Show us your Japanese Natural Whetstones
- Thread starter superbleu
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Beautiful Chu John. The very first Jnat I ever bought was a Chu. Didn't even own a straight back then but bought it just because it looked so pretty 
Boy was that overpriced, but what a beautiful stone.
P.S. As they say, anything you say before the word "but" doesn't really matter, so... Well done!
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P.S. As they say, anything you say before the word "but" doesn't really matter, so... Well done!
Sent from my CLT-L29 using Tapatalk
Was that directed toward my Chu or am I missing something? If so, I'd love to know how you know what I actually paid for it.
FWIW it was a much better deal than I've gotten on most of my JNats, as there have been a few I have knowingly overpaid for because I just HAD to have them. My beloved Shobu Karasu is one of them.
timwcic
"Look what I found"
These two stone are part of a four stone lot I rescued from the wild. Out if the four, these two are the ones that impressing me the most. I have no idea of what they are other than naturals. Neither were lap, both had peaks and valleys on the surfaces with no chamfer on the edges. No marks, stamps or anything identifying them
The larger measures 210 x 70 x 31mm, 1060g. It performs as a upper mid range stone. Freckled gray surface and covered with chisel marks on side and bottom. Sealed with some type of maroon/burgundy coating. Has a feedback with some feeling of grit. Tried shaving off of it, but was not there and had a little more to go.
The second has finishing potential. Measures 180 x 67 x 35mm, 1172g. The surface has a nice cloudy blue-green with a creamy yellow inclusions. Has pronounced saw marks on sides, chisel and scraper marks on bottom and sealed with a clear coating. Took the same blade to this stone and was rewarded with a comfortable edge. Tried just water but got nowhere fast. On the hard side, no auto slurry or scarf. Used a slight diamond slurry and that was the trick
Whatever they may be, for being found the in the wild, a nice addition and warmly welcomed to the den
The larger measures 210 x 70 x 31mm, 1060g. It performs as a upper mid range stone. Freckled gray surface and covered with chisel marks on side and bottom. Sealed with some type of maroon/burgundy coating. Has a feedback with some feeling of grit. Tried shaving off of it, but was not there and had a little more to go.
The second has finishing potential. Measures 180 x 67 x 35mm, 1172g. The surface has a nice cloudy blue-green with a creamy yellow inclusions. Has pronounced saw marks on sides, chisel and scraper marks on bottom and sealed with a clear coating. Took the same blade to this stone and was rewarded with a comfortable edge. Tried just water but got nowhere fast. On the hard side, no auto slurry or scarf. Used a slight diamond slurry and that was the trick
Whatever they may be, for being found the in the wild, a nice addition and warmly welcomed to the den
Trying a different nagura on this karasu and snapped a pic to keep a record of how much slurry I was on. The more I look at this one the more I like it's looks, very busy pattern.
Thank you Matt.
Awesome Alex. I love the Karasu barber size stones. Looks like you maybe going between a darker pattern and a lighter one. Looks really cool like a painting.
Hey John, sorry about the late response. A quick Google search reveled the retail of that stone. Of course, I'm not sure what you actually paid for it. Your pictures don't show the stamps (on the face) which were originally on the stone, so if you didn't pay that - which was nearly a grand, according to the dealer's website - all the better.
My intention was not to pry into how much you, or anyone else spends - just to be clear. I know I spent that much myself, so there will be no judgment here! It was rather to point out the very high retail price, which seems to be the norm in the western market. I know they all gotta eat and pay tax, but sometimes they are really pushing it [emoji16]
I think for the casual reader, it is good to hear/read these things, particularly when it comes to unusual stones like this Chu nagura.. Especially the new guys, who have no idea what something is actually worth VS what a seller is asking. A half of the original asking price would have been more realistic - that is what these stones normally go for. 15-50 thousand yen.... Depending on the size and purity. Yours, as well as mine, are super pure and extra large, so they fall closer to the upper limit.
I've attached a picture of mine, just for reference, with a "little" matching nagura (around 200g).
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No worries at all, sorry if I came off as confrontational, that wasn’t the intention, honestly thought maybe you knew the guy I bought it from, the JNat community can be a small world sometimes.Hey John, sorry about the late response. A quick Google search reveled the retail of that stone. Of course, I'm not sure what you actually paid for it. Your pictures don't show the stamps (on the face) which were originally on the stone, so if you didn't pay that - which was nearly a grand, according to the dealer's website - all the better.
My intention was not to pry into how much you, or anyone else spends - just to be clear. I know I spent that much myself, so there will be no judgment here! It was rather to point out the very high retail price, which seems to be the norm in the western market. I know they all gotta eat and pay tax, but sometimes they are really pushing it [emoji16]
I think for the casual reader, it is good to hear/read these things, particularly when it comes to unusual stones like this Chu nagura.. Especially the new guys, who have no idea what something is actually worth VS what a seller is asking. A half of the original asking price would have been more realistic - that is what these stones normally go for. 15-50 thousand yen.... Depending on the size and purity. Yours, as well as mine, are super pure and extra large, so they fall closer to the upper limit.
I've attached a picture of mine, just for reference, with a "little" matching nagura (around 200g).
Sent from my CLT-L29 using Tapatalk
I actually picked this stone up secondhand from a chef friend of mine that ended up not liking it. Said it felt too scratchy for his taste. I ended up trading him a small super muddy Suita for it. I just looked up the stone and found the original listing for $995 which makes me even happier he didn’t like it.
Back on topic, I just snagged this Shiro Suita. Was planning on using it for Uraoshi on knives, but after lapping it I’m curious to see how it performs on razors. It was super hard, by far the hardest Suita I’ve ever had my hands on, and feels extremely fine. Lapping it was nearly as slow and miserable as some of my hardest Ozuku Mizu Asagis.
Another Ohira renge suita (1500 gms)
Good trade [emoji1305][emoji16] Yeah, it is nice and scratchy - it's medium grit, but produces a nice edge. I actually bought it for polishing.. Something to use before I jump on a Suita, or Koma nagura. However, so far it's been living in my kitchen, and I just use it to touch up the knives. I just find it's very thirsty, so I give it a little soak before use.
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Just acquired one of these, how did you lap? Was it not all ready flat?/// your thought since purchasing? Thx
Steve56
Ask me about shaving naked!
If the stone has stamps on the face it has not been lapped flat for razor use - that’s why the stamps are still there. Typically the stones were lapped with loose grit on a large cast iron wheel, @alx gilmore used to have videos but his site is down.
You can lap it a number of ways. W/D sandpaper on plate glass works well. Atoma or DMT plates work well. I have a mellow 600 Atoma that’s reserved for dressing lapped stones.
If it needs a lot of lapping, loose SiC on glass works well before the above steps.
I used Wetordry sandpaper on a flat slab of marble. I think I used P600 and P1200 - might have started with P400 - cannot remember. Only took a few minutes. Then I sealed the stone with Minwax Clear Aerosol Lacquer (gloss). I am loving this stone, and getting really sharp, really smooth edges with it. One of the best shaving purchases I have made, period.
As I said, great sharp, smooth edges. I made a mistake about lapping the Ozuku - see Different opinions on lapping a jnat - confusing! - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/different-opinions-on-lapping-a-jnat-confusing.599323/post-11021187.
Ozuku Rock landed ( my first rock)
Level 5+
Preparing for surgery (flattening and waterproofing )
She is hard and baby smooth across surface, so smooth thought about using as is but preparing for surgery on her fir first use
Bigger than what I thought it would be and heavy piece of stone
Oh rock is laying on my niawai 8k Snow White in cardboard box [emoji403]
Cheers
Level 5+
Preparing for surgery (flattening and waterproofing )
She is hard and baby smooth across surface, so smooth thought about using as is but preparing for surgery on her fir first use
Bigger than what I thought it would be and heavy piece of stone
Oh rock is laying on my niawai 8k Snow White in cardboard box [emoji403]
Cheers
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