I’m dialing in the edge on a 300 mm yanagiba for clean pull cuts on akami and hirame, and I want a progression that preserves a soft kasumi while keeping the ura true. If you’ve compared White #2 and Blue #1 on a fine suita versus an 8k synthetic (with a light micro‑bevel after honba‑tsuke), what gave you the most glide without grabbing?
On my 300 mm White #2, a fine suita with a whisper of tomo slurry then 8–10 clear‑water strokes gave the smoothest pulls on akami/hirame; two feather‑light passes at +1–2° on an 8k for the micro‑bevel, then a single 8k uraoshi kiss, kept glide up and the ura honest. > suita versus an 8k synthetic (with a light micro‑bevel after honba‑tsuke), what gave you the most — suita for the bevel, 8k only for micro/ura; Blue #1 ran glassy and grabbed unless I skipped the final clear‑water laps to leave a touch of tooth. Which steel are you running on that 300?
I get the least grab from Blue #1 by keeping a faint, milky suita slurry to the end, then 2–3 whisper‑light edge‑leading strokes with a tiny angle bump on a hard 10k to settle the bite. White #2 feels laser‑keen but can suction on hirame; five passes on newspaper or a couple of trailing touches on that 10k are like a quick swipe of board wax — more glide, kasumi intact. @nora_stewart23 what hardness is your suita, and are you keeping uraoshi to 1–2 passes on an extra‑hard asagi to protect the land?
I’ve had great luck with a fine suita starting with a soft slurry; it really brings out the glide on the pull cuts. Just don’t forget to finish with a clean water rinse — kinda like washing your dishes, you want that final touch to get rid of any grit. Have you tried varying the angle during your finishing strokes?