What's new

Finishing kamisori - JNat or 0.1 diamond pasted balsa?

New to cutthroats and recently acquired an Iwasaki Kamisori. For the first few shaves, I've finished on CrO2 pasted suede then plain top grain hanging strop. I've achieved pretty decent hanging hair sharpness and tree topping.

Still feeling some resistance in the shave - wouldn't be surprised if my technique needs refining. Nonetheless, I'm looking to go as sharp as physically possible. I'm currently torn on whether to finish on a nice Nakayama japanese natural stone with appropriate nagura or finish on a 0.5u/0.25u/0.1u diamond paste on balsa progression.

Am I correct in understanding that the razor can be shave ready straight after the jnat? no stropping required?

I've seen plenty of people saying kamisoris perform well when traditional practices are upheld (JNAT) but I'm definitely new to this game and am interested to hear what others think.

Cheers
 
I have never been able to beat a good jnat edge with any diamond or cbn spray.
Most of the time they need to be toned down with slurry.
That is just my experience.
 
I have never been able to beat a good jnat edge with any diamond or cbn spray.
Most of the time they need to be toned down with slurry.
That is just my experience.
thanks for your response. Are you saying that diamond finishes need to be toned down with slurry because they're too aggresive?
 
thanks for your response. Are you saying that diamond finishes need to be toned down with slurry because they're too aggresive?
No. I am saying that most of the time jnat edges are more then sharp enough, and sometimes a little too sharp for daily shaves. You can fine tune your edge by finishing on slurry with different densities, depending on how sharp you want your edge.
You need a good stone though.
 
No. I am saying that most of the time jnat edges are more then sharp enough, and sometimes a little too sharp for daily shaves. You can fine tune your edge by finishing on slurry with different densities, depending on how sharp you want your edge.
You need a good stone though.
oh thanks. Will a thinner slurry yield a less aggressive edge?

Definitely not planning on cheaping-out on the stone.
 
oh thanks. Will a thinner slurry yield a less aggressive edge?

Definitely not planning on cheaping-out on the stone.
In general a thicker slurry will create a a more mellow edge.
However, slurry also act as lubrication. You need to figure out what works best with your particular stone.
I have some stones that will start to release more particles with less slurry. The density is important. It is not a 1+1=2 type of thing.
 
In general a thicker slurry will create a a more mellow edge.
However, slurry also act as lubrication. You need to figure out what works best with your particular stone.
I have some stones that will start to release more particles with less slurry. The density is important. It is not a 1+1=2 type of thing.
roger that. Thanks for the words of wisdom - much appreciated.
 
roger that. Thanks for the words of wisdom - much appreciated.
There are some that probably have forgotten more then I know about jnats around here.
If you reach out to @Steve56 or @Gamma for example, you will probably get some useful pointers.

I just know my own stones.
 
Last edited:

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
I think that tou need to strop. If you’re having trouble with it on a hanging strop, lay the strop flat on the edge of a table and see if that helps.
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
I aim for light saber sharpness on all my stuff, and never got it until I started stropping on .5 and .25 CBN on leather. Silent HHT root in and root out. Kamisori seem to get that at much easier as the blade never deflects and the bevel stays consistent from first to last stone.

Frankly I never mastered Jnat finishing to get it to that point, but still enjoyed the Jnat edge, and CBN seems to preserve that, where Diamond kinda took it back to a synth edge feel for me.
 
The person who makes those razors stops at a 1 micron diamond paste applied to some kind of rubber-ish pad that he keeps in a little tin with a lid. That being said you could go to a 0.5 micron and see where that gets you.

The person that makes those Kamisoris has access to all kinds of Jnats and he still finishes on diamond so there’s that. It’s still possible that you might like a stone edge though.
 
“Am I correct in understanding that the razor can be shave ready straight after the jnat? no stropping required?”

No, all razor edges benefit from stropping on linen and leather. The quality and cleanness of the both will affect the edge finish. More important is the stropping mastery of the stropper.

A razor edge can be ruined in a single lap. Stropping on paste magnifies the need for stropping skills.

A Jnat edge and a pasted edge are two different edges. Both can shave very well and depend on your beard, skin, shaving, honing and stropping skills. For straight razor maintenance, stropping is the most difficult skill to master, (get to the point where you are consistently improving an edge), but you need to strop before each shave.

Try both and see. For me nothing beats an Ark or Jnat edge.

An Iwasaki Kamisori is not the razor you want to learn to hone on. How was the shave off, Chrome Oxide?
 
Everybody has their own way, as they have sought to find what works best for them. I am working on a tamagahane kamisori right now. I took it out to 16k on Shapton glass. It shaved well, was quite sharp, but gave just a hint of irritation on some of the bumpy areas of my skin. My next step is to take it down on an Oozuku jnat with slurry. While not quite as "sharp", it still does very well on the hanging hair test and provides a more comfortable shave experience.

I have used diamond pasted balsa in the past with good results and that remains a last resort for me. I have some very good strops that provide excellent results. And I never contaminate a decent strop any type of paste.
 
Not sure if this will help much, but I got one new and wasn’t satisfied with the edge. I wasn’t sure what it was finished on, but I took it to my thuringian and it turned out blissful.

I have yet to take it to a Jnat but will soon, I’m sure it could be further improved on it once I figure it out.
 
I did a dozen strokes on my Naniwa 12K after the 1st shave and I was content with that but the next time I might follow the 12K with my black Arkansas stone which I have fitted in my Norton Multi-Oilstone holder. The holder has an oil reservoir as well.
 
“Am I correct in understanding that the razor can be shave ready straight after the jnat? no stropping required?”

No, all razor edges benefit from stropping on linen and leather. The quality and cleanness of the both will affect the edge finish. More important is the stropping mastery of the stropper.

A razor edge can be ruined in a single lap. Stropping on paste magnifies the need for stropping skills.

A Jnat edge and a pasted edge are two different edges. Both can shave very well and depend on your beard, skin, shaving, honing and stropping skills. For straight razor maintenance, stropping is the most difficult skill to master, (get to the point where you are consistently improving an edge), but you need to strop before each shave.

Try both and see. For me nothing beats an Ark or Jnat edge.

An Iwasaki Kamisori is not the razor you want to learn to hone on. How was the shave off, Chrome Oxide?
The shave was decent when finishing on chromium oxide. I had some trouble removing the chin whiskers and only went WTG as ATG put up a fair bit of resistance.

It was hard to attribute my troubles to poor technique or lacking sharpness.
 
Yea, ATG is “the” test of a shave ready edge.

Get some magnification, even a 20x loupe or a 60/100 Carson Micro Bright, $15, and look straight down on the edge. If you see any bright reflections, those are micro chip or where the bevels are not meeting.

It is not uncommon for new stroppers to use excessive pressure, with paste improper technique is exacerbated.

If you have micro chipping or rolled edge, it is nothing that a finishing Jnat and Diamond slurry will not correct in 20-30 laps. Keep checking the edge looking straight down on the edge until no reflections are seen.

Below is an edge where bevels are “almost” meeting, note reflections. The second photo shows the same edge fully meeting, no reflections.

Sounds like your edge is pretty close.

1 almost set .jpg
2 full set .jpg
 
Top Bottom