My Jnat Journey

[JPO]

I found a very useful link on the Mikawa Asano Nagura.

Mikawa Nagura with Asano Evaluation - Natural Whetstones

Information about Mikawa Asano Nagura Japanese Natural Stones Origins, Layers, Progression, Koma vs Mejiro, Purchasing Locations and Stamps.

naturalwhetstones.com

You already have a set of naguras that might be good.
For the price these stones are selling for you can get a good mid-range fast stone, like a suita.

There is something special about using these naguras in a full progression. However, i don't think that the result are any better then if you used a mid-range stone instead.

I would need to test these stones in person, using my own base stones to be able to put together a good set of naguras. I am not in a position to do this. I usually pick one that works the best with the base stone i use.
My Koma seems to be more versatile. This is soft, and will release particles quite easy on most stones.

I also think that getting a set of stones that range from coarse to fine can be difficult. I can jump to a tomo slurry from any of my Mikawa naguras. The only one i have that is truly spesial is the Koma nagura.

Do i need koma seems to be a common question. If i was buying nagura stones now i would put my budged into a good Koma.

A good shiro suita nagura can also be a good option.

 

[Christian1212]

Think if I was getting new stones for progression I would get a tenjou and meirjo, which should be in the 60-100 range for both. I think this would be the best if you already had a good base stone. Finding good koma can be expensive. I am able to skip my Koma if I spend more time on my meirjo and or do 2 tomo sessions. IMO finding a good suita for under 200 is going to have you run into problematic stones or a very odd shape.

Your unmarked naguras are wild cards, and I'm guessing you don't know how a good performing asano nagura would compare. I would see if someone would lend you some asano naguras to test and see what you like. Most of the jnat users I see will either use (1) asano nagura to tomo or (2) synthetics to tomo. The ones I do see using a midrange base stone have nice ones they want to use because it is fun. There are plenty of roads to cutting hair, but I think in the Jnat world there is a reason these are the main 2 methods. Will throw in diamond slurry is up there as well before a tomo.

 

[natto]

It's the opposite of that. A really common wear pattern is that whoever honed the razor over a long period took off more metal at the heel end than the toe end, so that the edge is no longer parallel with the spine, but instead slopes toward being less tall at the heel. It's really easy to do that, just as it is really easy to wear the flat at the spine more than the bevel, because that's what happens naturally if you are not purposeful about where you are applying pressure on the stone.

That way it makes more sense.
Thank you @Herrenberg .

 

[Tomo]

Well the weekly plane from LA must have landed because there were two packages from the states waiting for me when I got home last night. A beautiful block of Awasedo from my mate in Tennessee and some Cashew laquer from Tea Dogu in North Carolina. The global reach, passion and generosity of people in this hobby continues to amaze me. There’s no way you could do this on your own.

On my Jnat journey I’ve received advise, leads and resources from close to home and far away. There have been challenges but it’s all starting to come together. I can see why people get so excited about these stones. It’s not just a different way of getting from A to B. It’s a different destination. The journey’s a lot of fun too. Thanks to everyone that’s helped me get started.

 

[Tomo]

Right. Time to seal some stones.

A big thanks to @Gamma for taking the time to make the instructional You Tube videos. I’ve been watching a few of his JNat videos lately and they’ve been a big help. Being able to watch an expert in action is invaluable when your learning the ropes.

The colour is Clear 48. The can looks legit. Inside the goo is more red than clear.

 

[Tomo]

First a bit of prep. I taped the tops of the stones with masking tap. It seemed like a good idea.

 

[Tomo]

Getting everything laid out in the shed. I found the Legos pretty handy for propping the stones up off the surface. Putting them on a piece of cardboard lets me spin and slide them around without touching them. I’m planning to do four coats over the weekend. One every 12 hours.

 

[Tomo]

First coat on. Once wet you can start to see all the little fissures that the Cashew is getting sucked into. Most of these details were not visible on the dry stone.

The pure gum turps doesn’t smell too bad to me. It’s really just a pine scent. Quite strong though.

 

[Tomo]

Second coat is down. I stocked up on a few burner brushes.

 

[JPO]

Second coat is down. I stocked up on a few burner brushes.

Make sure to cure it and apply it in a ventilated are.

Contact Page

 

[Steve56]

Be careful with tape on your honing surfaces. JNats are layered stones, and when removing the tape, it can pull pieces out of the surface, especially if there are bias (fine layer cracks) or other weak areas on the surface. Don’t ask me how I know.

 

[Tomo]

Be careful with tape on your honing surfaces. JNats are layered stones, and when removing the tape, it can pull pieces out of the surface, especially if there are bias (fine layer cracks) or other weak areas on the surface. Don’t ask me how I know.

Good to know.

 

[Steve56]

I should have added, cut a piece of paper about 1/8” smaller than the outline of the stone, and tape that to the surface so that the tape only touches the stone at the very edge. But I’ve stopped doing even that, I just be careful then lap the stone after the lacquer cures. If you aren’t lacquering the back and get some lacquer on the surface, you can just wipe it off with a bit of paper towel moistened in turpentine or thinner before the lacquer sets.

 

[Tomo]

I should have added, cut a piece of paper about 1/8” smaller than the outline of the stone, and tape that to the surface so that the tape only touches the stone at the very edge. But I’ve stopped doing even that, I just be careful then lap the stone after the lacquer cures. If you aren’t lacquering the back and get some lacquer on the surface, you can just wipe it off with a bit of paper towel moistened in turpentine or thinner before the lacquer sets.

I’ll give that a try next time. I guess the tape isn’t really necessary. You can just lap the top when you’re done. I went for the full back and sides. It’s only masking tape but I’ll be careful taking it off. I might be best to start from the middle and work out towards the sides.

Three coats down. One to go.

 

[Tomo]

Make sure to cure it and apply it in a ventilated are.

Contact Page

I’ve been working in the garage with the door open and using gloves. The laquer is sticky and without gloves getting on your hands would be a near certainty. It’s pretty dry after 12 hours but I’ll give it a couple of weeks to set.

 

[Steve56]

The amber cures enough to handle, overnight if the temperature is warm. The red takes a little longer to fully cure and the black the longest to fully cure.

When it’s fully cured, several weeks out, it is resistant to at least incidental exposure to almost all paint thinners, alcohol, etc.

 

[Tomo]

The amber cures enough to handle, overnight if the temperature is warm. The red takes a little longer to fully cure and the black the longest to fully cure.

When it’s fully cured, several weeks out, it is resistant to at least incidental exposure to almost all paint thinners, alcohol, etc.

The black looks cool. The colours of the stone really pop against the black. Clear is nice when you have stamps of course.

 

[Tomo]

Brought the stones inside to finish curing. 24 hours since the last coat. Everything looked sweet except for three brush bristles on the bottom of the first stone of sequence to be painted. I did notice these when painting the final coat but thought they might be a line in the stone itself. I thought about leaving them in but couldn’t do it. I managed to pick them out quite cleanly with some needle nose tweezers. The lacquer was dry to the touch but obviously not set yet. I’ll give this one another coat and hopefully that cover up my repair job. Cheap brushes may not be so great for this after all.

 

[rhgg2]

Brought the stones inside to finish curing. 24 hours since the last coat. Everything looked sweet except for three brush bristles on the bottom of the first stone of sequence to be painted. I did notice these when painting the final coat but thought they might be a line in the stone itself. I thought about leaving them in but couldn’t do it. I managed to pick them out quite cleanly with some needle nose tweezers. The lacquer was dry to the touch but obviously not set yet. I’ll give this one another coat and hopefully that cover up my repair job. Cheap brushes may not be so great for this after all.

Kmart have some cheap brushes that are pretty decent, they are in a pack of 6 or so with bone coloured handles.

 

[Tomo]

Kmart have some cheap brushes that are pretty decent, they are in a pack of 6 or so with bone coloured handles.

Looks like I dodged a bullet. I lighted sanded the high spots and did another coat. That seems to have smoothed things over.