Thread: Hi All, a bit about me and a honing query

First post here having come over from Badger and Blade where I've been learning all about my new DE for the last 3 weeks. I've been enjoying that so much that the lure of a straight proved irresistible and I bought one after a week of DE shaving. I tried it out a few times before deciding to send it for honing at the invisible edge here in the UK. Expecting it and a new strop back tomorrow!
My reasoning was that I had no idea what a shave ready blade would feel like so this is really a benchmarking exercise as I do plan to learn to hone my own blade eventually. Have watched Lynns videos on honing and quickly realised that my 30 years of experience sharpening various woodworking tools was not going to stand me in good stead with a razor but I've gone ahead and bought a DMT 8C to lap my hones and have a norton 4/8k combi on order. I want to get a stone for finishing and an old razor or two to practice with but have a question about the Belgian stones. Looking at the BBW and yellow coticule it seems that they are the natural equivalent of a norton 4/8? If this is the case would you need both, the blue to set the bevel and the yellow to polish and even then would it be necessary to get something finer to finish the job or could you take it from the yellow to the strop? If this is the case I'll cancel the backordered Norton and get the belgians as I prefer natural stones for my wood working tools.
Sorry for the long winded first post, lots to learn!
Chris

I've ordered a yellow coticule to go with my Norton 4/8K. Although the coticule is said to be 8K, people say it cuts as if it were a finer grit and gives a smoother edge.

If I had a BBW and coticule I doubt I'd buy a Norton. The Norton is cheaper though. Maybe you've already seen that Invisible Edge sell coticule bouts. These irregularly shaped stones are a bit cheaper than rectangular ones, but the Invisible Edge ones are chosen to be a good shape/size for razor honing. (I wish I'd noticed this before ordering mine from Ardennes, but the price difference isn't that great.)

I bought a coticule and put the norton away. If you just want to maintain a razor try a barbers hone. If you wish to undertake honing get the coticule.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

I bought a coticule and put the norton away. If you just want to maintain a razor try a barbers hone. If you wish to undertake honing get the coticule.

So will the coticule do the whole job or would I still need a coarser stone to set the beveL?

With my limited experience and from what I've read I would say some coticules are able to set a bevel..
I bought a DMT-6E, a coticule and a BBW and that should be fine so completely hone your razor..(check the wiki for a great article on that combination).. I also have a DMT-6c and F combo for lapping the naturals..and that works great.

I think the norton combo or the BBW/coticule could do the job just as well..

Maarten

30 years, what have you been using to sharpen and lap