Ah, yes, I forgot that you honed Internal’s 17.
Yeah, I’ll inevitably end up trying natural stones at some point in the not too distant future.
Do you still regularly use you microscope while honing, or do you go by feel, mostly?
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whosgotthepudding@sub.wetshaving.social 7 months agoThat sounds like a solid progression!
from what I understand natural stones are a little bit on the soft side for honing stainless steel
You can definitely get some super hard jnats that work wonders with stainless. My Nakayama is 5++ and it married super well with Infernals 17.
I hope you try some naturals at some point. They’re fascinating, doubly so jnats imo.
djundjila@sub.wetshaving.social 7 months ago
whosgotthepudding@sub.wetshaving.social 7 months ago
I look forward to when you take the plunge.
I go by feel mostly, but always have my microscope for that extra verification of consistency. I’m probably a lot more anal about it than I need to be.
djundjila@sub.wetshaving.social 7 months ago
Would you recommend something like this?
whosgotthepudding@sub.wetshaving.social 7 months ago
Yeah that price tag is a little of a 😬
But that stone is probably top tier. Not only really rare, it’s kinda collectable I suppose too, as it has both Maruichi and Maruka stamps. Probably stamped during the transition of ownership from Kato (Maruichi) to Hatanaka (Maruka). Either way, either of those stamps guarantee quality.
You might be able to find something more reasonably priced, however. Ozuku, for example, are typically pretty damn hard. I don’t think I’ve ever met a soft one (though admittedly I haven’t met a lot 🤣). Other mines like Shobu and Aiiwatani are also pretty solid. You could find a really good stone for only a couple hundred to begin with.
One of the bigger price hikes on stones is mostly looks, believe it or not, over fineness. With exceptions, of course, like in the case of the rare and venerable Nakayama.