Last night I tried to do some work on a super hard ozuku using shobu and kuro nagura. I’m a completely new to proper jnats, although I’ve spent some time on cheap amakusa and binsui (much, much more forgiving). Had one hell of a time getting mud, let alone getting the nagura to actually rub the base stone without catching/stuttering/sticking/scratching. A few things I figured out, right or wrong -
1. Don’t use too much water. Moist surface and a couple drops of water seems to allow more friction, less “skating” on a thin layer of water. This was a significant development, I’m used to starting with a big pool of water on synthetics as they (mostly) slurry themselves.
2. Flatten your stone. Like dead flat. Out of frustration I tried the naguras on my kitayama, which I thought was pretty flat. Not flat enough. The nagura would simply catch and chatter. Feels like a triple plate race clutch for those who drive standard. Bad feeling. Once flattened, behaved much better and was able to produce mud with less drama.
3. Try not to slip the nagura over the sides of the base stone - I was wondering where all my wonderful mud went, and found it on the sides of my stone.
Please keep in mind this is all new to me, just noticed a couple things that really changed the game in terms of getting started on jnats. Experts, please correct me if any of my findings are incorrect or if you have anything to add. I feel like a baby trying to learn how to walk.
1. Don’t use too much water. Moist surface and a couple drops of water seems to allow more friction, less “skating” on a thin layer of water. This was a significant development, I’m used to starting with a big pool of water on synthetics as they (mostly) slurry themselves.
2. Flatten your stone. Like dead flat. Out of frustration I tried the naguras on my kitayama, which I thought was pretty flat. Not flat enough. The nagura would simply catch and chatter. Feels like a triple plate race clutch for those who drive standard. Bad feeling. Once flattened, behaved much better and was able to produce mud with less drama.
3. Try not to slip the nagura over the sides of the base stone - I was wondering where all my wonderful mud went, and found it on the sides of my stone.
Please keep in mind this is all new to me, just noticed a couple things that really changed the game in terms of getting started on jnats. Experts, please correct me if any of my findings are incorrect or if you have anything to add. I feel like a baby trying to learn how to walk.