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Need some help choosing my next stone

Thanks to some beginners luck, I managed to turn $15 into $235 betting on the Superbowl in my first and last foray into sports gambling. Free money!! But money can’t hone a razor so I’m going to trade it for a new stone.

I’ve got a Naniwa SS 12k and an Atoma 400, so I’m looking for something in the 8k range. I thought about a coticule, but I don’t have time to mess around with natural stones right now, so synth it is.

What have you guys had good results from? I know Naniwa has an 8k Super Stone, and also a Fuji and Snow White 8k. I don’t know what the difference is between them, and I have to confess I don’t even know exactly what those last 2 stones are… Are they stones for the Japanese market? I don’t remember seeing them anywhere in online stores.

Shapton glass also seems like a good option. I’m sure there are other options out there that I don’t know about. Anything I should avoid at all costs?
 
The question is, what are you looking for the 8k stone to do? Are you thinking of a stone progression, shave off the stone, or jumping off point for naturals or paste?

If you are just refreshing, an 8k will not do anything that a 12k super stone will not do. The 12k Super Stone has a lot of range.

If you are refreshing, I would go the other way, natural finisher spelled JNAT. If you are happy with the 12k edge, the next step up is Jnat or Ark. Today with Ark selections what they are, a small Jnat is easier and less of a gamble. You will need to shop and get purchase advice.
 
The question is, what are you looking for the 8k stone to do? Are you thinking of a stone progression, shave off the stone, or jumping off point for naturals or paste?

If you are just refreshing, an 8k will not do anything that a 12k super stone will not do. The 12k Super Stone has a lot of range.

If you are refreshing, I would go the other way, natural finisher spelled JNAT. If you are happy with the 12k edge, the next step up is Jnat or Ark. Today with Ark selections what they are, a small Jnat is easier and less of a gamble. You will need to shop and get purchase advice.
It will be a mix of a progression and refresh stone. I shave off the 12k edge and am very happy with it. Just for fun I'll occasionally do a diamond pasted balsa progression to my 12k edge.

Apart from the 12k, I only have film for all my honing. I have 30, 20, 15, 12, 9, and 3um film, my usual progression is 12um>9um>3um>12k. For touchups it's either the 12k only or sometimes i'll drop down to 3um>12k. I have lots of film except I'm almost out of 3um and an 8k stone would seem to slot in there perfectly.

Does the 12k Super Stone have enough range to clean the striations and finish from 9um film?
 
I don't want to get in the weeds of grit ratings between manufacturers but the Shapton glass, Fuji, and Snow White are all nominally and practically finer than 3um film. Look at the Glass series for more info, they have the stones rated by grit and microns both. Having come from film, 9um is fairly coarse and I wouldn't enjoy jumping from that straight to the Fuji. Could you? I suppose. I've not tried it. Frankly, the Fuji provided a better shaving edge than 1um film, on my face, despite being nominally coarser (1.2um if I recall).

Anyway, if you're looking to bridge that gap, and you already have a finisher, you might want to think midrange. @Christian1212 's suggestion of Shapton glass 4k and 8k is not a bad one.
 
I personally would revisit the Coticule, after owning a few synths the Cotis is by far a more versatile stone as well as far more durable. You can cover bevel set and to prefinish on most good quality stones. If you are lucky you may even find one that can rival your 12k for finishing. Not to mention it will normally provide you with a different edge feel to try out. I personally like naturally finished edges.
 
I personally would revisit the Coticule, after owning a few synths the Cotis is by far a more versatile stone as well as far more durable. You can cover bevel set and to prefinish on most good quality stones. If you are lucky you may even find one that can rival your 12k for finishing. Not to mention it will normally provide you with a different edge feel to try out. I personally like naturally finished edges.
I get what you’re saying and I’m tempted to get a natural stone. But I’m not that experienced with honing and I don’t have a lot of time to devote to learning a coticule.

I guess my brain wants a synth and my heart wants a natural stone.
 
I feel like you will end up with synths and naturals at the end of the day. I just suggest synths first as there is no guesswork. But listening to the heart is what makes you the happiest - just order some more film that you need to fill in any possible gaps as you learn.

A side note. If you go with natural try asking the forums. Members here are kind to people looking for there first natural.

Cheers
 
I get what you’re saying and I’m tempted to get a natural stone. But I’m not that experienced with honing and I don’t have a lot of time to devote to learning a coticule.

I guess my brain wants a synth and my heart wants a natural stone.
If you are just using the coticule for the lower to upper mid range work they can be easy to use. You can still finish on your 12k after the coticule.
When you have time you can start maxing out the potential of the coticule.
I have allot of 8k stones that have not been used for quite some time.
 
Snow White is great minus the crazing risk. Fuji is nice as well. You can get one from Amazon for $65.


I don't want to get in the weeds of grit ratings between manufacturers but the Shapton glass, Fuji, and Snow White are all nominally and practically finer than 3um film. Look at the Glass series for more info, they have the stones rated by grit and microns both. Having come from film, 9um is fairly coarse and I wouldn't enjoy jumping from that straight to the Fuji. Could you? I suppose. I've not tried it. Frankly, the Fuji provided a better shaving edge than 1um film, on my face, despite being nominally coarser (1.2um if I recall).

Anyway, if you're looking to bridge that gap, and you already have a finisher, you might want to think midrange. @Christian1212 's suggestion of Shapton glass 4k and 8k is not a bad one.
To those of you with the Fuji 8k: How does it compare to the Naniwa SS8k? I ask because I have an SS8k and I've reached a point where I'm beginning to resent it enough to stop trying to make it work for me and just buy a new stone. I finally seem to have cured the constant warping by chucking it into my permasoak bucket in disgust, but it still loads up more than I would like, and I hate the rubbery yet easily gouged feeling while honing, and it seems to cause microchipping on some razors. As a side note, I've been getting better, cleaner results off of my permasoaked King 6k of all things, which seems to be a universally despised stone.

Have any of you had warping problems with the Fuji? How does the swarf loading compare? What's the feedback like (my "ideal honing sensation" is a very hard, dense nakayama, for reference)? It won't be used as a true finisher, but as a prefinisher for edge preparation prior to a JNat or translucent ark. Should I simply buy the seemingly universally acclaimed Snow White and hope I don't get one that crazes?
 
To those of you with the Fuji 8k: How does it compare to the Naniwa SS8k? I ask because I have an SS8k and I've reached a point where I'm beginning to resent it enough to stop trying to make it work for me and just buy a new stone. I finally seem to have cured the constant warping by chucking it into my permasoak bucket in disgust, but it still loads up more than I would like, and I hate the rubbery yet easily gouged feeling while honing, and it seems to cause microchipping on some razors. As a side note, I've been getting better, cleaner results off of my permasoaked King 6k of all things, which seems to be a universally despised stone.

Have any of you had warping problems with the Fuji? How does the swarf loading compare? What's the feedback like (my "ideal honing sensation" is a very hard, dense nakayama, for reference)? It won't be used as a true finisher, but as a prefinisher for edge preparation prior to a JNat or translucent ark. Should I simply buy the seemingly universally acclaimed Snow White and hope I don't get one that crazes?
My Snow white have not crazed yet, but i am careful when i store and dry the stone.

I glued my SS 8k to a piece of slate. That solved the warping issues. It still feels like a piece of rubber though:)
If i get metal build up on an 8k stone, i know i need to do some more work on the previous step. These are not soaking stones, however a freshly lapped SS soaked for just a few minutes is allot better then if it is used as a splash and go.

The Fuji has a different feel to it. It does not warp and loads up less. It definitely does not feel anything like a hard Nakayama, but then again i have only one synthetic stone in that category. The Suehiro Kouseki 10k (1 micron, so closer to 12k). This stone can actually replace allot of stones, and it almost feels like a natural stone. It is expensive, but if it can replace at least two other stones in an progression it really isn't.
It is the only synthetic stone i have tried that works well with slurry. The included slurry stone is not a cut off from the base stone. It is designed to work with the stone, and to hone razors. It is the only synthetic stone i know of that is designed and marked for razors (and scissors). This has everything the Snow white is missing.
I got a little exited:)
 
To those of you with the Fuji 8k: How does it compare to the Naniwa SS8k?
I haven't used the SS so I can't speak to that. But, the Fuji doesn't really load too badly, although I try to do my earlier work to the point that I'm not seeing much swarf on the 8k anyway. It feels nice enough to hone on but not like it will blow you away (I'm told the Snow White feels nicer but again, no direct experience). It does get a bit of a glassy feeling in between lappings. Freshly lapped it feels a little more resistant but it polishes better. No issues with warping or anything like that over the last year or so that I've had it. Dries quick too.
 
If I put aside the idea of what the best 8k on the market is I’ve found that the Naniwa 8,000 super stone is a good lead-in to the 12K SS. It just seems to be a good match IME.
 
"Should I simply buy the seemingly universally acclaimed Snow White and hope I don't get one that crazes?"

So, again it depends on where the 8k is to be used in the progression. If you will not be shaving off the 8k it does not matter, all 8k's will get you to a Jnat or Ark. Super Stones load up easily and the load up can cause micro chipping if not lapped off. They can warp if not glued to a base. All my super stones are on plastic bases, so no warping issues.

The Snow White may craze, but even crazed it will still polish to a near mirror, no scratches or chipping. My original Snow White crazed many years ago but still produces a near mirror finish and super straight edges. It has a wide range and can make a 1k jump to mirror bevel. It is a good stone to pre finish for a Jnat or Ark. Try using a squirt bottle and plastic tray, in place of spray bottle they like a lot of water.

The 6k King is a performer, but get the old 6k with the wooden base, came in a lite grey or lite green box. They are not the same stone as the modern 6k and can perform almost identical to the Snow White. The trick is to find the ones with wood bases, King seemed to change the formulation about the time they switched to plastic bases.

You can find them on the bay for about $25-50, sometimes NOS for a bit more. The good ones are a lite brown, caramel color with dark brown speckles and wood bases. Newer 5k’s are tan pinkish or cream with no dark brown specks. Years ago synthetic stone makers were mixing ground up Jnats with synthetic stones and this was probably one of them. There are still some Japanese stone makers doing this today, but I do not think King is.

If you can find one of these stones old 6k’s, buy it. My current progression is a King 1k, vintage wood base King 6k, Jnat finished on diamond slurry.
 
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