So I picked up an Ozuku Suita Koppa Katakuchi (see pic) from a knife and razor dealer I've purchased a few SRs from and they aren't the most knowledgeable about JNats, but they were told by the supplier (Imanishi) that this is suitable as an SR finisher so I decided to give it a try. I've heard that suita aren't normally hard enough to finish so I'm ok if this is a fast cutter that I can use as a pre-finisher in any event. I decided to hone a GD that I had previously honed with a black Ark finish, and gave me some excellent shaves, so this will give me a good comparison.
I also purchased a tomo nagura and decided to hone the blade up to an 8K Shapton finish before moving to the Ozuku. I started with a thick slurry and tried to feel for when the slurry broke down and slowly added water till I felt the slurry was no longer working effectively. I then added a medium slurry and repeated the process adding back a light slurry and then water alone. I did around 200 passes in total and noticed a hazy finish to the edge, which I think is normal for this type of stone. I then finished using the stone under running water and noticed that the edge became more of a mirrored finish.
Tests seemed to show a fairly sharp edge and when I shaved with it today I noticed that it was somewhere between my Black Shadow and black Ark finish, which I was very pleased with. The edge is not as smooth as with the BS but no crisper than the Ark, so it's not as smooth as I would like, but I've also heard that JNats tend to produce a crisper edge than slates so this wasn't unexpected.
Overall, I'm very happy with my first experience with this stone and hoping that I can take the edge further, and maybe get a little more smoothness as well, as I learn my way around this stone. I can certainly see why JNats are so popular!
I also purchased a tomo nagura and decided to hone the blade up to an 8K Shapton finish before moving to the Ozuku. I started with a thick slurry and tried to feel for when the slurry broke down and slowly added water till I felt the slurry was no longer working effectively. I then added a medium slurry and repeated the process adding back a light slurry and then water alone. I did around 200 passes in total and noticed a hazy finish to the edge, which I think is normal for this type of stone. I then finished using the stone under running water and noticed that the edge became more of a mirrored finish.
Tests seemed to show a fairly sharp edge and when I shaved with it today I noticed that it was somewhere between my Black Shadow and black Ark finish, which I was very pleased with. The edge is not as smooth as with the BS but no crisper than the Ark, so it's not as smooth as I would like, but I've also heard that JNats tend to produce a crisper edge than slates so this wasn't unexpected.
Overall, I'm very happy with my first experience with this stone and hoping that I can take the edge further, and maybe get a little more smoothness as well, as I learn my way around this stone. I can certainly see why JNats are so popular!