Thread: Naniwa 12k vs Chinese wet stone

Hi everybody, I have heard that the only difference is that chinese are very slow cutters,, may be thats good for me to avoid over honing as I am beginner on straight razor shaving,, do some of you have tried both?? what can you tell me about the differences on quality an performance?? which one do you recommend the most?? I appreciate your advises

One is soft, more forgiving, easier to use, fast and of true grit rating - the naniwa. The other if a very good hone (if you get a good one, that is - they are natural stones so they vary a bit), but it is hard, not very forgiving, harder to use and the grit rating is often questionable. I would go for the naniwa, but it is quite a bit more expensive.

Regards,
Neil

Naniwa gets my vote too. It does everything that the chinese, just better and faster. Price is imo not important, you buy it for a long time, and you won't wear down any of the two. For me it was MUCH easier to use. Never had a razor that wasn't improved by the Naniwa, where the chinese was very hit or miss, and when it hit, than it wasn't as nice as the naniwa. The Naniwa is a 100% performer, and you never know what natural you get, so I wouldn't buy a C12k if it would be my first finisher.

ledemon,

+1 on the Naniwa 12k (Also the Naniwa 10k) SuperStones.

They give superb results (for me).

They do however, require re-flattening more often than the PHIG (Chinese '12k'); the PHIG needs more effort for the initial flattening so it's 'swings and roundabouts'
Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

I can only echo what's already said, the Naniwa is a safe buy, easy to use and consistent performer, while with a C12K you never know whether you get one thats fine enough or too coarse. And the Naniwa is probably easier to use for a beginner.

While I can get a great edge from from my coticule, an unidentified green hone and a naniwa 12K, my Chinese 12K is only ever an OK edge. I reckon its just that I have a slightly poorer one than most but you pay your money and take your chance. It is cheap, which is what it has going for it but that's it IMO.

The Chinese is much cheaper... so I decided to get that for my first actual finisher. It was about 25 bucks, shipped. Then I got it, and the one I had purchased sucked complete balls. So, I wound up spending four times that much on a stone that I knew would work. After it was all said and done, I had spent $125 and had one rockin' stone and one stone that was just a rock. I gave the rock away for free. Learn from my lesson, friend... you'll be happier in the end.

Originally Posted by kamikazeproject

The Chinese is much cheaper... so I decided to get that for my first actual finisher. It was about 25 bucks, shipped. Then I got it, and the one I had purchased sucked complete balls. So, I wound up spending four times that much on a stone that I knew would work. After it was all said and done, I had spent $125 and had one rockin' stone and one stone that was just a rock. I gave the rock away for free. Learn from my lesson, friend... you'll be happier in the end.

That's how it is with those. The first one I bough wasn't much to speak of, but I lucked out with the second, which is a finisher that can hang with the big boys.

Originally Posted by Blix

That's how it is with those. The first one I bough wasn't much to speak of, but I lucked out with the second, which is a finisher that can hang with the big boys.

Yeah, I've been tossing back and forth whether or not to give it second try and buy another one, but I haven't just yet. I think, if I do, I'll make sure to find someone on here who has a good one they wouldn't mind parting with instead of playing Chinese Roulette again. haha