Thread: Friable grit stones

Another razor done on the Coticule and the break down method, I went Chosera 1k, Naniwa ss 1-3-8 then worked the Coticule with the slurry, again a beautiful Haze finish and a super smooth edge...

everything I've heard/read about coticule garnets is that they never break down. have you found this not to be accurate?

Originally Posted by gssixgun

You haven't heard more about it because I gave up on trying to explain it over and over again, there are certain things that I find, I post, and I speak about it, and it falls on deaf ears so after that I just continue to do what I have found to work on the 1000's of razors I hone and smile... (if you were to search it out you will find several references that I have made to it)
I actually no longer use my J-nat with clear water, I always leave a slight bit of the old slurry on it and finish to damp,,, I have read of other J-nat users doing the same with Sushi Knives...

One thing I have said for a few years now is that we don't use enough pressure at the finishing stage to break down the slurry when honing Western style razors, other people are finding out there might be some substance to this.. One of the other senior members is experimenting with Corticule slurry break down and is finding basically the same outcomes.. He is working the slurry much much longer with the Slurry stone before he begins, to break down the Grit first...
I found much the same when using the Coticule as a pre- finisher for Kamisori the resulting haze finish is much nicer then what you would find when diluting out the same Coticule on a Western style razor...

Rob keep working the slurry breakdown you will find Gold if you dig deep enough...

Something is breaking down the scratch pattern is changing and there is a haze finish happening...
I can't answer to what you have read as I have read the same, but that is not the results I am seeing with this

I think the garnets wear and become more "rounded". They are rhombic dodecahedra so they look like a little soccer ball in shape, with no acute angles. I always imagined the "corners" of each facet wear down during honing as the slurry is worked and the garnets and edge and metal particles all interact with each other.

Of course if you make a slurry with a diamond plate you may well crack a garnet or two open also I suppose.

James.

Yeah Jimbo Roo I have heard the Soccer ball description also, but the High mag pics that I have seen did not show these garnets in the slurry..
So I am not really sure what is going on in there but it seems to work

No garnets in the slurry? These damn coticules just don't play by the rules!!

James.

Great threads guys! I'm loving the Jnat i picked up from maksim and also find the edges i produce are better with slurry the whole way through. My progression is 1k chosera, welsh trio with thick slurry on all of them, ozuku mizu asagi with asano botan, tenjou and mejiro then tomo nagura of the same quality as my ozuku. The slurries from the asanos are used as a 'mud' and diluted. Same as the tomo.

I personally apply very little pressure during the final stages, just the weight of the blade, and find that the slurry is still breaking down. I think that the fact that the particles are constantly shifting, rolling, etc, against the bevel and the stone are enough to break it down.

I've stopped counting laps on my Jnat, I really go by feel and look of the slurry/bevel to decide when to move on. At this point in the progression so little steel is being removed, more polishing than anything, that working the slurry longer is of nothing but benefit!

Just my 2 cents.

Ok, there is a whole lot of confusion on this subject and since it left the advanced honing topics, I have to talk as an unbeliever.
For any of you who think that this method can make a 100 grit stone's slurry equivalent to 50k grit slurry, please talk.
Everyone talks about it like it is something obscure, immeasurable, experience related, almost magic like.
Does any of you have natural coarse stones? Their particles are softer than man made so it gets easier, and they are big, so the results are visible. Why don't you try it with them? Any sandstones? Arkansas? Granite? Even sand itself. Then compare their edges with worked up slurry vs the edge of the stone itself or the scratch pattern from when you started. Will there be a difference in grit?
The shape of the particles might change. They will get rounder. But will they get smaller from hitting each other and the steel? That is not a philosophical question. Try it.
There are some stones that their particles get smaller, like nagura and slurry from very few porous stones, as long as they are used on harder, stone or glass surfaces. But most of the non porous stones (actually all of them, but I shouldn't be sure) their particles don't change size at all. A corner or two can be removed, leaving the piece more coticule-garnet-shaped, but that's all.
And, about the haze like surface, steel particles on steel do that often. It might also darken, and on one of my examples, it became crimson-red. But I used a mix of oils and an unidentified mineral with the steel powder. When I find what I did, I'm gonna get a copyright .
Anyway, that's what I was thinking, and anyone who tries it, please post your results

Sorry Vasilis but I have no clue what you are trying to convey I can only guess

What I was trying to say is, this friable grit that can be felt on the finer stones, should also be visible on the coarser stones.