Originally Posted by
Scipio
Im not anti coticule either, however I would not recommend it as a stone to start out with to someone learning to hone. Firstly a good sized one is quite expensive, more than a 4K/8K or a Nani 3/8K.
Second, while I have tried and tested Bart's methods, I think using coticules for bevel work and anything prior to polishing is like buying an expensive car that you have to push. Really. Coticules have their attributes and I admit are extremely versatile, but many dislike their final finish. Some members in this thread are happy with their shaves off a coti. Fair play, I respect that.
For those that want something more, a coti is pretty useless. You can bevel set with a 1k, refine on a 4/8 and finish on an Escher/Thurry/Jnat. Some large cotis can not much less than the cost of all these combined. And before even getting the finisher, a 1k and 4/8 is more than adequate, in fact recommeded to learn on prior to finishing with anything higher.
I started with a bout and it got me nowhere. I didn't know about SRP at the time and my initial failiures with the coti made me fear honing.
My point is they are expensive and far harder to use and without an experience honer at hand it is hard to learn to use cotis even with good advice, because the advice does not know the properties of the coti.
Sorry to go of on one.
Edit: You may like the idea of a single hone for all your needs, but it can not accomodate all your needs without you driving yourself mad for days trying to remove chips. You may one day come across a razor that needs some real edge correction, or a heavy wedge. You'll wish you had a lapping plate as the coti simply is not up to such a challenge.
Similarly one day you may want a better edge and buy a finisher that gives you better results. You may also buy a quicker synthetic hone as you're getting sick of spending hours setting bevels on your coti. Then you'll end up thinking why do I need this...?