Thread: combos vs Separate?

are their any Advantage buying a Combo Selected Coticule & BBW ? I was hoping to 6 months to a year from now. Or is it better to get
Separate Hones? are their any advantages for combos vs Separate?
Thanks everyone I've read everything in Wiki about hones but could not find answer.

It depends on what you want to use your coticule for. If it's simply for touch-ups, then in my opinion just a coticule glued to slate will suffice.

If you wish to do more actual sharpening with it, then either will do the job, but using a coticule/BBW combo will make it a little easier IMO. Just a coticule can be used from start to finish by use of slurry and diluting it to plain water. But inserting a BBW (with BBW slurry) into the progression after the coticule with slurry and before the coticule with plain water makes the process a little more fool proof.

It's all a matter of preference, either will get you to where you want if you take the time to learn about your stone.

6-1yr from now I would like to sharpen and have a shave ready razor I guess I want the best of both. Does that mean I need a slury to come with it?

I like combos because there's less clutter and a functional side seems better than a non functional side.
Of course the difference is also that a functional side costs more money than the one that serves as a support only.
However the coticule I'm currently in love with has slate backing, so I'd take that one before a more ordinary one with a blue backing.

in my opinion, though, you're kidding yourself if you're planning that far in the future. by then you'd have changed your mind a couple of times, and may or may not be interested in such a hone.

whether you need a slurry depends on where your razor starts at.

Originally Posted by fish4life

6-1yr from now I would like to sharpen and have a shave ready razor I guess I want the best of both. Does that mean I need a slury to come with it?

Usually when you buy a coticule the vendor also supplies a slurry stone to go along with the hone.

For a Coti/BBW, I would prefer just the coti. I don't use a BBW anymore (hardly use the coti either...), but even if my only choices for hones were a coticule and a BBW, I would still use only the coti. The BBW may be more coarse, but generally Coti's still cut faster.

IMHO, you are over thinking this. Your primary focus should be on the quality of the Coticule itself. That is where your going to do 75-90 % of your work.

If you use a combo you should avoid "contaminating" the coticule with BBW slurry.

I bought a bbw/coti from an antiques fair. The coti side is fairly thin, so I only use it for finishing. Just water, no slurry. So I don't use a slurry stone. I was going to sell it, but I'm happy I didn't. I don't use the BBW side on razors at all. I have synthetic hones which I feel are better for me due to their size. But I do occasionally use the BBW side for pocket knives and chisles.

I don´t know if I understood the OP´s question:
Do you want to know if there is a benefit from buying a Coticule/BBW Combo rather than a single coticule AND a single BBW?

Well then the answer is no. Coti/BBW combos are rather expensive and hard to come by. If you don´t insist on these being glued/grown together, there is no downside in buying both as single stones.

But if you will really need both is questionable. I find both are very close to each other, maybe even interchangable.