Looking for a cheap intro into Jnats (Europe)

[kidsos]

Hey guys,

I am looking for a nice and budget way to dive into natural stone sharpening the only thing is that my budget is limited (student) and I live in the Netherlands so I would prefer to order as locally as possible. My eyes fell on a few stones (websites are in Dutch sorry!), so my question is are these worth it for trying out? And is one way better than a another one? Cheers!

http://winkel.bootbouwer.nl/product/3058-binsui-800-1200/
http://winkel.bootbouwer.nl/product/3059-jo-haku-1000-1500/
https://www.hamono.nl/morihei-binsui-natural-stone-800-1500-big-15.html
https://www.hamono.nl/morihei-oohirayama-asagi-natural-stone-finish-no-7.html
https://www.hamono.nl/morihei-awase-do-natural-stone-finish-nr-1962.html

 

[inferno]

binsui and jo haku are not finishers from what i have learned at least.

do you want a finisher or a mid grit?

i guess someone else will take over and steer you in the right direction. but personally i would get some kind of finisher for my first stone if its for sharpening that is. but maybe not the finest of the fine ones. more like 5-6k-ish grit or so equivalent. and something thats fast cutting.

 

[mikaelsan]

if i had to do it all over again, i would personally, as i like to phrase it "join the dictum lottery", in other words buy two random koppa's (undersized, odd sized/shaped stone). use the one you prefer to sharpen on, to sharpen on and the other one for slurry. for about 80 euros this is a pretty cheap intro.
But some may disagree

There is a fair chance the binsui/jo-haku would benefit a lot from some kind of a nagura if you get one, my impression is that this is an area where they tend to shine.

 

[nutmeg]

Hey guys,

I am looking for a nice and budget way to dive into natural stone sharpening the only thing is that my budget is limited (student) and I live in the Netherlands so I would prefer to order as locally as possible. My eyes fell on a few stones (websites are in Dutch sorry!), so my question is are these worth it for trying out? And is one way better than a another one? Cheers!

http://winkel.bootbouwer.nl/product/3058-binsui-800-1200/
http://winkel.bootbouwer.nl/product/3059-jo-haku-1000-1500/
https://www.hamono.nl/morihei-binsui-natural-stone-800-1500-big-15.html
https://www.hamono.nl/morihei-oohirayama-asagi-natural-stone-finish-no-7.html
https://www.hamono.nl/morihei-awase-do-natural-stone-finish-nr-1962.html

the three coarse stones won‘t give you much fun I guess.
I like Asagi from Ohira but they are quite hard, so not really for beginners and the crack makes a part of the stone difficult to use.
I don‘t know the 5th one.

What is your actual synth set up?

 

[GoodMagic]

I would get an Aizu. It’s a great stone for kitchen knives, and not very expensive. They are available from time to time on bst.

 

[kidsos]

I would get an Aizu. It’s a great stone for kitchen knives, and not very expensive. They are available from time to time on bst.

Cool, thanks!

 

[kidsos]

the three coarse stones won‘t give you much fun I guess.
I like Asagi from Ohira but they are quite hard, so not really for beginners and the crack makes a part of the stone difficult to use.
I don‘t know the 5th one.

What is your actual synth set up?

Thanks for the options. My current synth set up is a King 1000/6000 stone, some diamond plates for rougher work and I strop on newspaper. That gives me an edge that is good enough for almost everything that I do. My Shibata Kotetsu just ghosts through everything. The Main reason that I want to try a Jnat is just for fun I guess

 

[lemeneid]

I know this isn't popular opinion but I firmly believe no stone is a bad stone, unless it has lots of lines and inclusions. So just get a cheapass stone off ebay and try it out. Select one about medium hardness and medium finish about 4-6k and fairly muddy. At 50-80 bucks, its not going to hurt you much and will set your expectations right for your next "proper stone" which you can buy from Wat, Aframes, or any of the stone gods here. I think everyone needs a gateway, and for stones, if you're on a budget, ebay is the way to go.

 

[SeattleBen]

if i had to do it all over again, i would personally, as i like to phrase it "join the dictum lottery", in other words buy two random koppa's (undersized, odd sized/shaped stone). use the one you prefer to sharpen on, to sharpen on and the other one for slurry. for about 80 euros this is a pretty cheap intro.
But some may disagree

There is a fair chance the binsui/jo-haku would benefit a lot from some kind of a nagura if you get one, my impression is that this is an area where they tend to shine.

When you say dictum lottery are you referring to the koppas on dictum?

 

[Benuser]

I'm well aware you were asking about Japanese naturals. Perhaps it is an idea to have first a look at other, less expensive naturals to play with. A so-called soft Arkansas and a Belgian Blue can be obtained for little money.
knivesandtools.nl

 

[mikaelsan]

When you say dictum lottery are you referring to the koppas on dictum?

Yes what your getting is completely random, there is no guarantee for what size stone your getting, what shape and so on. But still i'm pretty happy with what i have gotten out of it