That Les Lat lived with me for the better part of a decade. It’s a special stone for sure. Any stone from the Ol Preu mine is rare, but LL’s from that era are impossible to come by. Happy to hear it’s hanging out with the penguins.
The older Les Lats were different. Some of the newer examples have a similar type of coloring but if you look into the stone deeply you can see there is a different 'tint' to the makeup and some of them just look waaay different. None of them feel the same, or hone the same either. These older LLs are true gems and rare as hen's teeth.
😮 I got me two jnats! I'm going crazy trying to figure this out... I've went back on 20 of your videos 😊 I'm kinda figuring it out sorta.. but it's going OK so far. I understand what u mean when you say it has to be figured out. Boy was u not kidding 😳
yep, takes time, practice, there are going to be some failures in the middle of successes. It's all part of the learning curve. Enjoy the journey! Happy Honing!
Lovely looking LL. Myself, never used one; prices for medium to larger sizes are just getting too crazy for me. That karasu is a heartbreaker too. I dig the razor sized stones.
Les Lat hybrids have always been priced too high, there just isn't a lot of them and the demand is high. Yeah, the 5-6" Jnats are really nice to work with. Happy Honing!
Hi keith.. Michael Holmes.. I just bought the aswedo off esty! I'm really working on this jnat stuff÷) I love it, so intresting.. I bought from you because I don't trust these sellers as they have a narrative 😅😅 it's not mine.. I'm having a blast and have a teacher! Can't beat that right! 😊😊
It's a hobby, right? Love my koma (a gift from my wife via Keith's etsy shop), but it is more of an excuse to hone more and the koma looks great on my shelf with my other JNATs. Yea, I enjoy just looking at my stuff. I might get a better shave using koma, but that's not the point for me (I already got good shaves with my set ups--JNATs, synths, coticules, Arkansas stones, etc.). It is experimentation and the act of honing that I enjoy as the different set ups give different shaving experiences and results. Anyway, I like shaving off my koma irrespective of whether the koma "improves" my shave, which is as much due to my shaving technique as my honing. My experience helping several nephews and other novices with their straight razor shaving suggests that shaving technique, at least at first, is more important than the honing, if the honing is sufficient although a coticule edge (at least the way I hone) seems to be more forgiving for the novice than synth, Arkansas, and JNAT edges. Always enjoy you videos Keith; thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Hi Keith, I was wondering if you had ever experimented with non Mikawa stones as slurry stones in a progression ie: Nakatoishi>soft Awasedo>Tomo>water only. I’ve been thinking of buying these koppa bundles you see on the bay just to mess around but I can’t find anyone who has tried something similar, maybe for good reasons?
My first mid-range Nagura were non-Asano, and I have had numerous other non-stamped Nagura along the way. Woodworking sites used to sell a big square nagura that had a weird stamp, was not designated as anything other than mid-range. My first set was sort of a bust, and most of the rest never did anything for me either. For a while I was getting some unmarked Toishi sized Nagura from Togishi, just to try out. I still have a few pieces of Koma from those days. Those bench stone Nagura were not something a casual buyer would find for sale online though.
Keith when it comes to asano stamped naguras, which grades/colors tend to be the most sought after , I'm assuming the striped? Or is the white sought after from a purity less inclusion stand point?
Do I need Koma? Maybe, it would depend on what the razor needs or what I’m looking to achieve. The old masters rocked a Mejiro and got things done. About 20 years ago I went through a year of honing my personal razors using only Mejiro to test my chops. I learned many lessons from that exercise, it taught me how to create and read different slurries, how to gauge and use pressure to my advantage, how to maximize different strokes etc. Do I need Koma? Maybe, but I will say they do add color to an already maxed out edge, in my case anyway.
I learned from my grandaddy 40 years ago. I now do a bevel set with a #1 washita I got from gradpappy. Then a hard washita fine. Then to a black! Real black almost purple slate stone = yellow lake name brand. Not all yellow lake stones are the same. Look for a very black one. My shaves are 20 k plus. I've bought turns, Zulu. 14 j. Nates black ark Trans ark. Spent over 7 grand on bull shit. I have $200.00 worth in my stones now. From bevel set to finish. 15 minutes. So smooth u can't feel nothing but silk skin. I will put 50 g on what I'm saying. Honing only takes practice and a good combo of stones. Works on any razor that will get that sharp..
@Bayamontification Well, this is the point exactly. The never ending 'what do I need' questions from people that haven't even honed yet. The forums paralyze new users with endless 'wisdom' based on regurgitated assumptions. Instead of learning, people are being taught to copy-cat everything. Iwasaki mentions using Koma as a 'if you want to' sort of thing. When Rion translated that text no internet sellers (except Takeshi) and no razor gurus had even seen a Koma. Barbers in Japan aren't really a good point of reference for me, a culture that mocks you for using an 8x3 stone for honing a razor is likely to not be readily accepting of a 'need' to use Koma.... like anything else, the moral of the story, and the point of the video is, 'find your own way'.
Masaru (RIP) used to goof on me all the time about the 8x3 thing lol, most of the stuff he honed on was 4ish x 2.5ish or the weirdest koppas shapes I’ve ever seen. The internet is chuck full of regurgitated misinformation, this is why I took a decade and a half hiatus from boards and forums. My business took a significant hit from my decision but I don’t regret it one bit. By the way, when I do get jammed up and need advise I have you on speed dial lol, thank you my friend. Cool video!
@Bayamontification - Sharpen flat on the Ura Oshi, no micro bevel. Not a lot, just to remove burr and flatten. The Ura, Ura Oshi, Ura Suki, faces the food. If you must use a micro bevel, use it only on the Hasaki, the edge below the Shinogi...Obviously, you want to work below the temper line if visible.
