Adaee 12k Chinese Natural

[rbscebu]

I am looking to purchase an Adaee 12k Chinese natural whetstone (200mm x 75mm x 29mm) on AliExpress for a little over USD 30 including shipping.

My current honing setup consists of 400 to 10k all synthetic and then I go to lapping films and diamond pasted balsa. I left the few naturals I had in the Philippines when I left.

My thoughts with this Cnat is to give it a go as a finisher. I most probably won't be that good but, if it's a decent whetstone, it might be able to replace my lapping films.

If that doesn't work, I could use it as a doorstop.

 

[RayClem]

I have had two CNATs from the Guangxi province. One honed somewhere around the 10K level. The other was finer and probably around 12K. Hopefully, you will get a good one. There are natural hones I like better (Greek Vermio, Zuly Grey, Imperia la Roccia); but for the price CNATs are hard to beat. They should be a step above the 10K synthetic. As long as your finish with pasted strops, you should be fine.

 

[Chard52142]

I am looking to purchase an Adaee 12k Chinese natural whetstone (200mm x 75mm x 29mm) on AliExpress for a little over USD 30 including shipping.

My current honing setup consists of 400 to 10k all synthetic and then I go to lapping films and diamond pasted balsa. I left the few naturals I had in the Philippines when I left.

My thoughts with this Cnat is to give it a go as a finisher. I most probably won't be that good but, if it's a decent whetstone, it might be able to replace my lapping films.

If that doesn't work, I could use it as a doorstop.

I love to hear your feedback since I too have that stone in my cart for a while but am unsure of the qualities...

 

[RayClem]

I love to hear your feedback since I too have that stone in my cart for a while but am unsure of the qualities...

Just remember that all natural stones are different, even if they are cut from the same quarry block. Even if one stone is a superb hone, there is no guarantee that another one will be. With more expensive stones, the quality control is likely to be better. For example, Escher branded stones are often held in high regard because Escher did not want to put their name on a poor quality stone. You won't find that level of quality control with the Guangxi hones, but you are also not paying a high price, either. As they say "you pay your money and you take your chances".

 

[rbscebu]

Thank you for the replies. I will pull the trigger on this stone once the April GRUME is over.

 

[Legion]

I had a Guangxi one, and I think I got lucky with mine. It was close to 12k in my estimation.

Slow stone though. It would take at least a 100 laps to max it out. I thought about trying different types of slurry stones with it, but never got around to the experiment.

 

[Wid]

I had one years ago. If I’m remembering correctly it wasn’t to bad of a stone, definitely could shave off it. I believe they used to say the ones with the orange stripes were a bit finer, better of the batch.

 

[ables]

About 10 years ago when I first started with straight razors I got a Norton 4/8k and a "Natural Polishing Stone", the Gaungxi C12k from Woodcraft. This was the only stone for sale finer than the norton at the time there and I had read people liked it and was excited to find one for ~30$.

My c12k is horrible, absolutely the worst natural stone I've ever used and it soured me on natural finishers for a long long time. It seems to possess the unique ability to dull any edge brought to it, im not even sure how it happens, auto slurry toxic particles? It is also a soaker stone, pourous, and thirsty which is very odd. I read that maybe I could lap down to a better layer and spent hours attempting to do this without luck making me invest even more effort and anger into the stone. I spent years on and off straight razor shaving with the norton 8k + strops becuase I figured all natural stones also sucked. And thought straight razors just weren't as sharp as double edge blades and some tugging was acceptable.

Now this Adaee stone likely is not the same thing as my Gaunxi but if I could have my 30$ back and the years of ignoring natural hone stones I would be very happy.

 

[Tomo]

Many stones can be used for sharpening. If you want the best experience with natural razor finishers it’s best to stick to the well known, tried and tested varieties. If you are using the same equipment as everyone else, with practice you can reasonably expect to be able to achieve the same results. Arks, Thuris, Cotis and Jnats have a long history as razor finishers.

Turkish stones and Cnats are not well known in the community for delivering good razor edges. It might be possible but you are starting with the odds stacked against you. With the edges you’re used to, a “not bad” stone is unlikely to impress you.

Because you like ultra sharp diamond paste edges, I would recommend a Hard Arkansas novaculite stone. These stones along with some Jnats deliver the sharpest possible edge. Arks also have the advantage of being cheaper and much more consistent.

For me Arks are the 0.1 micron diamond paste of natural stones. With a fine surface finish they are fine and slow. You need a pretty good edge going in but they take a good edge and make it great. It’s hard to imagine that someone could ever wear a razor out on a burnished hard ark even with daily touch ups.

 

[Legion]

Many stones can be used for sharpening. If you want the best experience with natural razor finishers it’s best to stick to the well known, tried and tested varieties. If you are using the same equipment as everyone else, with practice you can reasonably expect to be able to achieve the same results. Arks, Thuris, Cotis and Jnats have a long history as razor finishers.

Turkish stones and Cnats are not well known in the community for delivering good razor edges. It might be possible but you are starting with the odds stacked against you. With the edges you’re used to, a “not bad” stone is unlikely to impress you.

Because you like ultra sharp diamond paste edges, I would recommend a Hard Arkansas novaculite stone. These stones along with some Jnats deliver the sharpest possible edge. Arks also have the advantage of being cheaper and much more consistent.

For me Arks are the 0.1 micron diamond paste of natural stones. With a fine surface finish they are fine and slow. You need a pretty good edge going in but they take a good edge and make it great. It’s hard to imagine that someone could ever wear a razor out on a burnished hard ark even with daily touch ups.

And you would never be able to wear out a true hard Ark with a razor, so it is a lifetime investment, I suppose.

 

[Tomo]

And you would never be able to wear out a true hard Ark with a razor, so it is a lifetime investment, I suppose.

I did a major, once in a generation, overhaul on a hundred year old Norton trans ark. I flattened and surface prepped both sides with SIC powder and WD paper for half a day. In the end I lost 0.13 mm of thickness. A one inch thick stone will literally last for thousands of years of regular razor use! Unless you drop it…

 

[Legion]

I did a major, once in a generation, overhaul on a hundred year old Norton trans ark. I flattened and surface prepped both sides with SIC powder and WD paper for half a day. In the end I lost 0.13 mm of thickness. A one inch thick stone will literally last for thousands of years of regular razor use! Unless you drop it…

And even then you might get away with it.

I found this broken stone in an antique store. It was probably an 8” stone originally, but with a bit of TLC it is still a usable 6” stone.

So for $60AU and a bit of work, I could literally never need anything else to keep a shave ready razor in action.

With the Chinese stone there would always be that lingering doubt about whether your example is a “good” one or not.

 

[rbscebu]

Many stones can be used for sharpening. If you want the best experience with natural razor finishers it’s best to stick to the well known, tried and tested varieties. If you are using the same equipment as everyone else, with practice you can reasonably expect to be able to achieve the same results. Arks, Thuris, Cotis and Jnats have a long history as razor finishers.

Turkish stones and Cnats are not well known in the community for delivering good razor edges. It might be possible but you are starting with the odds stacked against you. With the edges you’re used to, a “not bad” stone is unlikely to impress you.

Because you like ultra sharp diamond paste edges, I would recommend a Hard Arkansas novaculite stone. These stones along with some Jnats deliver the sharpest possible edge. Arks also have the advantage of being cheaper and much more consistent.

For me Arks are the 0.1 micron diamond paste of natural stones. With a fine surface finish they are fine and slow. You need a pretty good edge going in but they take a good edge and make it great. It’s hard to imagine that someone could ever wear a razor out on a burnished hard ark even with daily touch ups.

You give me food for thought. I think that I will still try the Cnat and see how good/bad it is as a finisher. If it fails, the Cnat should still be good at replacing lapping films before my balsa strops progression. I would then consider a Hard Arkansas novaculite stone.

I'm a slow learner but I do learn.

 

[RayClem]

I had a Guangxi one, and I think I got lucky with mine. It was close to 12k in my estimation.

Slow stone though. It would take at least a 100 laps to max it out. I thought about trying different types of slurry stones with it, but never got around to the experiment.

If you are using a CNAT as a finishing stone with a 10K synthetic before it, getting a slow cutting stone is not a big issue. The 10K can get you close and then the CNAT will serve as a polisher. If you are trying to come off something with larger grit size as the intermediate stone (5K or 8K for example), then you might get frustrated with a slow stone.

 

[Legion]

If you are using a CNAT as a finishing stone with a 10K synthetic before it, getting a slow cutting stone is not a big issue. The 10K can get you close and then the CNAT will serve as a polisher. If you are trying to come off something with larger grit size as the intermediate stone (5K or 8K for example), then you might get frustrated with a slow stone.

When using my cnat, I was coming off a Norton 8k. And it worked, but as I said, a lot of laps.

 

[rbscebu]

If you are using a CNAT as a finishing stone with a 10K synthetic before it, getting a slow cutting stone is not a big issue. The 10K can get you close and then the CNAT will serve as a polisher. If you are trying to come off something with larger grit size as the intermediate stone (5K or 8K for example), then you might get frustrated with a slow stone.

Thanks. I do have a 10k synthetic and will use that between the 8k and the 12k Cnat as a finisher.

 

[Adonay]

There are those who like these stones and those who don't. My experience with one I have is that it works as a finisher, although I'm currently giving preference to other stones. I recommend using a strop with cromox after, it improves the advantage. But like all natural stone there is the luck factor. For $30 I don't think it's bad. Maybe I can get a (small) jnat for a little more on some auction site.

 

[Adonay]

ps. As a natural finisher don´t wait the same sharp as one 0.1 micron diamond in balsa.

 

[rbscebu]

There are those who like these stones and those who don't. My experience with one I have is that it works as a finisher, although I'm currently giving preference to other stones. I recommend using a strop with cromox after, it improves the advantage. But like all natural stone there is the luck factor. For $30 I don't think it's bad. Maybe I can get a (small) jnat for a little more on some auction site.

Thank you. I have never used an oxide pasted strop. I do have a spare unused denim strop and some unknown Chinese stropping paste that I have never used.

Getting this Chinese natural whetstone and possibly playing around with a pasted cloth strop could be interesting. I don't expect to get an edge similar to one off a 0.1μm pasted balsa strop but I might be able to experience an edge like our forefathers may have experienced.

 

[cotedupy]

Because you like ultra sharp diamond paste edges

This was the first thing that crossed my mind when reading your initial post R...

I have a cnat which came from a Chinese kitchenware shaop in Melbourne, it's a slate. I dunno what the Adaee stone is, but if it's a slate, shale or mudstone then it's going to produce basically the opposite kind of edge to what you usually like with films n pasted strops. Less sharp, more smooth.

Fun to have both options though!

---

There's also potential to experiment with this kind of thing in interesting ways... you could for instance take a diamond pasted edge and mellow it with just a few passes on a slow natural stone after. Try to get the best of both worlds. I've not played around with this really on razors that much. But you can get some very interesting edges on other blades doing stuff like this.

The screenshot below is from Henk Bos Part 3 with regards to the Moughton Whetstone, which itself is only about 8k, and yet can be used after a far finer finishing stone.

And funnily enough a couple of paras later he compares it to... a Chinese 12k.