Show Us Your Hoard Stones

[Steve56]

Per @David request.

What are ’hoard’ stones? Find out here:

Hoard Story | Mysite

www.japanstones.com

They tend to be a little softer (but not all by any means) yet still very fine, a characteristic of older Nakayama stones. This characteristic is mentioned by a number of knowledgeable people. But there’s nothing really special about them except that a large number of unused stones of this age and quality were found in one place. Alex has found and sold many stones of equivalent quality from old hardware stores, private collections, etc over the years. I’ve bought many stones over the tears from Takeshi, friends, Japanese auctions that are as good as the hoard stones, but they tend to be hit or miss as Alex isn’t selecting and grading them.

Starting off, Nakayama hoard kiita #2, a huge piece of Nakayama kiita, 210 x 80 x30mm, and about as good as it gets. I got this one from a good friend. It’s about 5 in hardness, 5++ in speed, and as fine as they get. It responds to clear water finishing if you want to bump it up a little. It makes a very skin-friendly razor edge. The kiita nagura in the first image is also a hoard stone.

 

[Steve56]

Here are some hoard kiita koppa. Some of these I bought from Alex during a visit to Sonoma in 2020, a week before the world stopped from covid.

Field Trip: Disneyland for JNats

Gentlemen, I just returned from beautiful Sonoma, CA visiting a friend of mine, Alex Gilmore. Most of you know he is one of the great authorities on jnats, the history, mining, and stone usage. He will have a book coming soon I think. Anyway, enjoy the eye candy, one of the best selections of...

www.badgerandblade.com

.

 

[Herrenberg]

I think I will have to suppress some jealousy here. Never got my hands on a hoard stone. Still fun to look at, though. Bring on the stone pictures!

 

[Steve56]

Here are some larger ones. The one with a razor on it is a shobu, but the rest are Nakayama with kiita #2 in the middle.

 

[Steve56]

Alex sold many stones over the years of the same quality, the stone on the left is a Nakayama Hatanaka maru-ka that I bought from him probably around 8-9 years ago. It came from an old hardware store and there’s still a video of it on his site if you look for honing a kanna blade on kiita #8. It isn’t cracked, or the line is filled, it’s non-absorbent and perfectly smooth.

 

[Steve56]

I think I will have to suppress some jealousy here. Never got my hands on a hoard stone. Still fun to look at, though. Bring on the stone pictures!

No reason for that, there are stones of similar quality sold all the time at very reasonable prices. It does take some level of commitment both in time and money (though maybe not as much as you think). Collecting JNats is part of the hobby for me, a large number of stones is not necessary or even desirable for most folks. I just enjoy them.

Side note, I had a rock collection as a kid, I always loved rocks, did lapidary for a hobby as a teen. I still have my rock collection, they just have abrasive in them now!

 

[rideon66]

OK so the one I posted in the JNAT thread is #65 even though in his picks it is #64. It is a two sided stone with slightly different qualities on the two sides. Which is why I made the back side usable. The side with the blue in it is a bit harder than the iromono blushing side. The bluish side edges are a tad too aggressive, but really sharp. The blushing side mellows that to a skin friendly edge that feels just as sharp. So I tend to use both sides when creating an edge off this stone. Since combining the two seems to give me the best of both worlds.

 

[rideon66]

Another iromono hoard stone I have is #122.

 

[MasterOfPups]

Kiita koppa hoard # 70. It is double sided now, one side takes on a blueish cast when wet, and that is my favorite. The lines are not an issue on either side. I lost the link to the archive of hoard stones - if someone can find it, feel free to post the original listing.

 

[Titleist]

@Steve56 I don't know if my Nakayama Kiita is a hoard stone. And I can't remember if I purchased it from you or Jeremy or Heespharm years ago. But all I know is that I absolutely love it.

 

[rideon66]

Kiita koppa hoard # 70. It is double sided now, one side takes on a blueish cast when wet, and that is my favorite. The lines are not an issue on either side. I lost the link to the archive of hoard stones - if someone can find it, feel free to post the original listing.

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I saw your stone when I was looking for mine. Unforturnatley my #122 stone is not there and I don't think ever was while the #65 stone only has the pics and no listing info.

 

[ables]

Amazing stones fellows, I can remmeber passing on buying a couple of these stones a few years back. Back then I was still struggling with consistent razor honing success and stubbornly refusing to buy jnats . I can remember thinking "No need for them I have a 12k synthetic stone which surely is finer"

 

[Steve56]

A quality 12k or better synth will get you 96% of the way there.

 

[cotedupy]

I saw your stone when I was looking for mine. Unforturnatley my #122 stone is not there and I don't think ever was while the #65 stone only has the pics and no listing info.

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How do I get to this part of Alex's site? I can't seem to find it...

I have a Nakayma Kiita Koppa in my possession atm, can't remember if it's from the 'hoard' though. The person who it belongs to has a number from Alex, some hoard stones, some others (I'll snap a picture of it in a bit either way).

 

[rideon66]

How do I get to this part of Alex's site? I can't seem to find it...

I have a Nakayma Kiita Koppa in my possession atm, can't remember if it's from the 'hoard' though. The person who it belongs to has a number from Alex, some hoard stones, some others (I'll snap a picture of it in a bit either way).

It isn't the full site cause I don't think that exists anymore. It is a web archive. kiita koppa nakayama kyoto simple razor hones - https://web.archive.org/web/20190629114626/http://thejapanstone.com/A_New_Kiita_Korner.html

 

[cotedupy]

It isn't the full site cause I don't think that exists anymore. It is a web archive. kiita koppa nakayama kyoto simple razor hones - https://web.archive.org/web/20190629114626/http://thejapanstone.com/A_New_Kiita_Korner.html

Ah gotcha, ta.

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This a very hard 3.5 (I'd probably call it 4 myself), and I believe a hoard stone, it definitely came from AG whichever way.

As people perhaps know - I’m generally not a massive fan of Japanese stones for sharpening purposes, but this is an exception. It’s one of the few, perhaps only, jnat I’ve used that I would say is properly fast for its ‘grit’ level. This is way higher than I would normally take a normal kitchen knife, yet the edge retains a remarkable amount of bite and aggression for something so fine. Very, very good stone.

Never actually tried on a razor, perhaps I should...

 

[musicman980]

I used to own this one. Milky Way Suita #1525

 

[musicman980]

Nakayama Kiita #25 from the hoard. One of my favorite pieces, it’s so fast and fine. The hole in the center was from shipping damage when I originally received it.

Here’s a video of Alex himself using it:

 

[Keystone]

Top row and 1st and 2nd stones on bottom row are from Alex’s hoard collection. Great stones.

 

[JPO]

Nakayama Kiita #25 from the hoard. One of my favorite pieces, it’s so fast and fine. The hole in the center was from shipping damage when I originally received it.

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Here’s a video of Alex himself using it:

I am just curious. Did you shave with this edge, if yes, how was it?
I have two Hart Razors that have given me allot of challenges, but also some grate edges when they got sorted out.