Thread: BBW, Whats the point?

I use my bbw constantly, it is the bridge between the 1k and the coti. A great time saver.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

I don't really understand what this means. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I use my BBW like I would any other hone with slurry. I raise some slurry, hone, dilute, hone, dilute, finish with just water. I played with mine to firgure out what works, and, IMO, everyone needs to do that because each one is different. What more is there to discover?

I'm no expert on the BBW. But Bart and the other Belgian fans are currently working on perfecting the stone with a repeatable process.

I understand from them that BBWs are not as unique as other natural stones. They all work the same, more or less. I doubt the process, as will be published there in good time, is as straightforward as the one you use. Maybe it will be.

While repeated dilutions work with many stones, there are others that seem a little more complex. J-nats, as an example, if you believe in Jim's description.

Thank you gentlemen. It's just that I have not read much about people actually using there BBW much, I guess it is more useful than I first thought.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

I don't really understand what this means. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I use my BBW like I would any other hone with slurry. I raise some slurry, hone, dilute, hone, dilute, finish with just water. I played with mine to firgure out what works, and, IMO, everyone needs to do that because each one is different. What more is there to discover?

where currantly blind testing three razors. two honed on two differant blues and one on coticule. the lads who have taken part have to post there results. basicly which one shaved the smoothest. the the blue on its own or the natural blue /coti or coti edge alone. it will be interesting to se if the coticule gets the best vote or the blue .

When I used to use them a lot more I would use the BBW after bevel setting and finish on the coti with water. The bevel would either be done with a coti & slurry or a 1K stone, depending on the razor.

I guess I probably could have gotten to the end point just as well by very slowly diluting the coti slurry, but I never tried it that way. I always used the BBW to sharpen and the coti to finish, and it worked me.

Originally Posted by gary haywood

where currantly blind testing three razors. two honed on two differant blues and one on coticule. the lads who have taken part have to post there results. basicly which one shaved the smoothest. the the blue on its own or the natural blue /coti or coti edge alone. it will be interesting to se if the coticule gets the best vote or the blue .

I would think it would depend more on how good a finisher that coti is vs how good a finisher those two BBW's are. I would think you would need pretty large sample sizes to help address the variations among each stone if you wanted to make any sort of a generalization. I am sure there is at least one BBW that finishes better than at least one coticule, and I'm also sure that the reverse statement is true.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

I would think it would depend more on how good a finisher that coti is vs how good a finisher those two BBW's are. I would think you would need pretty large sample sizes to help address the variations among each stone if you wanted to make any sort of a generalization. I am sure there is at least one BBW that finishes better than at least one coticule, and I'm also sure that the reverse statement is true.

This test started months ago and I think I have been waiting since March for these results! The honing on the BBW stones is from bevel all the way to finish on the BBW stone, just not finishing on it, which to me seems impossible but I am no Beligian expert!

I think most people here underestimate the belgium blue. I've got several of them and they work great to get a sharp edge (edge will pass the HHT). You only need a finisher after that and you get a great shave. I also really like the feedback they give.

But maybe I'm just crazy

Skizzo

Originally Posted by Disburden

This test started months ago and I think I have been waiting since March for these results! The honing on the BBW stones is from bevel all the way to finish on the BBW stone, just not finishing on it, which to me seems impossible but I am no Beligian expert!

I certainly wouldn't want to set a bevel on my BBW. But then again, if the razor is very close to start with, it wouldn't be terrible. Mine cut at a decent rate with slurry.

I've also gotta say, I cannot understand why anyone would use something other than a synthetic stone to set a bevel. 1k's are not exactly expensive, and you'll save a lot of time. I guess if you only planned on setting 5 bevels in your lifetime, you could do without, but then again, it's $20-$35 more that you'd spend in your lifetime, so would you really notice?

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

I certainly wouldn't want to set a bevel on my BBW. But then again, if the razor is very close to start with, it wouldn't be terrible. Mine cut at a decent rate with slurry.

I've also gotta say, I cannot understand why anyone would use something other than a synthetic stone to set a bevel. 1k's are not exactly expensive, and you'll save a lot of time. I guess if you only planned on setting 5 bevels in your lifetime, you could do without, but then again, it's $20-$35 more that you'd spend in your lifetime, so would you really notice?

I agree with you, I use a Naniwa 1K for my bevel setting and then I use a Norton combo followed by the naniwa 12K then an Escher. I am just explaining the whole experiement which is dulling razors on glass, then sharpening all the way through to a finish on the BBW and having people test the razors blind a long with coticule honed razors. Then I think there is instructions for the person testing to mimec the edges and then send out the razors to the next person and so on. This box of razors has been traveled around the world to different people for a long time now. It's actually a neat experiment if you think about it even if you don't like Belgian hones.