Thread: Put me out of my misery - Naniwas or Coticule

I'm trying to make a decision on new hones. I just returned my norton 4/8k due to embedded grit in the 8k side. I now need new hones and am torn between the 3, 8, and 12k naniwas or a bbw and regular coti.

The naniwas seem like they would require the least amount of learning from me. I expect they will behave pretty similar to the norton. I think the coticule will be more of a learning experience.

The two options work out to similar prices, with a standard grade coti and BBW (both 6x2) being just a hair less expensive. Its only about $10 different.

Help me make a decision, please.

If it were my money I'd get the natural stones and take the little extra learning curve that comes along with it.

That's just me though.

If you are just learning, I would recommend the Nani's. The BBW and Coti will also get you there, but the Nani's are more consistant, easier to learn, and will get you to shave ready faster.

Although I've never used the Naniwas, I'm sure they would offer more consistency than a coticule/BBW. But, if you are in it for the love of honing and don't mind a little more a challenge, I would definitely go for the coti/BBW. It takes a bit more practice since each stone is different, but I've always had more satisfaction honing on a natural stone. So my vote is for the coti/BBW.

DISCLAIMER: I am hugely biased towards natural stones, so please keep that in mind when reading my recommendation.

naniwas vs coticule is like shooting a compound bow ( naniwas) vs a longbow (coticule) the longbow takes alot of practice to be consistent.

I find my coticule/bbw combo very consistent and easy to use. I have never played with Naniwas so I cannot help with a comparison.

I have both, and use both

My Coticule is a vintage Extra Extra Fine (original stamp)

Let's just compare the high end because on the lower end the Naniwas win, hands down... The Coti with slurry is just not as exact as the Naniwa progression....

On the high end the Nani 12k will give a smoother edge on everything except the older Sheffields, IMHO on those, a extra fine Coti will get a smoother edge.... YMMV of course but I doubt it...

Like was said above, if you're out for a real experience, go for the BBW/Coti.

I've never used the Naniwa's, but I do know the Belgian stones have more "personality" and it may take you a little while to get a feel for how they work, but you may find out that sometimes the more rewarding path, isn't the easiest.

The old Sheffields definitely like a coticule. Smooth! Apart from that, pure personal opinion here, get a fast coticule & you can do almost everything on it. The BBW is really pretty redundant, once you know what you're doing. (Bart on this forum & coticule.be is the man to talk to. Search for his "dilucot" & "unicot" methods on here to start.)

The fast ones still have good cutting power when used w/ water (yes, water!), although slurry dilution does take a bit of time. Synthetics are faster there, no doubt about it. The up side is you generally only have to do it once--touchups can be done on plain water, unless the edge needs a lot of work. I'd still have a dedicated bevel setter, though. (D8E works well for this purpose as coticule slurry will have no problem w/ that deep scratch pattern.)

One thing, though--the fast ones Bart talks about & has for sale are bout stones & most/all are standard grade (the black lines/spots are manganese which is much softer than both the stone & the steel & does not interfere in any way whatever with honing.) This is cosmetic, but it's your choice--big select grade stones are pricey; ask me how I know... FWIW, my select 8x3 has a lot of figuring on it (but no spots/lines). It's a "Le Petit Blanche"--a fast layer.

As always, YMMV. (What else is new?)

I gotta point this out, because it is kinda funny really...

So far on this thread only two people have said for sure they have used the Naniwa stones, and a Coticule.. There are a couple of people that I don't know for sure as they didn't say....

But of the two people that have used both, we both recommend the Naniwa set up, I'm sorry but I find that semi humorus....