Does anyone know what gold specks/freckles are in jnats. Nishiji?? If so what is Nishiji? I can't get a good picture.
Thanks, Mike
Thanks, Mike
Gold specks in jnat
- Thread starter Southbound1
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Do they scratch the steel?
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- #3
Not so far, under a 10x loupe. Its on a shoubi tomo, and on it there is not many. I also bought a aiwadan mitzu koppa that has them also. I thought the aiwadan was scratching steel but I was wrong, its covered in the little gold specks Also but smaller than the shoubi tomo, and the entire surface has them. At
First I thought the specks on the aiwadan was metallic, but they appear to be gold with close inspection. Here is the shoubi tomo below and the brownish orange specks near my finger tips are catching direct light, they look gold under direct light and the one at the bottom of the stone aren't catching direct light, but just under normal light and they look brownish orange.
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Those are not Nashiji, they're flecks of minerals within the stone. Many Shobu have this metallic fleck thing going on. Occasionally it is extremely pronounced and you can feel it but they are innocuous to the steel. In fact those hones with the crazy metallic bumpy feeling can make stupid sick edges sometimes. Anyway, sometimes the metallic thing is mica, or occasionally nickel. Typically it is softer than razor steel. Orangish spots can be anything, including iron.
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- #5
Yeah these can't be felt with finger nail or a straight pin. They are orange or brownish looking under normal lighting and gold and shiny under direct lighting.
That big slab Shobu I sold recently had them, did not affect anything at all and that stone produced some fine edges.
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- #7
Yeap my Shoubi tomo is the same color kinda grey and it has those gold specks. Probably is Mica as Gamma suggested. I ask Takeshi also he said the same. It don't scratch steel, and i think mica on mohs scale is only like 3.5.That big slab Shobu I sold recently had them, did not affect anything at all and that stone produced some fine edges.
