coticule sizes for smiles

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Originally Posted by Oldengaerde

Idem. With hones I think longer is most always better.

To digress slightly: with smiles (and warps) the width can make a difference in the sense that some (especially beginning?) honers (including myself) feel it is easier to get them evenly sharp on narrower hones.

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So size does matter!!

Nonsense! It's how you use it! :D In all seriousness, thinner is probably easier for the real smilers (thinking old W&Bs, that type of thing).

I went for it and have a combo bout on the way from ZIB, decided to hold off on a narrow stone and just practice on the coti. I think most razors ive honed so far and its not many have been fine with my current set-up of norton and nani, except a few that I sent off to get pro help. thanks all for the info and opinions Ill post a pic when it arrives. lots of props to ZIB for his patience and a good deal on a stone, lapped and champfered and with a slurry stone included great price

I would say, get what you are comfortable with. In an extreme example, some people might love a 3 x 15 inch coticule to hone on, but I like to hand hold hones so I would not. Maybe your stroke is such that you prefer a short hone, and you don't foresee that changing. Maybe it helps prevent you from honing a frown into your blades. Maybe there is some other reason... who knows.

Also, I don't think a narrower hone gives you any advantage when honing a smiling blade or a warped blade, unless your technique is such that you need a narrow hone to do so. I can hone (most) smiling blades, regardless of hone width; I have never yet successfully honed a severely warped blade, regardless of hone width; I know of techniques that would allow someone to hone a warped razor, regardless of hone width (you can use the edge of the hone carefully such that it will not damage the razor).