Thread: Would an Arkansas stone further refine an edge off a coticule?

Welcome!

Are you looking for an excuse to buy another hone? If not I would look at getting some chromium oxide and a paddle strop. Load the paddle strop with a light coating of CrOx and do like 4-5 light stropping strokes and test shave it. Keep upping your stroke count until you get where you want.

If you are looking for an excuse and like fiddling around, then yes you could expect a slight improvement over a coticule, or it could be less. That’s the funny thing with using an arky to finish with. It’s all about the finish the face of the hone has. There are one or two threads going right now concerning Arkansas stones. My black and my butterscotch would both add a little to a coticule edge in way of sharpness, though it may be a little less in the comfort department for the coticule edges I have tried. Both my stones have been taken to 1500 grit wet/dry then burnished a far amount with a chisel.

If you’re not opposed to synthetics a good place to start for a finisher is a naniwa 12k. Pretty tried and true, relatively inexpensive and easy to learn.

Well, at least you have my permission to buy as many and varied honing stones as your heart may desire. Just learn to use them. That’s part of the fun of this hobby. The True Hard class of Arkansas stones will add keenness to your Coticule edge to some degree. I’ve got nearly 50 razors in rotation and I like variety of edges, so I’ve got Coticules, Arkansas, Zulu Grey, Belgian Blue, and Shapton Glass series. I love them all. Here’s the thing: do what you want. The final stone is considered the finishing stone. If done right what came before doesn’t matter much. Experiment and have fun!

I wanted to add: I’m not a paste guy. Stone, steel, leather, badger is my mantra. There’s just something about honing a razor on a stone to shave ready perfection that moves me and connects to a nostalgic past.