Thread: Bevel-setting grit range?

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Typcially, BBW with slurry is slower than coti with slurry because it has a lower garnet content.

But if its the garnet content that makes for the cutting speet/ability, and they are both the same otherwise, doesnt that imply that the BBW can produce a finish equal to the coti, but will just take longer to accomplish it?

There are so many factors... a few that I know of are % garnet content and garnet size - lower and larger (in that order) when comparing the BBW to the Coti. I don't know about how the garnets fracture in coti vs bbw, I don't know the release rate, I don't know the various shapes, and there is a ton of other stuff that I don't even know I don't know.

Then again, they're natural stones and they vary, so there are probably no blanket statements that apply. One would have to experiment with a give coti and a given BBW to make a comparison between specific stones. (Personally, I have other things I'd rather do with my time.)

I usually use....

1. 320 - 500 grit sandpaper to remove nicks apparent to the naked eye.

2. 1000 grit sandpaper to remove micro nicks. IMHO the Norton 1000 is to slow and the DMT is to harsh on the edge. My second choice is the Shapton Glass 1000. I have not tried a Naniwa SS.

3. Norton 4000 to finalize a bevel. I have used this for years and it always works. My second choice is a Shapton Glass 4000.

Just my $.02,

Regarding the bbw versus the yellow I've read that the much larger size of the garnet in the bbw account for it's sharpening ability (with slurry) while the smaller size of the garnet in the yellow account for the finer finishing characteristics. Pretty sure Rob of Ardennes Coticule posted that some time a go when he used to participate in the forums.