Thread: Shapton Pro 12000

Has another owner of one of these hones found little white dots of something scattered throughout the surface? I don't have anything that can see if it is having an effect on the edge of my razor or not, but maybe somebody else has noticed this, too? My razor seems to shave fine when I finish it on this hone, but I don't have much else to compare it to, though.

Yes my Shapton 12000 has the little white dots and so does my 15K. Matter of fact if they weren't ink stamped on the reverse side you couldn't tell them apart. The 12K was the first finishing stone I bought. Up until then I had been using a Swaty. I have always gotten good results from the 12. BTW, in the FAQ the Shapton USA website says," The 12000 is designed for stainless and will load with the soft iron in a Japanese chisel".

I find mine gets streaks of gray if I use too much pressure. So, the white things are supposed to be there? Are they just part of the stone/mix/media?

Yes the white dots are part of the mix. Nothing to worry about. You don't want to apply too much pressure once you get past setting your bevel on a low grit hone. You will see some gray swarf on the 12K as you hone one way or the other but it should be no more pressure then it takes to keep the blade flat.

I agree about the pressure. You said something about it being good for stainless. Is the glass line better for carbon steel?

I don't know if the glass line is better. All of my Shaptons are the pro series and I am very happy with them. That deal about the 12K loading up with Japanese chisels has not been a problem for me honing carbon steel razors. I imagine that they put a lot more pressure on the hone in honing chisels. The light touch used in honing razors doesn't cause the stone to load up. Not for me anyhow. When I seem to be getting enough swarf I just rinse the stone off and keep going if necessary.

JimmyHAD,

I'm thinking about getting a yellow coticle to see how smooth I can get an edge. I've read on other posts that you have experience with yellow coticles as well. Do you think the coticle will leave a smoother edge than the 12k pro? Do you think a yellow coticle would work well in conjuction with the 12k to smooth the edge, or do you think a different combo would be better when using a coticle, or do you think a coticle by itself would be smoother?

Originally Posted by crazycliff200843

JimmyHAD,

I'm thinking about getting a yellow coticle to see how smooth I can get an edge. I've read on other posts that you have experience with yellow coticles as well. Do you think the coticle will leave a smoother edge than the 12k pro? Do you think a yellow coticle would work well in conjuction with the 12k to smooth the edge, or do you think a different combo would be better when using a coticle, or do you think a coticle by itself would be smoother?

I can't say it would be smoother then the 12k but an edge off a coticule feels smoother on my skin. If I could only have one hone it would be a 6 or 8 X 2 natural coticule with a slurry stone for the blue and for the yellow. I think it is the most versatile stone that there is.

I got the best one that I have from a friend who bought it shortly before he sold it to me from Howard at The Perfect Edge. He was finishing on the Shaptons and bought the coticule to give it a try. He sold it to me because he said he couldn't get his edges as sharp with it as he could with the Shaptons. My skin is such that I get irritation if I do more then 2 passes with any kind of razor.

I found that razors that my friend honed would be too sharp for me to get a comfortable shave. So the coticule and the Escher leave an edge that I find sharp enough for my particular beard and smooth enough for my particular skin. I use the Shaptons for some razors but I use the natural stones more and more here lately.

I don't really pay that much attention to smooth as far as the scratch pattern disappearing goes. I get them to where I think they are right to shave and if they are I leave them alone and if they are not I go back and try again. So I don't know if that answers your question but that is my experience so far.

Bart has quite a few post describing step by step how he uses his coticules. Beginning with slurry and finishing with water I have found I can take a razor from start to finish with a natural coticule and get satisfactory results for my needs. The same could be said for the Norton 4/8 and a higher grit finishing stone along with some chrom ox of diamond spray and it might even be sharper but I am just talking about what I am doing now.

I think that the differences in comfort with straights would have to be similar to that found in DE blades. Some like the super sharp Feathers while others like a more forgiving blade like the Derby. I'm not really saying that the Shapton leaves an edge equivalent to a Feather and the coticule to a Derby but just that with some razors I get the edge I like off the coticule and with others I need the Shaptons. Glad I have both.

good reply jimmy my couticle i bought from rob should be here in a day or two im looking forward to using it

Thanks for the good info.