New JNat

[jacko9]

Well, now I'm experiencing my second fall into the JNat rabbit hole with the arrival go my Aono Aoto (Tanka Toishi of Kyoto) supplied by Ken Schwartz. This is a very large stone 2 5/8" wide x 3" tall x 9" long. It produces mud very quickly and the tactile feel is fantastic (at least to a beginner knife sharpener like me). My free hand skills are lagging so I decided to try this stone with trailing strokes only to begin. The first knife to try on this stone was my T-F W#1 150mm Petty and the feel and acoustic feedback is something I've haven't felt with my range of synthetic stones. I next decided to try a range of my steels from the Kono Fuji W#2 210 Petty, Kono GS 150 Petty, Kono Fuji B#2 210 Gyuto, my Shiro Kamo R2 Petty and then my Kato Workhorse 210 Gyuto. The surprising thing I found was that I was able to raise a burr with trailing strokes that was quite noticeable. I started flipping the knife on alternative strokes and decreased the pressure to get a very nice edge. I then took the knives to my Cherry wood strop loaded with 0.75 CBN emulsion and was surprised to see very thin strips of wire edge on the strop. So far I love this stone and hope that I'm not hopelessly falling down the rabbit hole of JNats. This is my second natural stone my first being a very nice Meara that produces a much finer finish. I think I'll take some of these knives to that stone this afternoon.

One thing that is very apparent here is that I'm flying blind with very little to almost no knowledge of natural stones. It's proving to be a very interesting experience.

[lsboogy]

Welcome to the rabbit hole - it's fun down here. As long as I live, I hope to keep learning.

[jacko9]

Thanks - I feel like I'm stumbling along and so far the two naturals I have are outstanding stones. I just wonder how far along this path I'll be going when I see some of these outstanding stones at very steep prices.

[lsboogy]

Thanks - I feel like I'm stumbling along and so far the two naturals I have are outstanding stones. I just wonder how far along this path I'll be going when I see some of these outstanding stones at very steep prices.

You may well end up like a lot of us - dozens of knives and a half a cupboard shelf of stones - it's worth the journey - eating well is one of the best things you can do, and cooking requires knife skills which require sharp knives and blades that work for you. I'm just a wanna be chef who likes to eat well, but I won't eat out anywhere that can't cook better than I do.

[jacko9]

Thanks - I feel like I'm stumbling along and so far the two naturals I have are outstanding stones. I just wonder how far along this path I'll be going when I see some of these outstanding stones at very steep prices.

You may well end up like a lot of us - dozens of knives and a half a cupboard shelf of stones - it's worth the journey - eating well is one of the best things you can do, and cooking requires knife skills which require sharp knives and blades that work for you. I'm just a wanna be chef who likes to eat well, but I won't eat out anywhere that can't cook better than I do.

Actually the last statement kinda reflects the way my wife thinks as far as eating out. We do on occasion because we recognize that there are some incredible chefs out there. Since I started woodworking many many years ago I have collection of over 26 stones some of the old King and Bester, etc don't see any more use and I have been giving them away to friends and neighbors from time to time. I do love to work with sharp tools be it a kitchen knife or wooden hand plane.