First time using naniwa stone

[Neckbone]

Just restarting my honing after a break of years. I had some stuff left, but was missing a 1000 grit bevel setter. My naniwa arrived yesterday and I went to honing. I have ordered/won a mess of razors from ebay. They need sterilizing and a good wash. Grabbed a clean one to try out the naniwa. I was impressed with the feel right away. Was a pleasure to stroke the blade against it. Took more work that I had guessed to establish a decent bevel, but got there. I had heard these stones produce a polished (for a 1k) bevel almost equal to a 4k stone. I was not seeing that. Bevel had a gray cast to it and struggled to shave arm hair. Under a microscope all looked well but dingy. Convince nothing more could be achieved I moved up to 4k and then 8k. Starting to see some shine now. Finished on a 13k. Took a couple laps on black paste linen before stropping. I could cut a couple HHT but not easily. The test of shaving came out good. Better than expected. It's not my best razor but up with the top 3. I liked the naniwa stone but am still puzzled with the bevel appearance and gray cast. Have several more razors lined up for honing today and may get different results.
Comments welcomed. Thanks

 

[Christian1212]

Make sure your stone is lapped flat! Will say naniwas leave a more polished edge than other synthetics, but the 1k will still be hazy.

If your bevel is completely set and you don't overhone on the 8k/13k stone then you should be in for a sweet edge.

 

[Neckbone]

Make sure your stone is lapped flat! Will say naniwas leave a more polished edge than other synthetics, but the 1k will still be hazy.

If your bevel is completely set and you don't overhone on the 8k/13k stone then you should be in for a sweet edge.

That's exactly how it worked out.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

When honing eBay beaters, some may first need some repair work so that they can be honed.

Which Naniwa 1k did you purchase, they all finish a bit different but are all 1k grit. The Super Stones must be kept swarf free for finish laps, nothing a quick lap will not fix.

How a 1k bevel looks, really does not matter, you will not be shaving off that edge, as long as the stria pattern is even, honed from back of the bevel to the edge and both edges are meeting fully from heel to toe.

HHT is only a road sign that you are headed in the right direction, you are only testing a very small sample size. Look straight down on the edge with magnification. If you see shiny reflections, your bevels are not yet fully meeting. This test is more definitive.

Post photos of your razor, both sides, to eliminate the razor as a potential problem.

Sounds like a good progression, a bit of slurry and circles will cut a new bevel much quicker, then finish each stone with X laps and lighter pressure. Also ensure you bevel or round the stone edges or you will be dragging your freshly cut bevels across a ragged edge.

 

[Neckbone]

The 1k is a Naniwa Professional (formally called Chosera). Your comment on Ebays beaters is right on. Tried 2 razors this morning. Both dogs. Having trouble with the first one getting the bevel set. I decided (hate to do this) drop down to a 400 diamond. I'll address that later.
Went to another razor called Smith+ Wesson. I guess they sold their name to some Chinese outfit. I was working my butt off on the 1k when I realized a bevel was being set, but far back from the edge. Not thinking that out, I dropped to the 400 and ground away. Finally after watching the bevel get wider and not moving towards the cutting edge that quickly, I looked closely at the spine. It is very narrow. The geometry is off. With such a narrow spline the bevel will be 1/4" wide.
Had to walk away for now. I will get after both of them later.

 

[Gamma]

I had heard these stones produce a polished (for a 1k) bevel almost equal to a 4k stone.

Uhm, no. Whoever said that is confused, or just spitballing to create drama. Or maybe their 4k is junky. Polish on the bevel at this stage means nothing. Means nothing in general actually, it's knife forum fodder.

I was not seeing that. Bevel had a gray cast to it and struggled to shave arm hair.

the amount of 'polish' on a bevel has nothing to do with apex condition. If the edge is struggling to cut a hair then the bevel is not set correctly. Learn to set a bevel so it will shave, then it's set.

Under a microscope all looked well but dingy. Convince nothing more could be achieved

Again, looks mean nothing. So called 'mirror polish' means nothing. Many edges that shave great look less than mirror and a lot of edges with a mirror polish shave poorly. 99% of my razors have hazy bevels, by choice. And they shave the pants off most edges I run into.

I moved up to 4k and then 8k. Starting to see some shine now. Finished on a 13k. Took a couple laps on black paste linen before stropping. I could cut a couple HHT but not easily.

HHT is not indicative of edge quality, really. HHT can be achieved on a 1k.

The test of shaving came out good. Better than expected. It's not my best razor but up with the top 3. I liked the naniwa stone but am still puzzled with the bevel appearance and gray cast.

It's a 1k, approx 11.5 µm, stone, honing steel in the 60 HRC ballpark. The striations are wide enough and deep enough to clear metal but not narrow or shallow - so they aren't going to make a mirror on a razor unless the steel is sketchy. The bevel and apex isn't going to have a finished look.

 

[Unknown Stone]

The Chinese offerings can offer a good platform for the learning curve for honing and shave well enough if you get one with decent geometry.

I will set out a few new ones for honing and work on the one that I’m getting fairly even heal-to-to contact on within the 1st 30-40 strokes and just work with that one (or two). It’s not uncommon to miss huge percentages of the bevel with the Chinese razors due to various issues.

85-90% contact with early efforts is what I hope for best case scenario…

 

[LJS]

The Chinese offerings can offer a good platform for the learning curve for honing and shave well enough if you get one with decent geometry.

Due to price and availability, I have tried several times to use Chinese razors as test subjects for consistency. It just never did well enough for me to continue over older used vintage razors even though they tend to all be different. The gross and minor geometry issues coupled with inferior steel just leave a lot to be desired. I understand your suggestion and won’t say it’s completely wrong, because it is not, but it is also not great either unfortunately. It is annoying no decent yet inexpensive contemporary razors exist.

 

[Unknown Stone]

There could definitely be a risk that over half of an order of let’s say six could have problems that aren’t worth fixing. The risk with vintage blades is damage (or pitting) that can’t clearly be seen from auction site photos or temper problems that can’t be detected until after the fact.

I do think that vintage razors sold by the lot could be an alternative though. Unfortunately, these lot sales often include razors that are already honed down to a toothpick.…