makes and how that edge suits your face.
