For those of you who have bought jnats on ebay, how has your luck been? I know it's probably not the best source but still.... the temptation.
Jnats on ebay
- Thread starter Friedramen
- Start date
Steve56
Ask me about shaving naked!
I haven’t bought eBay stones myself, but I do buy them on the Japanese equivalent, Yahoo.jp. Here are some tips:
It helps if you know what common defects look like or have a knowledgeable person review the auction/sale
True bargains are uncommon, if you pay $X for a stone, it’s unlikely that it will be worth much more.
Nearly all of them look yellower than they really are. You can think you’re buying a kiita and get an asagi.
Returns to Japan are almost always either not possible or the return shipping would be so high that it isn’t worth it. IOW, if you buy it, it’s yours.
The Japanese terminology when translated to English by Google, whatever, can be confusing.
And with all auctions/sales for everything everywhere, read the description and terms of sale carefully.
That said, the folks that I know that have bought eBay stones from Japan have generally been pretty happy with them.
Good hunting!
It helps if you know what common defects look like or have a knowledgeable person review the auction/sale
True bargains are uncommon, if you pay $X for a stone, it’s unlikely that it will be worth much more.
Nearly all of them look yellower than they really are. You can think you’re buying a kiita and get an asagi.
Returns to Japan are almost always either not possible or the return shipping would be so high that it isn’t worth it. IOW, if you buy it, it’s yours.
The Japanese terminology when translated to English by Google, whatever, can be confusing.
And with all auctions/sales for everything everywhere, read the description and terms of sale carefully.
That said, the folks that I know that have bought eBay stones from Japan have generally been pretty happy with them.
Good hunting!
Not having a wealth of knowledge on JNats, or anything else for that matter, I have only bought Japanese stones from sources who's knowledge I trust... Alex or Maxim..
You have to either invest time, or invest $$$. I chose to invest time in researching and $$$ in trying as many stones as possible.
Result: Time spent and dollars spent, many stones on the shelves, mostly all good for something, but definitely not all good for razors, which is totally fine.
This is the one area where you have to buy, try, see how it works for you.. If you're not willing to do that, then may as well stay away from natural stones.
The best advice: Buy clean stones, lighter yellow or light grey. Start slowly to gain experience, then go crazy.
Where you buy does not matter. There are good guys and there are crooks.. Everywhere. E v e r y w h e r e.
Sent from my CLT-L29 using Tapatalk
Result: Time spent and dollars spent, many stones on the shelves, mostly all good for something, but definitely not all good for razors, which is totally fine.
This is the one area where you have to buy, try, see how it works for you.. If you're not willing to do that, then may as well stay away from natural stones.
The best advice: Buy clean stones, lighter yellow or light grey. Start slowly to gain experience, then go crazy.
Where you buy does not matter. There are good guys and there are crooks.. Everywhere. E v e r y w h e r e.
Sent from my CLT-L29 using Tapatalk
Who are Alex/maxim? I have gotten mine tough Keith on etsy.
I don't know who Keith is, but the gents I'm speaking of are Alex Gilmore, and Maxim from JNS.. Japanese Natural Stones.
I'm not saying there are not other places, but I trust the knowledge of these gents.
Keith v Johnson, TomoNagura on etsy. Top notch stuff.
