[Jimbo]

Ok, yet another Japanese natural review, with an Atoma diamond plate review tacked on the end.

First, the Asagi.

It was bought from So at japan-tool.com. I feel lucky to get hold of this stone. So asks a lot of questions to try to match stone to user and uses. Being in Australia, I saved a bit on shipping and exchange rate fees too. This stone cost 60 JPY per gram. So showed me several Asagi that he had, and recommended this one as being, quality-wise, second only to his "miracle stone".

The stone is a fairly uniform blue colour with very little skin, and came unmarked (no visible stamps). So tells me Asagi can be scratchy, but this one is as smooth as silk. It is also extremely hard, so much so that I purchased the Atoma 1200 grit diamond lapping plate in order to generate slurry. It is also, as I found out (and So warned me about), a very fast and strong cutter.

First use of this stone was on a couple of NOS full hollow Dorkos for a fellow member. I did perhaps 20 laps on each after getting an edge off the Shapton 16K. Overhoned. Well, there's a theory going around that it wasn't technically overhoned as in a wire edge, but rather the edge produced was too fine for the steel and so died halfway through the shave. Whatever, the end result was the same. Valuable lesson learned.

Next, I tried it on an old Boker King Cutter. Very carefully this time, 5 laps at a time between testing. The edge produced was very, very nice after two sets of 5 laps. Wonderfully smooth shave, and the edge held up.

I've since used it on two JR wedges, and an A. Leon Wedge. Good Lord! This thing loves the wedges, or the wedges love it, I can't tell. Superb shaves.

As to it's grit - finer than a 16K is all I can say with certainty. So hinted that it would give finer edges than a 30K Shapton, but I've never shaved off a 30K Shapton, so I don't know for sure. I also have never used Chrome Oxide or diamond pastes, so again I have nothing to compare to there.

Because of its speed, I've been using it straight off the 6K Narutaki I have, and once straight from the 4K Norton.

So, to summarize. Very hard, very smooth, very fine, very fast and, in my opinion, very beautiful stone. Three thumbs up. Highly recommended. Perfect. 10+.



On to the Atoma. I bought this on So's recommendation, although to be fair he did say that a Nagura would do as well, and was a cheaper option. However, I decided that a 1200 grit diamond plate would come in handy for other things too, moreso than a Nagura, so I got it instead.

It cost 110AUD and was shipped from Japan.

It is a diamond plate mounted on a hollow metal base. I haven't measured it, but it's about 1/2 inch longer and exactly the same width as my Norton 4/8K. It needed to be sealed around the seam where the diamond plate sits on the metal base - I used epoxy glue - to stop water getting inside the base and rusting from the inside out.

So far I have only used it to generate a slurry on the Asagi. Works well for that purpose. Seems a well made, solid piece of kit, and as long as you are aware of the rusting issue and seal it, pretty trouble-free. Time will tell on the diamond plate itself, I guess, although So assures me it is good quality for the price.

I'm very happy with it. But again, I have nothing to compare it to (specifically, the DMT range).




James.

[mitchshrader]

i can only ask politely is there another stone of similar quality, size not critical. .

and how to locate it.. I am entirely impressed. 10+? This I gotta see.. PLEASE!..

Thank You, Mitch Shrader

[Jimbo]

Mitch,

So had a few Asagis, but this was the best of them quality-wise. And I'm not sure how "for sale" they all were. He is certainly not willing to part with his "miracle stone", and even if he was he told me it would be worth several thousand dollars (I asked and then politely withdrew my enquiry )

James.

[kevint]

I have the same rig ordered but he got away on holiday. I see it is the same one I asked about, looks white in that photo.

[OLD_SCHOOL]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Mitch,

So had a few Asagis, but this was the best of them quality-wise. And I'm not sure how "for sale" they all were. He is certainly not willing to part with his "miracle stone", and even if he was he told me it would be worth several thousand dollars (I asked and then politely withdrew my enquiry )

James.

This one's colour is the same yellow as a coticule, though the scanner adjusts the colour, but seriously in person, they look exactly identical. As you can see in the pic the corner has been smoothed, I did that coz I thought it might be why it wasn't selling. When the diamond hone is going across it with water, the hone was a beautiful light blue, then once it dried, it turned yellow again, but if you look closely you can see the evident blue on that corner. IIRC someone mentioned that So's miracle Asagi is very similar.

I actually prefer the Asagi hones for Japanese sraights.

The first pic is before, and the second is after.

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by kevint

I have the same rig ordered but he got away on holiday. I see it is the same one I asked about, looks white in that photo.

Yeah, the flash makes it look a bit whiter than it is. It's a nice sort of sky blue, almost translucent colour in natural light. Actually, the last photo in the "Team Toishi" thread post I made shows the colour a bit better.

James.

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by OLD_SCHOOL

This one's colour is the same yellow as a coticule, though the scanner adjusts the colour, but seriously in person, they look exactly identical. As you can see in the pic the corner has been smoothed, I did that coz I thought it might be why it wasn't selling. When the diamond hone is going across it with water, the hone was a beautiful light blue, then once it dried, it turned yellow again, but if you look closely you can see the evident blue on that corner. IIRC someone mentioned that So's miracle Asagi is very similar.

I actually prefer the Asagi hones for Japanese sraights.

The first pic is before, and the second is after.

That looks lovely O_S. I have seen So's Asagi, but for the life of me I can't remember what it looks like (as in whether it was yellow with blue or all blue). It's a biggun, that I can say for certain.

Are Japanese straights harder steel than western straights? Because I can see how the stronger cutting strength of the Asagi would certainly be beneficial with harder steels.

James.

[OLD_SCHOOL]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Are Japanese straights harder steel than western straights? Because I can see how the stronger cutting strength of the Asagi would certainly be beneficial with harder steels.

James.

I really couldn't say. The only reazor I can compare the similarity to would have to be a Boker for hardness eh. Most of the Asagi's (which isn't many) that I have tried have been extremely hard its not funny and the cutting strength/speed very very slow, except for the one pictured which is somewhat faster cutting.

[Jimbo]

Oh, I see. I'd just assumed the Asagis were faster cutters, but maybe it's just this one. Gotta love natural stones, as varied as we are.

James.

[OLD_SCHOOL]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Oh, I see. I'd just assumed the Asagis were faster cutters, but maybe it's just this one. Gotta love natural stones, as varied as we are.

James.

I think the Asagi ones might be the same as Maruichi (Both from the Nakayama quarry) in that the faster cutting ones are rarer. With the Maruichi ones, the harder they are the slower the become normally, however if you get a fast cutting on its rare. I don't like using the word rare though, coz it sounds like one of those words that people use to get an extra $ or 2. Not only that but of the ones I have been selling, the majority have been somewhat fast cutting, so they don't seem so rare to me.

[Bruno]

Japanese razors are a bit harder than western razors. So told me they go to 67 HRc in extreme cases.
More commonly they are 62-64, which is about the same as high quality customs. I know Tim Zowada come 63 HRC (or was it 62?) +- 0.5.

So asks a lot of questions indeed. Buying from So is slightly more complex than asking the price and handing over the money
I bought the nagura stone with mine, and I am very happy with it.

If I may ask, what are the dimensions?

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Japanese razors are a bit harder than western razors. So told me they go to 67 HRc in extreme cases.
More commonly they are 62-64, which is about the same as high quality customs. I know Tim Zowada come 63 HRC (or was it 62?) +- 0.5.

So asks a lot of questions indeed. Buying from So is slightly more complex than asking the price and handing over the money
I bought the nagura stone with mine, and I am very happy with it.

If I may ask, what are the dimensions?

Cheers Bruno.

Umm, haven't really measured it. Hang on, I'll go get my tape. ...

It's approx. 203mm long, 70mm wide, 23mm thick at the thicker side, 18mm thick on the thinner side.

Looks roughly similar in dimensions to the Norton 4/8.

James.