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Show us your Japanese Natural Whetstones

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Mail call. Now it’s time to learn Japanese naturals.
 
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From okudo. Nice smooth silky feeling when honing, and is very hard.

Beautiful hone! I love that color, and I’m hooked on the hard stones now that I’ve figured them out. When I started I was like most people and relegated to the softer 3s and 4s.

So do you finish your edges with this stone? I mean, I’m sure you can - I’m just asking if that’s how you use it or no.
 
View attachment 972104 View attachment 972105 Mail call. Now it’s time to learn Japanese naturals.
Oh that looks fun! We are all students and fellow wisdom seekers - or so my old Nietzsche professor was wont to say. Seeing this picture and reading your caption reminds me of when I started on Jnats. I’m still relatively new. You have a lot of good times in front of you but I’ll warn you that if you have a few extra bucks of discretionary income every few weeks or month, Jnats can get addictive. After I bought my fourth super hard 5+ Nakayama Asagi, I had to have a chat with myself. Lol. That and the girlfriend was getting pissed that I was spending more time with my hones than I was with her.

Needless to say things are back to “normal.” But just be warned, you may get hooked on these. I wanted suita. So I found Shinden, Okudo and Ohira suita. Expensive hobby.
 
I have to give that asagi a look. They are beautiful stones.
Thanks!
Yes! Very much so. I know most folks tend to go for a tested stone sold by a vendor who’s got experience with the hones they are selling but I also think aesthetics of the stone really are a huge part of the enjoyment.

I like a stone to look great as well as hone great too! I think a lot of people send the wrong message about aesthetics of Jnats by downplaying that aspect too much. It may not directly help one shave better, but then again, I hone because I love honing itself. I also love shaving well. But the end I seek when honing is sometimes just honing itself. The act. The art. The beautiful relationship between steel and stone.

I’m not a pragmatic fella. Though I want a hone that brings the edge I desire, it is by no means something I must achieve quickly and with as little work as possible. If that makes sense.
 
Oh that looks fun! We are all students and fellow wisdom seekers - or so my old Nietzsche professor was wont to say. Seeing this picture and reading your caption reminds me of when I started on Jnats. I’m still relatively new. You have a lot of good times in front of you but I’ll warn you that if you have a few extra bucks of discretionary income every few weeks or month, Jnats can get addictive. After I bought my fourth super hard 5+ Nakayama Asagi, I had to have a chat with myself. Lol. That and the girlfriend was getting pissed that I was spending more time with my hones than I was with her.

Needless to say things are back to “normal.” But just be warned, you may get hooked on these. I wanted suita. So I found Shinden, Okudo and Ohira suita. Expensive hobby.
That is right where I am with the wife. I first bought Shapton pro the full 1.5,5,8,12 and a Imperial laroca. Now this mail call followed in two weeks with 1 more Jnat and another tomo. But hell its fun and relaxing and a great hobby and forum.
 
That is right where I am with the wife. I first bought Shapton pro the full 1.5,5,8,12 and a Imperial laroca. Now this mail call followed in two weeks with 1 more Jnat and another tomo. But hell its fun and relaxing and a great hobby and forum.
Same here, just replace shapton with chosera and IL with Gokumyo 20k. :)
 
That is right where I am with the wife. I first bought Shapton pro the full 1.5,5,8,12 and a Imperial laroca. Now this mail call followed in two weeks with 1 more Jnat and another tomo. But hell its fun and relaxing and a great hobby and forum.
It is fun and I relaxing for sure. I get these looks like “how many stones do you needs?”
 
Beautiful hone! I love that color, and I’m hooked on the hard stones now that I’ve figured them out. When I started I was like most people and relegated to the softer 3s and 4s.

So do you finish your edges with this stone? I mean, I’m sure you can - I’m just asking if that’s how you use it or no.
I have finished a few times on this stone and it is fairly sharp and smooth, sharper than when i finish on my coticule. I like it abit sharper to get a close shave. So after that stone i give it a few laps on a card size stone with thin tomo slurry(got it from ordering random finishing stones from 330mate) it weighs 206.5g which is quite alot for its size. Will upload a picture later.
But that leaves the edge to my liking.
But i doubt i will settle for that edge as i love to experiment ;)
 
I have finished a few times on this stone and it is fairly sharp and smooth, sharper than when i finish on my coticule. I like it abit sharper to get a close shave. So after that stone i give it a few laps on a card size stone with thin tomo slurry(got it from ordering random finishing stones from 330mate) it weighs 206.5g which is quite alot for its size. Will upload a picture later.
But that leaves the edge to my liking.
But i doubt i will settle for that edge as i love to experiment ;)


Oh I’m right there with you. I experiment often. That’s really what makes honing so interesting to me. I probably would not do much honing if all I had were synthetic stones and DMT plates.

There is something primitive, yet refined and universally appealing about honing, even if one doesn’t actually hone, that anyone can, with no effort, appreciate. Something about the ringing of fine steel against a natural whetstone produced by time, pressure, heat and the sheer power of natural forces that defines the struggle of man and his place in the world, that is at once both attractive yet absolutely brutal. We humans may not need razors to survive but honing them, knives and swords is a reminder of where we’ve come from and our perseverance to survive in dangerous world.
 
This is my final finishing stone atm :)
I have no idea what or where its from. Bought random finishing stones from 330mate, a few mediocre finishing stones came aswell but this one is a beast. Weighs 206.5 grams at this size.
Anyone know what mine or what type it could be?
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Jns had a sale and these are the type 100 that were fairly cheap. Bought two to test out. See which one I liked better. Just selected yes to a Tomo for both of them. Didn’t know that they tomo would actually be so big though.

I have only ever used a coticule before so decided to test out the jnats to see how I do with them. Also figured if they varied as much as coticules do I would need two to find a good one lol
 
I had to post this stone here aswell.
This just arrived. An asagi from okudo.
Gives a really nice mirror finish, slightly hazed.
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Perfect size for a razor aswell, really easy to work the slurry.
 
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