What did you hone today?

[DylanL]

Got around to my W&B this evening. 1k for a long time sorting out some geometry issues and reshaping the toe. Still some work to do but I wanted to shave with it before investing the time. 5k then ILR with moderate slurry. Slowly diluted to running water. Nice hht even though the bevel doesn’t look great. Excited to try it tomorrow.

 

[Saloogie]

I finished my Halfmann Special on a my Guangxu stone today.

I know a lot of guys don't like this stone, but it's working for me. I took a shot because they are pretty cheap and I've been satisfied. They say it's a 12,000 grit equivalent, but who knows. It's a big hunk of stone, as you can see, but it laps fairly quickly. It lays down a nice finish edge, but it is slow.

 

[Tomo]

Weekly Jnat touchup for my daily driver.

 

[SubSet]

Reattempt at finishing this kenwa with Nakayama -> Ozuku tomos on Ozuku mizu.

This razor takes the cake as the more challenging of the 4 kenwas I currently have. It has the widest and weirdest spine shape amongst them and the last edge I put on it just wasn’t up to my liking, especially when I know the others shave so well. With a little extra attention given as well as some additional laps on the flax it’s feeling a lot better this time, but we’ll see how it shaves in the morning.

 

[DylanL]

The Filarmonica Doble Temple 14 arrived today from Spain. Had a few tiny nicks super skinny bevel. Used tape and went 1-12k on Super Stones. Spent a long time on 1 and 5k. It arrived at 25.3mm wide. After a fairly long bevel set due to the two nicks and a very long time spent at 8 and 12k I stropped around 50 laps on linen and 100 on leather. The hht is fabulous. Silently treetops arm hair. Can’t wait to shave with it tomorrow! Last pic is usb microscope. It’s more shiny than the pics show but I couldn’t find my microfiber.



I’m feeling pretty good about this. My JNATs should be here tomorrow or Monday so hopefully this will be the last synth edge on this filly but now it’s sharp so I can use it while I learn how to hone on JNATs using cheaper blades.

 

[rhgg2]

King Pelican 14 on this barber size. The Pelican I think has had a mini regrind, which was pretty well done, but needed a little evening up on the spine for the synth bevel set. Often these muddy green stones are too soft to be good razor hones but this one is harder and finer than average, and seems like it delivered the goods. HHT seems very nice, so looking forward to ending Japanese steel week with this tomorrow!

 

[Tiger1979]

Got Geneva pyramid 7 from ebay. Cleaned and honed it today.
1K-4K-6K synthetic stones. Finished on JNAT Shohonyama Asagi with tomo nagura, finally on plane water. Stroped on Buffalo Strop. HHT 5. Will shave with it soon.

 

[GreazyThumbs]

Gave this Dovo Bismarck, a skinny Wade and this other antique a refresh today for a friend. Used a nice old purple lune/welsch slate and tried out an ILR for the first time. Nice chunk of rock!

 

[DylanL]

Here is my first attempt at honing with my new JNATs. Followed the whole progression including the 4 Mikawa Naguras and Tomo. Continued each step until there was strong undercut across the blade and there seemed to be no more noticeable progress. The Filarmonica seems very sharp. I’d love some feedback from jnat users. My stone has excellent audio and tactile feedback which makes me happy. What advice do you have?

 

[1Speedster]

Honed up the New Azuma Yasuki steel razor the other night since I was evidently shaving off of its factory edge. Not a bad shave considering, but the ATG pass was not nearly close enough for my/B&B standards. I chose the synthetic route since I devoted a lot of time to flattening the back side of my SG20 last week; oh boy, that was a ton of work given hardness of this finisher.

I started with the Rock Star 4k, then moved on to the S2 SS 10k and finally the SG20k. There was loads of swarf generated on the 4k since I was resetting the bevel using 3M 700 tape (a bit thinner than Super 88). Yesterday, I ordered some Kapton tape so I can reset the bevel closer to the factory no-tape version. Too bad the Kapton tape won’t arrive for a few weeks. I will be testing the edge once again today to finish off Japanese Steel Week 2025. It sure was enjoyable reacquainting myself with kamisori honing and the typical ratios.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

“Here is my first attempt at honing with my new JNATs. Followed the whole progression including the 4 Mikawa Naguras and Tomo. “

The edge looks straight and should shave but there is still a lot of deep stria on the bevel, that will end in a micro-chip at the edge.

Look at the stria and note that the stria at the edge is more pronounced than the stria at the top/back of the bevel. This is from too much pressure on a thinly ground Filarmonica blade. The blade flexes easily and the back of the bevel acts as a fulcrum and lifts the edge off the stone.

I noticed on you 12k photo that there was a lot of deep 1k stria on the bevel that ended in micro-chips at the edge, the 12k bevel should have been near mirror and edge laser straight. This 12k edge will shave but may be harsh.

A full Mikawa and tomo progression, also should have removed all stria from the bevel. From a good 12k edge you should only need a finishing nagura or two depending on your stone. A lot will depend on your stone.

A good test of your stone is to see how it will remove a 1k stria pattern with just diamond slurry. That will tell you a lot about your stone’s performance and how you will need to progress.

Ink on the bevel will tell you how much pressure is too much, colored ink is much easier to see with the naked eye. You want to remove ink at the edge first.

 

[DylanL]

Thanks for the feedback! I appreciate the critique. I am happy with it as a first attempt but today I have time to invest in the learning process. Going to start again with a 1k bevel set and spend more time on each step. As I did with the synths I suspect I spent too little time in early steps and applied too much pressure. Frankly I like the honing as much as the shave.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

No need to drop down to the 1k. Actually, you could straighten that bevel and edge out with just the 12k. Re-setting the bevel is just wasting steel.

In one of your post, you made a very nice 12k bevel and edge, so you can do it.

The trick to using a 12k super stone is to finish on a clean, no swarf stone face. They do load up and that impedes the cutting/polishing ability and can damage an edge. You can make a 12k more aggressive with a bit of diamond slurry, then refine the edge on a clean 12k stone face.

Wide, thin blades flex so you need to learn how much pressure you can use without flexing so you are honing to the edge.

You could just take the edge you have now, add a piece of tape and make a micro bevel on the Jnat with just a hint of tomo slurry in 3-6 super lite laps. Ink on the bevel will show you when you have cut an even bevel, keep the new bevel, Micro.

Many roads to Rome.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

After all the Japanese steel I was feeling like my Swedes need more attention. Honed a couple today. Törnblom on the little Narutaki with mejiro, koma, and this nice tomo from Steve, and then the Heljestrand which honestly hasn't been honed much, went back to 5k, the full mikawa nagura gambit and then finished on this somewhat softer but seemingly very fine Nakayama tomo. All on the mizu asagi. Both seem like they're going to shave great.

 

[helicopter]

I honed this French market barber razor today, starting with a Chocera 800, then the Rockstars, and finished on Suehiro Gokumyo 20k.

 

[Christian1212]

1k, 5k, coticule, surgical black. Don't have any oil at the moment so I used some soapy water. Love the coticule into ark edge - will probably try it later on in the week.

 

[DylanL]

its an enjoyable process. I feel like I’m making some progress. First 4 are usb microscope. First is botan on the Aust. The next three are the filarmonica progression. They are same magnification showing the difference in bevel width. The last 2 is my Aust as finished. After stropping they both passed hht with flying colors. Botan seems to hide some scratches so I had to repeat it a few times. Some scratches are just due to early honing mistakes that will take a few more sessions to resolve. My arm hair is certainly suffering but this is a very fun learning process.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

Dylan, the bevel and edge look good and will likely shave, but you are still leaving a bit of meat on the bone.

Note the diagonal stria on each of the USB photos, if you are coming from a 12k there should be no, or very minimal stria and it should be so fine that a nagura progression should easily have removed it completely.

Spend a little more time on the 12k and perfect the 12k bevel and edge so that you have a stable platform to judge/perfect your nagura progression.

Also remember that Mikawa nagura are natural stones and are not grit rated, so you must figure out for yourself the grit progression of your nagura and especially your tomo.

Mikawa nagura are loosely graded by layer/strata and how they look. Yes, Botan are courser than Koma or Tenjyo, but your Koma may not be finer or better said will produce a finer result than a Mejiro nagura and your Tomo can be anywhere in your progression.

Many people feel Mejiro produce finer edges than Koma, more likely their Mejiro is finer than their Koma.

So, you must grit rate your Mikawa nagura for yourself, if you want peak performance. And that can change when you change your base stone. You or anyone can not grit rate a natural stone there was no quality control when the stone was made, but you can grit rank your stones against each other stone you own, and really that is all that matters.

Make a pristine 12k edge and finish on each of your nagura and rate the shave off each Mikawa and your tomo nagura and while you are at it, just diamond slurry. A lot will depend on your technique and can change from razor to razor, but you will have a good starting point for comparison.

But the edge finish will be determined by the quality of edge you are taking to the nagura (12k). And can also change with a different razor with different steel.

When you use a natural nagura with a natural base stone it is all about how the two grits work with each other, either in synergy or against each other, and then there is technique.

It is not a simple hone by number process, there are a lot of variables involved, the most pronounced is the honer. But it also is not or does not need to be a laborious multi nagura ridged process. It is only as complicated as you make it.

A year from now you will wonder how you shaved from the edges you are producing today.

 

[Koop]

its an enjoyable process. I feel like I’m making some progress. First 4 are usb microscope. First is botan on the Aust. The next three are the filarmonica progression. They are same magnification showing the difference in bevel width. The last 2 is my Aust as finished. After stropping they both passed hht with flying colors. Botan seems to hide some scratches so I had to repeat it a few times. Some scratches are just due to early honing mistakes that will take a few more sessions to resolve. My arm hair is certainly suffering but this is a very fun learning process. View attachment 2026667View attachment 2026668View attachment 2026669View attachment 2026670View attachment 2026671View attachment 2026672

Nice work. You are a quick learner - but the learning never stops!

 

[DylanL]

Thanks Brad, I agree. The Aust was taken from 1k straight to Botan. I just like diving in the deep end. I shaved with the filly today and it was fine so I’m going to be playing with the Aust and leaving the filly alone until I’m much more confident. I’m not loving the super stones so I ordered up a 1 and 3k chosera. I’d love to follow your advice re:going to 12k on synths but my brain doesn’t like to do smart things. A major mistake I made was too little slurry throughout my progression and too much time between refreshing the slurry. Likely confused done with broken down slurry. Probably spent a lot of time also doing passes that weren’t doing anything. So tonight I am just going to do botan on the Aust until there are zero issues.