I started a conversation with a member thanking him for his great advice and encouragement when I first began a few weeks ago. He thanked me for following up, and it's since turned into great experience with me, a humbled beneficiary. After showing interest and an eagerness to learn, I was given a starter kit of JNATs. Unbelievable. I don't know WHAT I did to deserve this. I have a base stone and three of the Naguras--a Botan, Komo, and two finishers/Tomo. I purchased a Mejiro and Tenjyou which I should have on Friday.
I believe I'm being taught as he was. I was instructed to lap the base stone with paper @ 400, 600, 800 and finish on 1000 under running water. The stone is beautiful. It's a lot nicer than beautiful actually.
Then followed instructions to create a bevel (on an eBay W.H. Morely and Sons) I picked up--with my Naniwa Super Stone 1K. I was told, "no bevel, no edge." That made abundant sense. The game plan is to shave after every step.
After creating my bevel and confirming with loupe (often along the way) it was established the entire length heel to toe, I was told to shave with it. Cheeks only. It was rough, but no nicks. I was on my way.
The next assignment was to take it to the Botan. My first slurry. Felt like a prom date! Call me a nerd. After copious tips from my mentor and hours of watching you know who on You Tube, I sprayed down the base stone and made a Botan slurry. I went to town, nearly drooling at both the mindlessness and meticulous attention to feedback, developing muscle memory, listening, feeling, smelling (I suppose you all know Naguras have a smell! I did not), and practicing just keeping the slurry on the stone I was done. It looked spectacular under the loupe. Grayish bevel at ca. 20x with no signs of scratches remaining. I called it done. After I rinsed and floated the blade over my forarm hairs--nothing. Seems I destroyed my first edge. OK. I thought of the Motown song, "Mama told me there'd be days like this" and the sage advice of my mentor. "Patience is going to be the catch-phrase. Your failures will far exceed successes in the beginning. Learn from them rather than allowing them to discourage you." These were just a few of the outstanding things I was told.
Only shaving. Everything's OK. Nobody's gonna die if I mess up. The end result is more practice, and there's no downside to that. Considering all I had done, I concluded perhaps my slurry was too much like a paste, and my pressure was too heavy.
Without rinsing the base stone, I diluted the heck out of it and used the lightest strokes I could muster. The feedback was immediately more discernible. It reminded me of the sound a skier makes at slalom. Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh. (Also reminded me of my ex-wife.......). Within 5 minutes the water was breaking ahead of the blade like the steel was a squeegee. I smiled. Two minutes later the steel was sticking to the stone like a magnet.
I had no doubt I was there. Just by feel. Again I rinsed, dried, and floated it over my forearm hairs. Nothing. OK--another teachable moment. I remember the words "parlor tricks" from my mentor, and HHT and floating over the forearm be damned--a little voice said, "Shave with it."
Well, I did and the edge was in the top 3 I've felt. Not a nick, cut or scratch. The alum felt like a blast of cold air. Life is good.
On Friday I'll use the second of 5 Nagura. Then I'll shave. If it gets any better than this, sign me up.
Balsa strops and films definitely do work. Having felt both, I feel the diamonds are perfunctory. They cut, the blade is damn sharp; but at the risk of stepping on ANYONE'S toes (NOT MY INTENTION), I'm going to put aside the diamonds at the µ level for awhile.
I find it either a happy twist of fate, or years and years of us evolving; that Nagura starts soft and coarse, and through the progression becomes finer and harder. Sounds perfect to the point of ingenious.
Thanks for listening, folks. If you couldn't tell, I'm thrilled to death. Most of all, I am humbled by my mentor who takes the time, expense, and most importantly--is generous with his knowledge. That's what these forums are for. One day I'll pay it forward. It's ironic and counterintuitive that once I master this stone (a workhorse pickup truck) and the Naguras, there will never be a need to buy a Ferrari stone because I know from the experience of others that in this sport, it might be better to hold on to what you have and what put you on the map, so to speak.
I'll keep you all posted as I progress.
I believe I'm being taught as he was. I was instructed to lap the base stone with paper @ 400, 600, 800 and finish on 1000 under running water. The stone is beautiful. It's a lot nicer than beautiful actually.
Then followed instructions to create a bevel (on an eBay W.H. Morely and Sons) I picked up--with my Naniwa Super Stone 1K. I was told, "no bevel, no edge." That made abundant sense. The game plan is to shave after every step.
After creating my bevel and confirming with loupe (often along the way) it was established the entire length heel to toe, I was told to shave with it. Cheeks only. It was rough, but no nicks. I was on my way.
The next assignment was to take it to the Botan. My first slurry. Felt like a prom date! Call me a nerd. After copious tips from my mentor and hours of watching you know who on You Tube, I sprayed down the base stone and made a Botan slurry. I went to town, nearly drooling at both the mindlessness and meticulous attention to feedback, developing muscle memory, listening, feeling, smelling (I suppose you all know Naguras have a smell! I did not), and practicing just keeping the slurry on the stone I was done. It looked spectacular under the loupe. Grayish bevel at ca. 20x with no signs of scratches remaining. I called it done. After I rinsed and floated the blade over my forarm hairs--nothing. Seems I destroyed my first edge. OK. I thought of the Motown song, "Mama told me there'd be days like this" and the sage advice of my mentor. "Patience is going to be the catch-phrase. Your failures will far exceed successes in the beginning. Learn from them rather than allowing them to discourage you." These were just a few of the outstanding things I was told.
Only shaving. Everything's OK. Nobody's gonna die if I mess up. The end result is more practice, and there's no downside to that. Considering all I had done, I concluded perhaps my slurry was too much like a paste, and my pressure was too heavy.
Without rinsing the base stone, I diluted the heck out of it and used the lightest strokes I could muster. The feedback was immediately more discernible. It reminded me of the sound a skier makes at slalom. Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh. (Also reminded me of my ex-wife.......). Within 5 minutes the water was breaking ahead of the blade like the steel was a squeegee. I smiled. Two minutes later the steel was sticking to the stone like a magnet.
I had no doubt I was there. Just by feel. Again I rinsed, dried, and floated it over my forearm hairs. Nothing. OK--another teachable moment. I remember the words "parlor tricks" from my mentor, and HHT and floating over the forearm be damned--a little voice said, "Shave with it."
Well, I did and the edge was in the top 3 I've felt. Not a nick, cut or scratch. The alum felt like a blast of cold air. Life is good.
On Friday I'll use the second of 5 Nagura. Then I'll shave. If it gets any better than this, sign me up.
Balsa strops and films definitely do work. Having felt both, I feel the diamonds are perfunctory. They cut, the blade is damn sharp; but at the risk of stepping on ANYONE'S toes (NOT MY INTENTION), I'm going to put aside the diamonds at the µ level for awhile.
I find it either a happy twist of fate, or years and years of us evolving; that Nagura starts soft and coarse, and through the progression becomes finer and harder. Sounds perfect to the point of ingenious.
Thanks for listening, folks. If you couldn't tell, I'm thrilled to death. Most of all, I am humbled by my mentor who takes the time, expense, and most importantly--is generous with his knowledge. That's what these forums are for. One day I'll pay it forward. It's ironic and counterintuitive that once I master this stone (a workhorse pickup truck) and the Naguras, there will never be a need to buy a Ferrari stone because I know from the experience of others that in this sport, it might be better to hold on to what you have and what put you on the map, so to speak.
I'll keep you all posted as I progress.