# Keepers



## Badgertooth (Sep 18, 2017)

Im often asked about the stones I keep if I cycle through as many as I do and am prepared to sell such nice stones. So I thought Id do a run through of the logic and philosophy behind my keepers and some of the stones themselves.

*Colour*
So Theres a little bit of cognitive dissonance here as I am the first to preach that you shouldnt make colour the holy grail and that a plain Jane grey stone can be every bit as muddy and knife friendly as a peacock iromono stone fluffing its red and green plumage. Ive sagely dished out this advice as its a great way to score a bargain stone if you know what youre doing. But then, do as I say, not as a I do. I LOVE a red stone or stones that have that beautiful iromono and ikimurasaki interplay between reds, ochres, greens, yellows and purples. Think New Hampshire in fall and thats my jam. Dont get me wrong, they have to be good at what they do too but sometimes Ill keep it just cos it looks a certain way. 

















*Sentiment*
There are stones that have a measure of sentimental value. My first jnat was maruoyama shiro suita and an Ohira Renge suita from Shinichi. Relative to what I was earning and what Id spent on anything knife related up to that point in my life, it was a kings ransom. It started the precipitous freefall, they were the gateway drug. That, and theyre bloody good. A piece of Frankish blue gifted by another member is never going anywhere. Myles from Aranyik also handpicked an orange binsu for me as a thanks for the goodwill talking about his stones has generated (disclosure, I did and continue to recommend his stones not as some kind of shill, but because I think they represent a unique and good value natural sharpening option outside of the Japanese orthodoxy). Anyway, he didnt have to be he did and it means a lot to me.











*Good Luck*
I think Ive reached a point where I am getting good at picking stones and as such some of my purchases confirm this. But they also behave exactly as I thought they would and more-or-less duplicate other stones I am keeping that have these characteristics. So they get re-homed because I can speak with relative assurance as to their performance. So what I tend to find myself keeping are stones that are either exemplars of a type that has been duplicated but not surpassed by another stone. Or outliers in terms of performance. It could be a weird little nuance that I havent experienced in another stone and would have some trouble in replicating the luck of finding and replacing if I ever sold. It could be an uncommon combination of attributes such as a hard stone which is gentle on cladding, or a fine stone that leaves lots of contrast or a really nuanced attribute to the edge. Ill even forgive a little flaw if that quirk is good enough. I have a suita that spits particles, just few enough to tolerate and not damage the edge, but the edge is maybe my favourite. I also have a soft spot for rescue stones, like a puppy from the pound and these generally involves some repair work or rebuilding of bottoms to mount to bases etc. I grow to love them because they had an inherent quality worth saving




























*Bad Luck*
Theres also some stones that are too cruddy to inflict on another human being. A great example is an Aiiwatani karasu I treated myself to at the end of the year. It arrived with surface damage. But it was 65mm deep. No problem, n boer maak n plan (old south African saying: A farmer hatches a plan). To me that meant two stones of 32mm thickness. I took it to the local granite top counter cutters and asked them if they could cut it half for me for a slab of beers. They did which was awesome of them but the centre of the stone was littered with pockets of iron deposits that were scratchy as hell. Ah well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and I can get a lifetime supply of fingerstones from it.







*Mintyness*
I go through a lot of aizu, its sort of a fetish, but the few Ive kept are smaller (handy for lugging between my basement and the kitchen) and the big one Ive kept because (and this is nuts) it smells kind of like mint and eucalyptus and chalk. I dont know where Id even begin framing the question to poor bastards selling me stones that Id like a minty one

Hope this give some insight. These are the photos I have to hand. I'll add more as I take others out for sharpening


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## panda (Sep 18, 2017)

or if youre not a jnat nut like badger and just want end results, i look for what ever gets the job done (but holds up to my standards) for the least amount of money. which means not pretty and not in the most sought after dimensions. in the end i only kept one natural stone which gave me the best final edge that i prefer.


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## Badgertooth (Sep 18, 2017)

panda said:


> or if youre not a jnat nut like badger and just want end results, i look for what ever gets the job done (but holds up to my standards) for the least amount of money. which means not pretty and not in the most sought after dimensions. in the end i only kept one natural stone which gave me the best final edge that i prefer.



And there's a lot of merit in this. You don't need to fall down holes or spend tonnes. Get a dropped corner, irregular shaped, brown stone that works. Cost ya about as much as synth.


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## Marek07 (Sep 18, 2017)

Thanks for the insightful post... inside the mind of Badger! 

As you said, more than a bit of cognitive dissonance! But you did warn us mortals: "... _do as I say, not as a I do._" I for one, will always be happy with the stones that John West rejects. 

Edit: Is the knife pictured on your red stone a Trimarchi (The Nine)?


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## nevrknow (Sep 18, 2017)

Badger has a new stalker. I spend a lot of time searching his posts for info. As a newbie to jnats all of your info is SO much appreciated and read. Thank you for sharing with us new guys. It IS appreciated whether anyone tells you directly or not.


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## Badgertooth (Sep 18, 2017)

Marek07 said:


> Thanks for the insightful post... inside the mind of Badger!
> 
> As you said, more than a bit of cognitive dissonance! But you did warn us mortals: "... _do as I say, not as a I do._" I for one, will always be happy with the stones that John West rejects.
> 
> Edit: Is the knife pictured on your red stone a Trimarchi (The Nine)?



Good eye, It is a Trimarchi. It's this one I sharpened up before sending to an online retailer. Sexy stuff.

https://instagram.com/p/BY_GzXSBcB6/


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## Badgertooth (Sep 18, 2017)

nevrknow said:


> Badger has a new stalker. I spend a lot of time searching his posts for info. As a newbie to jnats all of your info is SO much appreciated and read. Thank you for sharing with us new guys. It IS appreciated whether anyone tells you directly or not.



Thank you, I'll resolve to do some more.


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## K813zra (Sep 18, 2017)

I too have a thing for stones with red, in any form as I have had good luck with them. Iromon, akane, aka-renge, aka-monzen etc. I have not owned a green or black stone that resonated with me. And I have yet to find a suita that I truly love, I must be the only one. Every single one has just been glassier and finer than I like. Three ohira, two shinden, one okudo and one yaginoshima. All were/are good stones just not something suited to my taste.

Funny you should mention the Aizu as I had a love hate relationship with mine for quite some time. I now am up to five of them. My favorite is small but has a huge amount of renge or what Watanabe calls black lotus flowers in our conversations. This stone is very soft, HS23 by his measurements, and not as fine as your typical Aizu. I would say it is maybe around the 3k mark but that is hard to say as you know. A great edge for double bevels, imo, and the stone is wicked fast. On the other end of the spectrum I have one that is glass hard, for a Naka-to. I believe it his rating was HS-39 but this thick feels wicked hard, almost as hard as some of my hardest finishing stones. It leaves a 4-5k edge but with loads of bite left. It is the slowest of the Aizu that I own. 

I also have a thing for Naka-to in general. I think for every Awase-to I have 5 Naka-to.  

These stones, they are addictive.


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## v647c (Sep 19, 2017)

Some beautiful ones you've shown here Otto. I also always enjoy reading your stone posts. Great insight, and I love how you compare stones and articulate the little details in ways that really make sense. I wish I had some sort of philosophy when it comes to buying stones as you do. I kind of go through phases I guess. Kiitas are definitely my favourite. I used to like the lemony coloured ones and later on the darker autumn colours. Lately I've been keen on asagis. I've never found myself being into mid-grits or uchigumori, but I guess I haven't used enough good ones. I'm able to get the best edges on harder kiitas so I use them the most. 

I wanted to give them a lot more height so I'm in the process of giving them some bases:






Some others:






Most of them are fun polishers. Sometimes I'm only able to get a stone to work well with 1 or 2 particular knives but I end up hanging on to it anyway...


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## Badgertooth (Sep 19, 2017)

Thanks Lee, there are some banging stones there and I know enough about your polishing to know they're put to really good use. Bottom left - Dat iromono do.


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## valgard (Sep 19, 2017)

Great post Otto, I kinda knew but this is very well articulated. 
Lee, the two iromono at the bottom left corner look up my alley. The far left kiita also looks incredible.


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## Choppin (Sep 20, 2017)

Great post. After that "Heirlooms" post on BST I kept imagining "if that's what he's NOT keeping..."

I loved how you highlight the subjective, ludic aspect of it. I'm just beginning to play around with Jnats but certainly can relate to the appeal or colour, smell and overall feel of each stone. I feel it's as much about the joy in the process as the end result.


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## Dave Martell (Sep 20, 2017)

I'm :drool:


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## DarkStar (Sep 22, 2017)

Thanks Badger. Cool Post. It's always nice to get a peek into someone else's "head".

In particular, with a topic like this that is so nuanced.


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## brooksie967 (Sep 28, 2017)

I'll add here soon


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## Kenny (Sep 28, 2017)

Great information and thanks!
As another beginner I have a lot to learn before I buy my 1st jnat.


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## Bigkev2828 (Oct 22, 2017)

You should write books dood


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