Need a Jnat expert.

[MO1]

I like the fact that he types レーザ用 (for lazers) and not レザー用 (for razors)

Will probably not catch many peoples eyes, but that will make me think twice about it.

Also i have seen kamisori written as many more times as カミソリ and not as 剃刀.

Im no expert on the stones itself though.

 

[PanL]

He churns out more Nakayama's than all the reputed sellers put together.

 

[Disburden]

Just beware when buying jnats in general. There are a huge amount of fakes out there and like Alex said you can't prove what mine a stone is from. Stamps don't matter either. A big seller out there IMO sells a lot of fakes
I don't believe Nakayama Maruichi stones were hard to find 10 years ago and now there's hundreds laying around, like it's finding milk at the grocery store..

 

[buca3152]

Buy one from a reputable seller and be done with it. Alex Gilmore , Maxim or Takeshi. You don't have to drop a roll to get something good. Buy drab stones. Unless you want a pretty stone that looks nice but doesn't affect the honing.

 

[Pokeystotle]

I wanted to correct something I saw earlier in the thread and something I agreed to - Asagi is not a blue, greenish stone, but is correctly used to describe a yellowish stone according to TomoNagura's Jnat glossary of terms.

Cut and pasted from TomoNagura
Asagi – 浅葱 orアサギ

Translation: Light Yellow. This is a color that is confusingly attributed to blue, grey and/or green whetstones.

Japanese Whetstone Glossary | TomoNagura.Com | Keith V. Johnson

I also find it interesting that this definition includes the confusion.

 

[Pokeystotle]

Buy one from a reputable seller and be done with it. Alex Gilmore , Maxim or Takeshi. You don't have to drop a roll to get something good. Buy drab stones. Unless you want a pretty stone that looks nice but doesn't affect the honing.

Ultimately a stone that is both beautiful and very high quality. Do Alex, Maxim or Takeshi have Etsy stores? eBay? Or their own websites?

I admit, I've found three very good sellers, but one of them, possibly just sheer luck, does not actually hone or use the stones they sell, but the two I've gotten from him have happened to be very good stones.

 

[Medivh]

I ended up getting this one from another seller which I find a lot more trustworthy. It's a bit more pricy though, and according to him this one is - Hard,Fast,Fine Nakayama Asagi Japanese Natural Finishing Whetstone.

 

[Medivh]

It may not be the prettiest stone out there, but if is as good as the seller says it is and provides a super clean mirror finish, that's all I need.

 

[Toro Blanco]

Good choice! Nice looking stone, looks like it gives a nice even finish.

 

[alex1921]

I ended up getting this one from another seller which I find a lot more trustworthy. It's a bit more pricy though, and according to him this one is - Hard,Fast,Fine Nakayama Asagi Japanese Natural Finishing Whetstone.

View attachment 956741 View attachment 956742 View attachment 956743 View attachment 956744 View attachment 956745 View attachment 956746 View attachment 956747 View attachment 956748

That's a good seller. European guy living in Japan. Hones and shaves with SR.

 

[alex1921]

I wanted to correct something I saw earlier in the thread and something I agreed to - Asagi is not a blue, greenish stone, but is correctly used to describe a yellowish stone according to TomoNagura's Jnat glossary of terms.

Cut and pasted from TomoNagura
Asagi – 浅葱 orアサギ

Translation: Light Yellow. This is a color that is confusingly attributed to blue, grey and/or green whetstones.

Japanese Whetstone Glossary | TomoNagura.Com | Keith V. Johnson

I also find it interesting that this definition includes the confusion.

I dont speak Japanese but in the world of Jnat Asagi covers the above colors. Mizu Asagi (Water Asagi) for example is very light blue like water. That's not a western term invented by sellers but a term used in Japan. Maybe somebody who speaks Japanese could chime in.

 

[Medivh]

One question - can I lap that stone with sandpaper or I need something like Atoma 400?

 

[MO1]

I dont speak Japanese but in the world of Jnat Asagi covers the above colors. Mizu Asagi (Water Asagi) for example is very light blue like water. That's not a western term invented by sellers but a term used in Japan. Maybe somebody who speaks Japanese could chime in.

Asagi would be turquiose and mizu is water correct. But here i think they mean the color mizuiro (water color, literally) which is light blue.
The two mixed together mizuasagi, which is the color they would be refering to, dont know what that would be in English though.

 

[alex1921]

One question - can I lap that stone with sandpaper or I need something like Atoma 400?

you can use sandpaper. W/D on hard flat surface and you can lap away. Flat being the important factor. I sometimes finish lapping them on the kitchen counter.
Also, your stone is very nice. It's very uniform color and doesn't seem to be having any distractions.

 

[stone and strop]

I like the fact that he types レーザ用 (for lazers) and not レザー用 (for razors)

Will probably not catch many peoples eyes, but that will make me think twice about it.

Also i have seen kamisori written as many more times as カミソリ and not as 剃刀.











Im no expert on the stones itself though.

It appears there is subtle differences in the writing and definition of these stamps.

"Stone for razors" and "for razors" written the first way and "razor type" written the second.
Stone kanji, 80% down the page under "R"
Japanese Natural Stones, Kanji & Information

I believe Maxim is a reputable seller and knows what he has.

 

[MO1]

It appears there is subtle differences in the writing and definition of these stamps.

"Stone for razors" and "for razors" written the first way and "razor type" written the second.
Stone kanji, 80% down the page under "R"
Japanese Natural Stones, Kanji & Information

I believe Maxim is a reputable seller and knows what he has.

That is very interesting because "razor" is not written like that, try a google search of "レーザ" and "レザー". It is in the link though.
Leather is also written like レザーso you might get a few of those results too. But have never seen レーザ. Maybe an old way of writing it like that? Not sure.

Writing kamisori as 剃刀 instead of カミソリ is not wrong. The latter(called katakana) is just in this case meant to catch peoples eyes instead of bunching kanjis together.
Which i have seen much more of when looking at stones. Its not wrong i just added the 2 together and it seemed off.

Edit, tried a Google search of レザー and got only leather results, better off trying a dictionary lol

 

[stone and strop]

Leather is also written like レザーso you might get a few of those results too. But have never seen レーザ. Maybe an old way of writing it like that? Not sure.

Funny, I have ONLY seen it written like this on every Jnat that is stamped with such a designation.

 

[MO1]

Funny, I have ONLY seen it written like this on every Jnat that is stamped with such a designation.

Confirmed with my wife who is Japanese. And she is saying the same thing "レーザ" means lazor and "レザー" means razor.
As for "stone for razor", as in "sharpening stone for razors" would be レザー用の砥石 rezaa-you no toishi, but a more common way of writing it would be カミソリ用の砥石 kamisori-you no toishi

 

[alex1921]

I know I am not supposed to do this but I did borrow it from Fikira's website. He is a superb documenter/historian/researcher.

 

[stone and strop]

This is the link I posted above.
I tried to copy just these items but could not so thank you, as now, it is not a redirect.
I did not think it was improper as it does not discuss shaving as we do here it is only for translation of information.