Running water.

Saw a video from a prominent straight razor user where he hones under running water (coticule) and the conclusion is that this improves the edge. What's the theory behind this?

It prevents the buildup of swarf/debris/slurry on the hone thus keeping only the fine abrasive grains exposed.

+1 on the first reply and for lubrication. He starts out with a little stream then turns it up for more lubrication as he is progressing.

Honing under running water is not necessary with lower grit hones. However, some finishing hones do benefit from running water. One that I have where running water really helps is the Imperia La Roccia or ILR hone. As you approach the final edge, there is a lot of "stiction" between the blade and the stone. Running water provides lubrication that allows you to achieve the finest edge possible with this stone. I would do the same thing with some other finishers like a Suihiro Gokymyo 20K. It is just something you need to play with to see which techniques work best with the stones in your arsenal.

It depends on the stone. On a Coticule, some of the grit is not friable, it does not break down into finer grit. So, once the slurry/grit is as fine as the binder will break down, the edge is impacting the grit. We are talking microns here.

It becomes a self -destructive cycle. The grit in the stone polished the bevel and hones to the edge, then the new edge impacts the grit in the slurry and dulls the edge. These stones easily self-slurry so even if you have a lite slurry, the act of honing creates more slurry.

The simple solution is, remove the slurry. Running water. But it is not that simple, those stones require a lot of technique and the grit is not that small so, there are limitations. And that is where technique come in. Yes, running water will help, but you must have a fully set bevel and a fine edge in-place.

You need to have an edge to refine one.

Made a difference in the edge for my coticule. I never really noticed it self slurry but it is 5x2 and I like the feedback when under running water (final laps so like 20 or so). For jnats I didnt feel a huge difference but I have not tried out that many jnats

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Originally Posted by Euclid440

It depends on the stone. On a Coticule, some of the grit is not friable, it does not break down into finer grit. So, once the slurry/grit is as fine as the binder will break down, the edge is impacting the grit. We are talking microns here.

It becomes a self -destructive cycle. The grit in the stone polished the bevel and hones to the edge, then the new edge impacts the grit in the slurry and dulls the edge. These stones easily self-slurry so even if you have a lite slurry, the act of honing creates more slurry.

The simple solution is, remove the slurry. Running water. But it is not that simple, those stones require a lot of technique and the grit is not that small so, there are limitations. And that is where technique come in. Yes, running water will help, but you must have a fully set bevel and a fine edge in-place.

You need to have an edge to refine one.

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Pretty much this. If memory serves, the material in a coticule that does the cutting is garnet. It's quite hard and doesn't really break down into smaller particles once it's cut loose from the binder. Running water clears away the loose garnet that might erase the work you just did refining the edge. That said, it's something I've only really seen used with coticules. Other hones (generally) don't require the technique.

I just took a pair of identical Dubl Duck Satin Edges that were great shavers, but needed just a bit more to make velvet squeegee-level. I did a few slurry dilutions with each on my yellow-green thuri, and finished under dribbling water on my sink bridge until both were grabbing the stone all the way across. We'll see how they improved tomorrow, but I've had success with this technique on a number of stones.

I'm going to try this technique on one of my coticules and see how it does with one of my Sheffield razors.