Naniwa 12k Super

[jgkeegan]

After reading all of the positive comments on the Naniwa 12k Super, including those by Lynne Abrams and Tom Blodgett, I finally had a chance to try one.

With only three straight razor shavers on the whole island of Taiwan, I was fortunate that Tom Blodgett invited me to visit him in Kaohsiing and try one for myself. I jumped on the high-speed train and visited Tom and honed two of my razors ending up with the Naniwa 12k Super. In both cases I worked up to the 12k with the Shapton Pros and after the 12K did five strops of NanoCloth sprayed with 0.125 Micron CBN Spray by Ken Schwartz.

Like Lynne and Tom said .... both razors shaved like butter. Unusually smooth. Good shaves.

Thanks Lynne and Tom.

--james

 

[ouch]

Nice.

 

[mvh]

Very nice! Looks familiar

 

[jpcwon]

Now is that just a piece of a full-size naniwa 12k I'm guessing?

 

[Marco]

I honestly like to shave off the Naniwa 12K without any further paste or spray, it's a great finisher IMHO and makes the edge look like a mirror.

 

[jgkeegan]

Now is that just a piece of a full-size naniwa 12k I'm guessing?

Wrong guess. It's a 1 x 6 mounted. A not-so-common but really easy to use and maintain.

Look in the photo in the wooden box.

--james

 

[jgkeegan]

Now is that just a piece of a full-size naniwa 12k I'm guessing?

Hi Marco. Long time.

It's a great polisher. I think you can shave off it too without further work. It's just a question of how sharp/smooth do you want your edge and personal preference.

--Jams

 

[jpcwon]

Wrong guess. It's a 1 x 6 mounted. A not-so-common but really easy to use and maintain.

Look in the photo in the wooden box.

--james

Ahh, I stand corrected!!


Very cool...Small hones are a joy to use...I enjoy honing on my Thuringian which has similar dimensions..

 

[jgkeegan]

Ahh, I stand corrected!!


Very cool...Small hones are a joy to use...I enjoy honing on my Thuringian which has similar dimensions..

No problem. I love those hones. One of the boxes you see in the photo is Shapton Pro, the other Chosera.

--james

 

[BJJ]

I also have one 12k naniwa and for the final work makes the edge very smooth...

even for touching up .. it's a great stone IMO.

that's a challenging size of stone for a rookie like me... but one day i'll get there

 

[jgkeegan]

Try a stone in the 1 x 6 size and I think you might find it is much easier to use than you imagine.

--james

 

[Marco]

Hi Marco. Long time.

It's a great polisher. I think you can shave off it too without further work. It's just a question of how sharp/smooth do you want your edge and personal preference.

--Jams

James, I've found that I get the best out of the Naniwa 12K with a very limited number of laps. I've only used 10 on my last two razors and the final results were excellent for me. Too many laps make the edge harsh and they are not necessary if the work on the coarser stones has been done properly. At least this is my experience.

 

[jgkeegan]

James, I've found that I get the best out of the Naniwa 12K with a very limited number of laps. I've only used 10 on my last two razors and the final results were excellent for me. Too many laps make the edge harsh and they are not necessary if the work on the coarser stones has been done properly. At least this is my experience.

That is my belief regardless of the finisher. Less is good; particularly if the work was done well on the coarser abrasive. I include stropping in that "less is good" philosophy too.

--james

 

[CanonSterVa]

Pretty nice selection of small stones.
Still searching for options for me.
The Microscope - Is that a Model AS832 and how well did that work?

 

[Loner16]

Tom Blodgett knows his stuff!

 

[jgkeegan]

Pretty nice selection of small stones.
Still searching for options for me.
The Microscope - Is that a Model AS832 and how well did that work?

The stones belong to Tom Blodgett who is one of the four straight shavers in Taiwan that I know of and a superb honer. If I could pick a complete set of the stones you saw in the photo, I'd go with the Shapton Pro but that was a hard choice over the Chosera. I feel the 1 x 6 size is the optimum size for me to hone and also easy to store and maintain. The scope is a 100x Illumax AS832 and it works great once you rip off the clamps on the bottom and get use to tilting the blade when viewing.

--james

 

[Disburden]

You can easily overhone into a wire edge with the naniwas so be careful on the 12K, if you use it right though it's a wonderful stone.