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Naniwa vs Cerax comparison

I am on the market for 220 and 1000 grit stone. Does anyone tried Naniwa and Cerax stones in the Super stone version (no Chocera) and can give a comparison please? Are they realy better than Norton?
 
I have the naniwa super 1k, the grit particles are very consistent I love it. Its a nice feel to it not to soft not to hard. All I have to say about norton is I hate them, their grit rating is off any the scratch pattern is inconsistent. Nortons are great if you finish with pastes though.
 
I have found some link about the stones on German Narrasur forum but I am unable to select which one to translate. I do not speak german and would be usin online translator. Perhaps somebody here could more pinpoint that I am not just weisting my time on chit chat.
 
maybe I can be of help with a translation? I am a nassrasur.com forum member

here I copied the answer I gave at srp:
Good Day adrspach.
I just registered here, so I can give you a little answer.
(so far I´ve only read, not written)

I am from germany and have several Shaptons, Naniwa and a Cerax, as well as a Suehiro.

First off an overall descripion of the stones:

Naniwa Superstones tend to be kind of soft. I heard bad reviews about a 220 Superstone, saying it is way too soft for such a coarse stone.
Others don´t semm to bother and the Naniwa SS 1000 is commonly used amongst german razor fans.
Personally I prefer harder stones for coarse sharpening.
I do own Naniwa SS only in the range of 8.000 and 10.000, I sold my 3.000.
Naniwa however has another line called the Chocera. They seem to be alot harder in the lower grit range, making it somewhat more attractive to me.

Shapton stones can be devided into two series:
The Hano Kuromaku (called professional series) or the new glasstones.
The professionals are brightly colored resin bond stones, as well as the naniwa. But the resin used is way harder. These stones tend to be very slick, without that much feedback.
I however think the Shapton Pro 2k and 5k are an exception of that,
because they do give feedback.
The Glasstones are made of ceramik material glued to a glass plate.
These tend to be slick as glass and extremely hard as well.
The Pro series seems to make a little more hazy finish,
not quite japanese natural Stone finish (called kasumi)
but not mirror as well.
The Shapton GS 500 kombined with the GS 2.000 has been recommended as quick, efficant and enjoyable way to start.

Cerax, wich also produces Suehiro stones, I think are quite uncommon in the US, right?
They are a bit underestimated, I think.
I own a Cerax 1k/6k kombi that I really like. It is the only combination stone that I actually use.
The 1k is my only 1k and does his job very well.
The 6k side is quite hard, but not as hard as shapton
and does deliver considerably more feedback than shaptons usually do.
I also owned a suehiro 8.000 gold some time ago.
It was a very big, extremely nice magnesia bond stone.
It gave an excellent 8k edge and merely had to be lapped.
I however substituted it with a Naniwa SS 8k,
becaus unlike at lower grit, in higher grits (not ultrafine grits)
I prefer softer stones

For very coarse works below the 1k I usually use wet sandpaper.
It works way faster than stones at a fraction of the cost.
 
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good question, id also be interested to know more about the Chocera if it's part of the discussion.


I've never used the Cerax stones but have used Naniwa Superstones and Choseras. At the high grit level the Choseras are going be hard to beat. I come from a knife sharpening perspective when using/testing stones and have found them to be great for this but also for my razors as well. The 5k and 10k, although pricey indeed, give a wonderful edge to razors. I would take Choseras over Superstones anyday of the week.
 
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I have a Naniwa combination superstone which is the 800/5000 grit.

The 800 does a great job at setting the V and the 5000 sharpens the edge perectly.

I have also used a Naniwa 10,000 superstone but having been spoilt with a Chosera 10,000 grit, I was not impressed with the feel of superstone after using the Chosera.

All the Naniwa's mentioned above are very effective. The resultant edge is much better than say a coticules edge. Sharper and with a better mirror shine.

The hone surface quickly blackens as the hone removes metal, but it takes time to clean the hones following quite a short honing session. As I said, they develop a really nice edge on a razor.

The Chosera 10,000 is very special. It gives more feedback and it works faster and better than the superstone range IMHO. It is twice the thickness and so you get a lot more hone for your money. It also comes with a cleaning stone. It is also softer but it doesn't seem to wear as quickly.

I am more used to natural hones and the Japanese synthetics are very different but they do give a sharp highly polished edge, easily.

I think the Chosera range is better than the superstone range and on razors. Quicker and easier to use, sharper results and a higher polish on the edge making a razor edge feel smoother. They are also more expensive so this should not really come as a surprise.

Incidentally, I have tried many hones recently and I bought my Naniwas in Europe at favorable prices before they became popular.

I can sell the combo and the Chosera at a reasoable price if you are interested. I've got far too many hones for my needs. Just send me pm if you are interested.

Incidentally. I have heard good reports about the Cerax 1000 but never used one. They are a big professional hone but relatively expensive. I think they are somewhat harder and less forgiving than a Naniwa.
 
Ok thank you everyone. I have made my mind and ordered Naniwa Chocera 1000 (£55) delivered from edenshops.de.
 
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