I've read multiple times that a slurry produced by a diamond hone is a more aggressive cutter. And in the past I've tried it and gotten my hones a bit faster and also coarser. But I've always assumed that was due to the surface of the hone being roughed up.

This morning I was playing around with different slurries on new coticule. and I noticed that a slurry made with a diamond hone was considerably faster than one made with a natural slurry stone. So I did a side by side comparison.

The natural slurry stone was a lot harder than the base stone so I know for a fact that both slurries came from the base stone.

First I made a slurry with a diamond hone. Made around 20 X strokes and took a picture. Then I rinsed everything under running water. Made a new slurry with a similar density. But with a natural slurry stone and made another 20 X strokes with some pressure. The difference between them was massive.

So I wonder what's going on in the slurry that's making such a difference? Am I fracturing the garnets or is there something else going on?

This is the one produced by a diamond hone after 20 X strokes
Name: 20160113_110609.jpg Views: 458 Size: 25.4 KB
This is from the natural
Name: 20160113_111101.jpg Views: 418 Size: 20.7 KB