Thread: Coticule vs BBW

The discussion of how good an edge somebody can get from a BBW versus what the coticule can do seems to come up fairly frequently. I’m sure there is a forum thread on SRP that deals with it, but I gave up trying to find it and decided to just reinvent the wheel.

Here is the link to what seems to be a definitive discussion from coticule.be:

http://www.coticule.be/faq-reader/it...garnets41.html

My reading on the web seems to indicate much more consistency in the results from BBW with much less variation in layers we seem to find in coticule.

UPDATE: I knew I had seen the following study, but only just now found it again.

Nice scientific methodology showing virtually no perceptible difference between a BBW edge and a coticule edge on the same razor.

http://www.coticule.be/heritage.html.../BBW-study.pdf

I have a few coti's with some nice looking bbw on them, I try them once in awhile, but nothing too serious.

Thinking this would be a fun thing to participate in!

I've done plenty of BBW vs Coti edge test shaves, my Coticules are mostly La Grise characteristic stones

For my personal finding I get a smoother shave from my Coticules.

Both edges are plenty sharp, where the BBW edge is a tad less smooth for me. I love going from the BBW -> Coti though.


More than a decade ago I got an unrivaled smooth edge by a BBW unicot progression from a La Nouvelle Veine layer where I couldn't get that from the Coticule side.

It's a trial and error kind of thing. IME my Coti edges beat my BBW edges consistently with my stones.


I've been shaving with three identical Swedish frameback razors comparing a 12K vs Escher vs Coticule edge, where I seem to prefer the Coti La Grise edge.

I will try a BBW La Grise vs a Coti La Grise soon, but IIRC I've tried it before and the Coti got my preference.



The only thing I wished they had studied more was the difference in the backstroke/stropping finish on the BBW vs regular 'forward" stroke finish on the Coti.
It would've been very interesting to compare regular finishing strokes on both the BBW and the Coti vs stropping finishing strokes in the BBW vs Coti.


I absolutely love the BBW and Coti, they're highly capable hones that leave fantastic edge, albeit for shaving I tend to finish on the Coti.
It has taken me a long time to figure out my Coticule and perfect the edges though, but once you have them dialed in, wonderful shaves.


My La Grise Coti is extremely slow on water, slower than my Escher, if the BBW is even slower on water, that's gonna be a nice little challenge to get the max out of them.

It might be interesting to informally replicate the honing process in the study. I think the motivation for the study involved adding some credibility to the honing capabilities of the BBW which was and is significantly less expensive than a coticule of corresponding size.

Am I mistaken when I recall that the coticule folks said there is less variation in the BBW stones than there is in the coticule?

I have a vintage natural combination stone and have no idea about the vein from which it came. I think I will try the honing strategy described in the study just to see if I can get a good edge from the BBW side of my combo.

Since we won’t be using the same stones and our individual stones could be from who knows which layer, if we all do this it won’t even be a satisfactory repeat of the experiment, but it would be fun

Originally Posted by DZEC

Since we won’t be using the same stones and our individual stones could be from who knows which layer, if we all do this it won’t even be a satisfactory repeat of the experiment, but it would be fun

Absolutely! I'll be trying it for sure

I have been revisiting coticules recently with less than satisfactory results. I am interested in doing this and have been wondering, as the OP has, if there is less variation in the BBW stones. I’ll give it a shot multiple times in the next few weeks and post some results and thoughts here. Fun thread.

I have a really sweet BBW that Howard picked out for me from his stock years ago when Bart started the BBW hype to mess with

One thing I can tell you, the BBW on the back of old Coticules doesn't compare unless they are Natural dual sides
The BBW a capable stone that produces a Shave Ready edge

This is my natural combo of unknown vintage and layer. The coticule sides takes my edges to around the same place as my Norton 8K. Haven’t really tried the BBW side much.

I took a Swedish frameback that was finished on my La Grise Coti and finished it on the La Grise BBW on water. (Natural combo stone)

It delivered a very smooth, very sharp and very skin friendly edge that shaved very effortlessly and smoothly. Very keen. It was also really easy on my skin.

Will do some more experimenting. But I'm getting a better result than I did before. Very promising results.

Originally Posted by TristanLudlow

I took a Swedish frameback that was finished on my La Grise Coti and finished it on the La Grise BBW on water. (Natural combo stone)

It delivered a very smooth, very sharp and very skin friendly edge that shaved very effortlessly and smoothly. Very keen. It was also really easy on my skin.

Will do some more experimenting. But I'm getting a better result than I did before. Very promising results.

Did you finish with edge leading strokes on the BBW as in the experiment?