It does come with a small cleaner stone though it seems most people use something different and that is why I asked what @stone and strop uses to clean his 20k.
Suehiro Gokumyo 20K usage
- Thread starter Mikali
- Start date
Yeah I don't like the finish from the rubbing stone. It is only about 3k on the fine side IIRC. It makes the hone cut VERY fast. The JNat tomo speeds things up just enough - a JNat is very fine so it doesn't rough the surface up much, just mattes it a tiny bit. It smooths out in use very quickly, then next time I use it the tomo cleans off any swarf and resets the surface so it's at the same starting point every time. There's something to be said for consistency...
A newish Atoma 1200 might work okay too. A worn-in one will produce the very slow cutting, water beading surface.
A newish Atoma 1200 might work okay too. A worn-in one will produce the very slow cutting, water beading surface.
I have one. I don’t use it much but wanted to try it. I flatten and lap most everything with either 1000 or 1200 diamond plate including this and it works fine for me. But you can feel this stone and know it is the type that can slick over and stop working (probably why they include a coarse rubber). I have read others talk about it pulling a wire with overhoning but I haven’t experienced that personally.
Just fyi the 20k now comes with a dual cleaner stone and its a single 400 grit stone attached to a plastic handle. Its a very hard stone too like Carborundum maybe that does not release slurry from itself.
I also find it quite easy to raise a wire edge if I am not very careful.
I also find it quite easy to raise a wire edge if I am not very careful.
Last edited:
I use a scotch brite cloth and rinse well
If you use the cleaning stone that comes with it you will seriously degrade the finish you get from the stone.
I honestly don't know why they include it.
I used mine once and the affect on a razor was huge in a bad way.
Yes I suppose it would be very nice for knives but razors not so much.
@Steve56 suggested ordering a King 8k nagura and that has been working ok but I still wanted to know what others are doing.
Thank you all for your suggestions so far.
Yes I suppose it would be very nice for knives but razors not so much.
@Steve56 suggested ordering a King 8k nagura and that has been working ok but I still wanted to know what others are doing.
Thank you all for your suggestions so far.
Any fine nagura would probably work. I think I have used a Koma before as well.
It is a great stone for razors - it just lacks personality.
I personally finish the surface of mine with an Atoma 1200 and finish with just water after a Naniwa 12K. Even with a polished surface it is plenty fast to give the little bump in keenness needed after the Naniwa. That being said I rarely finish on synths anymore, and primarily just use them as a benchmark to compare other stones and their resulting edges to.
What do you clean the stone with to maintain the surface and remove the swarf?
The Atoma 1200. I don’t do it that often though as not much swarf builds up in the 10-20 laps I do after the 12k.
Ok. I would think it kind of hard on an atoma maintaining a Suehiro 20k though.
I have an Atoma 1200 that I use only on harder stones to polish them, its a bit worn down but I actually prefer the finish it leaves on the surface of the stone. That being said, it really only takes 3 to 5 laps with the diamond plate to clean the 20K, so i would assume the majority of the wear on the Atoma comes from the initial lapping of very hard natural stones.
Ok thank you
What are you using before the 20k? Do you still have an 8k?
If you're asking me, when I use synthetics my progression is: 1K, 3K, 5K, 8K, 12K, 20K. The 1K-5K are Naniwa Professional, the 8K and 12K are Naniwa Superstones that I permasoak, and the 20K is the SG20K.
If I used synths more I might try swapping the 8K and 12K superstones for the 10K professional stone just to see if there is any difference in results.
I have Chosera 1k, Shapton pro 5 and 8k, Naniwa SS12k, SG20k
Scott:
I have been using my G20 for a few years now off & on. I flattened the surface w/a very well worn DMT325, it was not needing much when new.
I then found that (after some experimenting) prepping the surface with a fairly hard and fine Suita tomo gives me just the honing surface I'm looking for.
I use this same tomo for cleaning or refreshing the surface after honing.
As to what I found gives the most face friendly edge so far it's been doing the mid - range edge work on a very dense Suita w/ nagara progression through Komo and then just a few laps on the G20. For me this retains the smooth face feel from the J-Nat work and can bump the sharpness just a taste.
It does change the face feel though.
A full synthetic progression up to a Naniwa 12K, or other, then finishing on the G20 w/only a few passes leaves a very keen edge. I find the finished edge is somewhat critical especially the first shave and, as it should, feels like a synthetic edge.
For me changing the synthetic progression from Naniwa to Shapton, or mixing and matching, still finishing w/the G20 has made little difference in the outcome. I can jump to the G20 from any # of proper 8K finishes or higher, 12K Nani SS usually takes just a little less work on the G20 than progressing from 8K or equivalent.
I have never broken an edge down using the G20 but haven't tried either, I assume that one could produce a wire edge if that's what you were aiming to do, but I have never pushed into experimenting that way w/this stone.
I agree that if this stone is prepped a certain way it will be very aggressive for such a high grit rating and it can be very slow if the surface is polished.
I have been using my G20 for a few years now off & on. I flattened the surface w/a very well worn DMT325, it was not needing much when new.
I then found that (after some experimenting) prepping the surface with a fairly hard and fine Suita tomo gives me just the honing surface I'm looking for.
I use this same tomo for cleaning or refreshing the surface after honing.
As to what I found gives the most face friendly edge so far it's been doing the mid - range edge work on a very dense Suita w/ nagara progression through Komo and then just a few laps on the G20. For me this retains the smooth face feel from the J-Nat work and can bump the sharpness just a taste.
It does change the face feel though.
A full synthetic progression up to a Naniwa 12K, or other, then finishing on the G20 w/only a few passes leaves a very keen edge. I find the finished edge is somewhat critical especially the first shave and, as it should, feels like a synthetic edge.
For me changing the synthetic progression from Naniwa to Shapton, or mixing and matching, still finishing w/the G20 has made little difference in the outcome. I can jump to the G20 from any # of proper 8K finishes or higher, 12K Nani SS usually takes just a little less work on the G20 than progressing from 8K or equivalent.
I have never broken an edge down using the G20 but haven't tried either, I assume that one could produce a wire edge if that's what you were aiming to do, but I have never pushed into experimenting that way w/this stone.
I agree that if this stone is prepped a certain way it will be very aggressive for such a high grit rating and it can be very slow if the surface is polished.
Thanks Frank
The 20k doesn't really need much to "clean swarf" off.
You could try using a rag under running water. It is so hard it is not embedded, just topical.
Flattening is another story but you don't need to do that often.
You could try using a rag under running water. It is so hard it is not embedded, just topical.
Flattening is another story but you don't need to do that often.
That depends on the prep method. If it's surfaced super smooth with a worn Atoma 1200 to where the hone is beading water then it doesn't make much swarf because it isn't doing a lot of cutting, it's fairly glazed.
If it's prepped with a tomo, it gets a little bit of embedded swarf, which easily cleans off with a few swipes of the tomo.
If it's prepped with the included fairly coarse rub stone it will be clogged with swarf pretty quick. Then you'll need to scruff it up with the rub stone again for sure.
If it's prepped with a tomo, it gets a little bit of embedded swarf, which easily cleans off with a few swipes of the tomo.
If it's prepped with the included fairly coarse rub stone it will be clogged with swarf pretty quick. Then you'll need to scruff it up with the rub stone again for sure.
Last edited:
