Seconded. Truly excellent razor stone. I've shaved off of it a few times, and was impressed, under synthetic standards. Next thing to try is Kouseki 10k straight to translucent Ark. Even if that doesn't work, I can fall back to going to JNats as an intermediary.
WARPING - Naniwa Gouken Kagayaki 10 mm , i.e. Super Stone
- Thread starter sd_baker
- Start date
Steve56
Ask me about shaving naked!
I’m betting that Kouseki 10k to Ark works well.
Warping is not a function exclusive to what we call resin binder stones.
IMPE - most Naniwa super stones do not warp. It is a known issue in the brand but it seems that the majority of them do not warp. So no - not all 'resin' binder stones warp.
FWIW - binder science gets very tedious, but to keep it simple the Super Stones are called 'resin' and the Chosera are called Magnesia bound.
The binder chemistry is one angle in the story, but how they are formed is another.
So there are hot set, baked, cold set, and probably combos of the above.
One of the biggest areas of confusion about stones is with the binder types/styles/chemisty and the rumor mills keep perpetuating unfounded story lines.
Any stone of any recipe can have issues. Any single one of them.
Even sintered stones can have internal stresses that eventuate into cracks over time.
People liked the Naniwa SS series because of the feedback and no need to soak.
The Nani Chosera line was also no soak and had better feedback but cost more - and they had crazing cracking issues.
FWIW - Shapton Pro stones had cracking issues in the beginning too. So did Suherio's Magnesia bound stones.
there were others with issues also. It's not a new story.
Soaker stones like Kings, Nani Traditional, Nani Gouken Kuroto 1000, they usually won't warp. But even those stones can chip and possibly fissure and sometimes they degrade and get sort of an uneven granular surface. How they are used and treated matters a lot. Even a vintage Carborundum can shed a corner without warning, and they're basically fused SIC so go figure.
If I bought a Nani SS and it warped, I'd return it. I returned a few Chosera for crazing.
I dropped those two product lines because I didn't want to deal with it. Now I have 2 Nani Professional (newer Chosera) and one Nani Gouken Arata. They all take on a little water but none are showing issues. To be honest I have intentionally mistreated the Professional Stones to see how they behave and so far, with a lot of heavy use, no issues.
I prefer to not use soaker stones. The Traditional series, Hibiki series, Kings, etc...
The Nani 12k was probably the first readily available and reasonably priced higher grit finishing synth available that was exactly what it said to be. So it became the community's darling finisher. And it works fine when it doesn't twist. And they didn't always twist and these days some twist but some do not.
I don't finish on synths usually. My Shap Pro 12k sees very little action. Even if I do use it I will usually go to a natural afterwards.
It never warps and does not craze.
I use the Shapton Glass 10k... i've used all the fancy 10k stones, including the Chosera, Kouseki, Gokumyo, and for that level grit the 10k Glass hits a sweet spot... price & function are way above board. The Gokumyo seems a hair finer but for the cost increase it's not worth it and it feels plasticky. Since I don't finish there it's a waste of money and the feel doesnt make me happy. If I jump 5k Pro to the GS 10k I am set to move to most finishers. I can shave on that edge without being annoyed though.
IMPE - most Naniwa super stones do not warp. It is a known issue in the brand but it seems that the majority of them do not warp. So no - not all 'resin' binder stones warp.
FWIW - binder science gets very tedious, but to keep it simple the Super Stones are called 'resin' and the Chosera are called Magnesia bound.
The binder chemistry is one angle in the story, but how they are formed is another.
So there are hot set, baked, cold set, and probably combos of the above.
One of the biggest areas of confusion about stones is with the binder types/styles/chemisty and the rumor mills keep perpetuating unfounded story lines.
Any stone of any recipe can have issues. Any single one of them.
Even sintered stones can have internal stresses that eventuate into cracks over time.
People liked the Naniwa SS series because of the feedback and no need to soak.
The Nani Chosera line was also no soak and had better feedback but cost more - and they had crazing cracking issues.
FWIW - Shapton Pro stones had cracking issues in the beginning too. So did Suherio's Magnesia bound stones.
there were others with issues also. It's not a new story.
Soaker stones like Kings, Nani Traditional, Nani Gouken Kuroto 1000, they usually won't warp. But even those stones can chip and possibly fissure and sometimes they degrade and get sort of an uneven granular surface. How they are used and treated matters a lot. Even a vintage Carborundum can shed a corner without warning, and they're basically fused SIC so go figure.
If I bought a Nani SS and it warped, I'd return it. I returned a few Chosera for crazing.
I dropped those two product lines because I didn't want to deal with it. Now I have 2 Nani Professional (newer Chosera) and one Nani Gouken Arata. They all take on a little water but none are showing issues. To be honest I have intentionally mistreated the Professional Stones to see how they behave and so far, with a lot of heavy use, no issues.
I prefer to not use soaker stones. The Traditional series, Hibiki series, Kings, etc...
The Nani 12k was probably the first readily available and reasonably priced higher grit finishing synth available that was exactly what it said to be. So it became the community's darling finisher. And it works fine when it doesn't twist. And they didn't always twist and these days some twist but some do not.
I don't finish on synths usually. My Shap Pro 12k sees very little action. Even if I do use it I will usually go to a natural afterwards.
It never warps and does not craze.
I use the Shapton Glass 10k... i've used all the fancy 10k stones, including the Chosera, Kouseki, Gokumyo, and for that level grit the 10k Glass hits a sweet spot... price & function are way above board. The Gokumyo seems a hair finer but for the cost increase it's not worth it and it feels plasticky. Since I don't finish there it's a waste of money and the feel doesnt make me happy. If I jump 5k Pro to the GS 10k I am set to move to most finishers. I can shave on that edge without being annoyed though.
Yup, since the Suehiro Kouseki 10K, I have not used my old standby, 8k Snow White for razors, still use it for tools. Have not used the 12k Super stones in years.
I too, go from the 10k to a Jnat or Ark, near mirror 10k finish. The 12k Super Stone had a good run for many years, when there were not a lot of other options.
Nowadays, an 8k Snow White, or Fuji and especially the Suehiro Kouseki and Shapton are better replacements. While the 12k Super Stone gave predictable results for years, the stone load up has always been an issue for me for the best finish edges this stone can produce.
The Suehiro put the last nails in the 12k Super Stone coffin for me.
Store/dry your stones in a wooden plate rack, ($6, Ikea) for more even and quick overnight drainging and drying. I also lap my stone clean before putting them away.
I too, go from the 10k to a Jnat or Ark, near mirror 10k finish. The 12k Super Stone had a good run for many years, when there were not a lot of other options.
Nowadays, an 8k Snow White, or Fuji and especially the Suehiro Kouseki and Shapton are better replacements. While the 12k Super Stone gave predictable results for years, the stone load up has always been an issue for me for the best finish edges this stone can produce.
The Suehiro put the last nails in the 12k Super Stone coffin for me.
Store/dry your stones in a wooden plate rack, ($6, Ikea) for more even and quick overnight drainging and drying. I also lap my stone clean before putting them away.
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