And one more with kawa, a pretty hard (lv5+) Nakayama Mizu Asagi, a wonderful stone for razors, very easy to use and the shaves are just perfect.
Show us your Japanese Natural Whetstones
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Got a new stone this weekend and lapped it flat. I think in terms of beauty, this one is on the very top. It is much harder than it looks from the iromono, a super hard lv. 5++, there were traces of Mikawa Nagura before I cleaned it. I have never seen a greenish red stone with a pattern like this, can someone say something about it? This one will be shave tested today, it seems to be very fine.
You're right, this is definitely not a kind of frost damage.
I'm pretty sure the cavities are gas bubbles that were trapped in the deposition process. These cavities are usually filled with clay minerals, which are produced as an alteration product of feldspar crystals.
Here is a kind of unusual stone or at least the pattern.
First thought was "maybe a soft stone" because it absorbs water quickly. But I quickly realized that I'm wrong and it is a pretty hard stone because the lapping process took a lifetime. Also creating a slurry with a Tomonagura take a long time. But once you have it, it is very fine and quickly erases the scratches of the # 1000 Kingstones.
The mine is unknown. Based on the saw marks and Kan pattern on the sides, I would suggest it is a Nakayama. Special feature is the pattern on the top, which is looks like of a dragon. Therefore, I might call it Nakayama Asagi Ryū (Dragon)
First thought was "maybe a soft stone" because it absorbs water quickly. But I quickly realized that I'm wrong and it is a pretty hard stone because the lapping process took a lifetime. Also creating a slurry with a Tomonagura take a long time. But once you have it, it is very fine and quickly erases the scratches of the # 1000 Kingstones.
The mine is unknown. Based on the saw marks and Kan pattern on the sides, I would suggest it is a Nakayama. Special feature is the pattern on the top, which is looks like of a dragon. Therefore, I might call it Nakayama Asagi Ryū (Dragon)
I believe you, my assumption was based on another stone with the same holes filled with white stuff. These holes are completely gone due to lapping it flat, they were only on the top. So I thought it was more a kind of oxidation or something like that. I believe the holes are also not very deep in this stone. Here is a photo of a broken corner on the back, no holes visible.
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Nice Nakayama Asagi Ryū by the way.
It could be that in deeper layers there are no more holes. It is more likely that the stone was stored for a very long time and the surface was slightly weathered. Reaction with water and air resulted in surface weathering and formation of clay minerals. If you leave the stone again for 60 years, it probably shows similar holes.
A very beautiful and colorful Iromono. Nice stone!
A very beautiful and colorful Iromono. Nice stone!
Thanks, yes, that were my thoughts. Fortunately, these holes have no effect , this stone gives amazing shaves.
Here is a kind of unusual stone or at least the pattern.
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First thought was "maybe a soft stone" because it absorbs water quickly. But I quickly realized that I'm wrong and it is a pretty hard stone because the lapping process took a lifetime. Also creating a slurry with a Tomonagura take a long time. But once you have it, it is very fine and quickly erases the scratches of the # 1000 Kingstones.
The mine is unknown. Based on the saw marks and Kan pattern on the sides, I would suggest it is a Nakayama. Special feature is the pattern on the top, which is looks like of a dragon. Therefore, I might call it Nakayama Asagi Ryū (Dragon)
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Cool looking pattern there. Is that a koma koppa in the background. It looks really nice
Was purchasing a nice Higonokami for my EDC and noticed that the seller had some Jnats for reasonable prices. Started browsing the details section and paused after reading the description of stone #1:
"Barber Hone #1:
Weight: 395gr
Aprox. Hardness: 9.2
Grit: Roughly 10-12k (can brake down further with proper technique)
Size: 17x8.5x1cm
Description: The hardest of the lot, a bit glassy, and also somewhat slow and with little feedback. Feels a bit gritty when too much pressure is used, so I recommend to buffer with slurry. Gives a lovely mirror polish with water only when using little pressure. Has scale on all sides, which is usually a sign of very hard stones. Size allows long strokes and the long width makes it a gem for full contact on longer (ussually western) razors. Ideal for nagura progression and due to the hardness not so suitable for beginners."
Alright, well he's got me pretty well hooked, but I'm trying to be good about not purchasing more shaving stuff for the next couple of months. I then bounce up to the image and see a beautiful green and yellow stone and I'm completely sold. Really looking forward to trying this out. For the size and supposed hardness/fineness, I'd say I got a pretty good deal. Now I just need to wait for it to get here, which is contingent on the Higonokami getting made.
"Barber Hone #1:
Weight: 395gr
Aprox. Hardness: 9.2
Grit: Roughly 10-12k (can brake down further with proper technique)
Size: 17x8.5x1cm
Description: The hardest of the lot, a bit glassy, and also somewhat slow and with little feedback. Feels a bit gritty when too much pressure is used, so I recommend to buffer with slurry. Gives a lovely mirror polish with water only when using little pressure. Has scale on all sides, which is usually a sign of very hard stones. Size allows long strokes and the long width makes it a gem for full contact on longer (ussually western) razors. Ideal for nagura progression and due to the hardness not so suitable for beginners."
Alright, well he's got me pretty well hooked, but I'm trying to be good about not purchasing more shaving stuff for the next couple of months. I then bounce up to the image and see a beautiful green and yellow stone and I'm completely sold. Really looking forward to trying this out. For the size and supposed hardness/fineness, I'd say I got a pretty good deal. Now I just need to wait for it to get here, which is contingent on the Higonokami getting made.
Nice stone, that vendor usually has pretty good prices on coticules too.
Grabbed a couple of fairly cheap jnats off Etsy. First is supposed to be a Takashima Tomae Iromono.
Second one is a super hard vintage koppa capable of mirror polishes if I'm reading it correctly. Either way, I thought that they were both fairly priced and snapped them up.
Second one is a super hard vintage koppa capable of mirror polishes if I'm reading it correctly. Either way, I thought that they were both fairly priced and snapped them up.
Tried the Takashima Iromono this morning as a finsher. Not impressed. Freshly lapped it and I'll try again tonight.
Also, my JNAD is kicking in something fierce. Last two for a long time. I couldn't resist finally getting a Karasu finisher. The back of the stone looks pretty usable as well. The circle one was listed as pretty hard and it was cheap, so I tacked it onto my order.
Also, my JNAD is kicking in something fierce. Last two for a long time. I couldn't resist finally getting a Karasu finisher. The back of the stone looks pretty usable as well. The circle one was listed as pretty hard and it was cheap, so I tacked it onto my order.
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Nakayama Asagi
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Nakayama Asagi
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Tried the two koppas. Both are quality finishers. The green asagi could be a velvet squeegee edge stone.
Uchigumori really liking the edges off this one. Gives a nice pink/purple slurry and is easy to see the swarf. This seems to be one of the cleanest uchigumori pieces I have seen.
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