Thread: BBW as a one-hone?

Could a BBW be used as a "one-hone" solution to maintaining a blade? Or, more precisely, as a one/only hone for life (with slurry stone)?


Perhaps I've read too much into the Coticles.be article comparing results between BBW, Coticle and Coticle/BBW stones on straight razors but I want to put it out there. Yet many websites list it as a 4000-grit equivalent stone - as though they intentionally want to sway opinion away from it.
Link to study: http://coticule.be/heritage.html?fil.../BBW-study.pdf or http://www.coticule.be/the-cafeteria/topic/1452.html

From all that I've read elsewhere: it's functionally similar composition as coticle through slower due to the lower garnet content. I would assume that make it easier for new users from causing damage but, based on the results, could still equal the final output of more expensive stones.

Are there users that use a BBW to refresh their blades?

The issue with any "One Hone System" is the bevel set, after that there are very few that can't be used

Keeping in mind that Natural Stones by their very nature are quite variable..

Originally Posted by gssixgun

The issue with any "One Hone System" is the bevel set, after that there are very few that can't be used

Keeping in mind that Natural Stones by their very nature are quite variable..

Intent is to maintain a blade.

assuming a bevel is already present.

Originally Posted by SpikedLemon

Intent is to maintain a blade.

assuming a bevel is already present.

Here is my opinion for exactly what you just posted...

Without any doubt in my mind at all, I have absolute confidence that I can get a Sharper, Smoother, more Comfortable shaving edge off of a Norton 8k, Naniwa 8k, 10k or 12k, a Shapton 8k, PHIG, WHIG, or even most Barber's hones (might be forgetting some too) for the same price as an 8x3 BBW

I own a BBW and a dang good one at that, but it just isn't a stand out hone, not when there are so many better ones available at the same price point..


That is JMHO, but as I have often said "Natural stones are a romance, synthetics are an exact science, so make sure you have the time and patience to kindle the love affair"

G/L

If I really didn't like somebody I might gift them a BBW to maintain their razor .........

I agree exactly with glen. If you're maintaining a razor with leather and linen (and not a bunch of fast abrasives on a strop), then the maintenance of a razor is extremely little. It would be like light slurry on a phig and then clear every few weeks to every few months, depending on how good your linen and leather are. You'd want to pick a stone that does really well at maintenance, not one that does just OK or not well at all.

the only stones that I have ever seen that will set a bevel and give you a decent shave are washitas, and at that only the harder finer ones. Even at that, they set a bevel better when they're scuffed, and they do fine work a lot better when they're not. No razor gets them from scuffed to fine in one razor, so you have a dilemma.

Carvers and woodworkers don't even like the BBW for the most part, it isn't fine enough for its cutting speed. There may be a few who use them, but many many many more who use oilstones and synthetic waterstones.

Yes, absolutely yes, of course you can.
Not withstanding variation among naturals, I don't find a lot of difference to the coticule side (at least the ones I have).
Cotis and BBW are not easy to master, proficiency is usually the underlying factor.

If you are looking for a natural to maintain a edge why not a thuringian. Or a jnat, like a $70 type 100 asagi and a tomo? IMO they would be much better than a Cnat.

I have played with all the BBW on all my coticules and never really found them good for much on razors. Especially when there's a coticule layer on the other side that is much faster and finer cutting. I say this with one exception, I have a 5x1.25 coticule that has lightening fast BBW on it. It sets bevels as fast if not faster than my coticules.

I'm a natural stones only guy also, I just find synthetics to be boring, I like the challenge of learning a stone and mastering it's full potential.

Back on topic. I agree with everyone else, there are much better ways to maintain a razor than BBW. Some cheap, some pricey.

Synthetic-stone people withstanding... There are quite a few people that believe Coticule stones produce a decent shave-ready edge.

Do people beleive that there is little truth to the study done by Coticles.be that showed that, with blind testing, that using a BBW stone produces a shave-ready edge comparable to the Coticle?

Originally Posted by SpikedLemon

...Do people beleive that there is little truth to the study done by Coticles.be that showed that, with blind testing, that using a BBW stone produces a shave-ready edge comparable to the Coticle?...

That's a loaded question, though, isn't it? Kind of like asking a room full of christians if they believe in God and his teachings (might have a problem with Father Dougal from Craggy Island, though...).

I know that Bart often said that using a BBW for a few strokes after full finishing on a coti produced a 'brisker, more engaging' edge - purely because it knocked some of the smoothness (aka roundedness or what I like to call 'mushiness') off the edge.

Anyway, coticule.be is long defunct and the site it gave rise too has gone that way too - fickle lot, those coti practitioners...

Regards,
Neil