New JNAT - Okunomon Suita

[jpcwon]

Running one blade over it means little. Very little.

Right...Yeah I figured it was a quick way to assess the situation, but I can certainly appreciate that that might not be "the whole story"...

I'm not trying to rain on your parade - just sayin' - I've learned to pay very close attention, esp when I've felt something 'off'.

Oh no, not at all!! I really appreciate you telling me to 'proceed with caution'....I did sort of panic when the spot got bigger after lapping, but that panic subsided when I didn't feel anything under the blade... I guess the only thing i can do at this point is to do just that (proceed with caution)! The rest of the stone feels completely dead-on smooth which is good; it's just this one spot....

 

[Gamma]

Cool.

 

[Brooksie967]

I didn't really like how the stone looked until I saw it wet!
GORGEOUS!

Perhaps take some time honing with circles just on that spot then inspect the bevel to see if it did anything nasty to it?

 

[Gamma]

That's the thing with Suita - if there is problematic stuff - it likes to hide.
It'll stay under the surface and come out later on.
Traditional woodworkers will dig the spot out with a nail to be sure nothing is in there. Seriously - a nail.

 

[jpcwon]

Perhaps take some time honing with circles just on that spot then inspect the bevel to see if it did anything nasty to it?

Well, I just CAUTIOUSLY honed a CVH MK7 on the Suita. I dulled the edge on glass then raised a DMT slurry & did circles/xstrokes.....I then scrutinized the edge under a Loupe and everything appeared to be in order, so I don't think that 'spot' is having a negative impact on the edge. I will keep an eye out for "badness" down the road, though... The stone's smoothness and feedback is unbelievable.....It's really a pleasure to hone on!!

I then stropped & shaved, and the shave was fantastic! It kind of reminded me of a coticule edge moreso than a JNAT edge...Is this typical for Suitas?

 

[Bayamontate]

Suitas are temperamental, I haven't had any issues with mine yet but I know they're in there somewhere.

Agreed, the resulting edges are very maxed out coticule-like.

 

[Steve56]

So that's who bought that one! How is it?

Cheers, Steve

 

[jpcwon]

Very nice stone, Bayamontate! Yeah it's interesting how 'coticule-like' these Suitas are...Of course coticule slurry does not break down like JNAT slurry does, but the resulting edge from each stone is somewhat similar IMO...

 

[Bayamontate]

Amazing, it's fast, fine, and harder than most Suitas I've tried (doesn't give up slurry easily.) I can use it as a finisher on some razors. I beat Gamma to it too.

 

[Gamma]

View attachment 391404

Another one I nearly bought... lol.

 

[David]

Congrats Jp! That's a beautiful stone! Glad that hard spot wasn't a problem for you. Now you've got me wanting a Jnat!

 

[Gamma]

It kind of reminded me of a coticule edge moreso than a JNAT edge...Is this typical for Suitas?

Yes, maybe - sometimes. Depends. Lol.

A very hard Suita is very different than a very hard Tomae.

I find - sometimes a very hard Suita isn't all that hard in the same exact sense that, say, an Ozuku Asagi LV 5+ might be.
No - I'm not nuts. Hard is hard, yeah- but like lotsa stuff - hard means a lot of things.
The Suita stone is different somehow - it's makeup is hard but (I'm going out on a limb here) more 'open'. More friable for sure.
Some very hard Suita are different though - they feel more brittle, glassy even. Sorta like over-baked chocolate cookies that are almost burned.

I'm going to guess your stone seems to weigh more than it should?

At any rate - I think honing on a Suita brings that more mellow type of edge because of this density/hardness characteristic.
Do you sense a kind of a 'pasty' or almost 'waxy' sort of surface when it's wet? Like - draw on a Latigo strop?

After several emails to a Mentor about this - and trying to understand my own questions, let alone his answers - what I'm saying above isn't all that far off the mark.

 

[Steve56]

Yes, I have a very hard suita that has that waxy feel to it. Rather a nice feeling BTW.

Cheers, Steve

 

[jpcwon]

I'm going to guess your stone seems to weigh more than it should?

Yes; it's a very dense stone actually...And I can certianly relate to the 'pasty', 'waxy' sort of feel to the stone; esp. when honing on water or slurry-tinged water...Like Steve said it's a very pleasant feeling...

 

[Gamma]

I love that sensation.
Now I wish I bought yours and Nelsons too. Lol...