Thread: Shaptoneers, please confirm something for me...

The Coticule's enigmatic behavior is part of my reason for creating this thread.

My own experience is this: If I raise slurry on a coticule, any coticule so far, I'm almost certain to loose HHT-ability. Doing light pressure laps on a coticule with only water, restores the HHT, again. In fact, I can also feel the difference while doing the TPT. The DMT edge and the Coticule/water edge, feeling more sticky than the coticule/slurry edge. Some have stated the coticule/water is higher grit than the coticule/slurry, but I have done an experiment, and found no evidence for that claim. In my experiment, I did 100 laps on an already perfectly honed razor, using a coticule/water. Then I did 30 laps on a coticule/slurry, on the toe half of the blade (from the toe to the middle). Then 10 laps on the DMT, on the toe quarter of the blade. Inspection at 40X magnification with a high end stereo microscope showed no difference between the Coticule/water and the Coticule/slurry scratch marks. The DMT-marks were very distinct, as expected. The HHT worked on the DMT part and on the Coticlue/water part, but NOT on the Coticule/slurry part. Stropping did improve the HHT-results on the Coticule/water part from "popping" to "slicing". The DMT results and the Cotiule/slurry inability to pass HHT, were not altered by the stropping.

I think the use of slurry on a Coticule might abrade the very tip of the cutting bevel a bit. Not to such an extent that it can't be restored by laps on a Coticule with only water, but still.
That kind of contra-intuitive behavior makes it hard to use the Coticules for experiments about the raw physics of edge formation, and the way "toothiness" plays a key role with that, or not. Hence, my question about the development of HHT-results on a consistent set of synthetic hones.

My interest in "toothines" aka striations, comes from Lynn's pyramids. I know the main idea is to prevent overhoning (seemingly to be an issue with the Norton, but never found on a Coticule, perhaps because of the "tip-of-bevel-abbrasion"- that I postulated about above). But I also wonder about the prescribed ratios between the 4K and the 8K. That has to leave some 4K scratches under the 8K-polishing, right? Bottom line: are there two kind of shaveready edges? The first being a "polished toothy" one, the second being a more elaborate, evened-out smooth one. The former being less comfortable but more durable and the latter smoother, but less durable. My initial analogy with slicing tomatoes, not being as stupid as it sounds?

The experiment with the HHT is a first step to find out. It's such fun... reïnventing the wheel, that I just can't resist.

Bart.