Thread: BBW, Whats the point?

First off, I don't have a coticule or a BBW and don't plan on getting any till I learn how to use what I already have. I have been reading as much as I can find about hones and from everything I have read I can't see any reason to have a BBW if you already have a Coti.

It appears that the BBW what the coti does just not as well (meaning fast). So what is the point? Just trying to learn.

No 2 natural stones are the same. You can get a blisteringly fast BBW & a super slow coti.
A really fast coti may not leave as fine a finish as a fast BBW. Horses for courses .

BBW are relatively new and long time ago believed to be useless.
They still are (in my opinion) inferior to the coticule.
But if you compare prices and sizes available, the slower yet almost as good a finisher BBW doesn´t seem that bad!

If I didn't have a BBW attached to my coticule, I wouldn't go out and buy one. But it can be used as a "plan b" hone when things aren't clicking.

I know the guys at coticule.be are working on a method to use the BBW effectively, and will publish a procedure (similar to the current Unicot and Dilucot and J-nat ones) once they have it down. I think Bart has used a BBW with a light slurry between the final dilution on a coti and a coti with just water, but can't locate the reference at this moment. I have also used it this way with good results.

I have a BBW coti but it's an old rock vintage with the label. I don't want to remove the label so that's my reasoning for not using the bbw side! lol

BBW's are a lower grit than a coti, 4-6k range, more or less, not just slower, and can be used prior to a Coticule. Coti's are 8-10k basically...
I find that they're great for knives...BBW's that is...As a matter of fact, The Quarry has them attached to a paddle with a carbo hone for just that purpose....or as mentioned, it can be considered the poor man's Coti...

I guess the grit range of these naturals are subjective, but this is what the quarry claims....

BTW, good plan, learning to use what you have first...you'd be surprised how many folks don't do that...Kudo's to you..

REASON 1: I have had coticules in the past, in particular a green one that could just not cut at all. It was an excellent finisher, but a finisher only. So the BBW on the opposite side allowed it to complete a progression after a synthetic 1K.

REASON 2: Many do not wish to 'waste' their coticule. When I say waste, I mean wear it down more rapidly with slurry, so they use their BBW to take them to a medium level before finishing on the coticule.

REASON 3: I have found that as Holli says, it works nicely as a Plan B hone.

In certain circumstances I have found it to complement the coticule after a 1k. After a bevel is set at 1K level, BBW with slurry, then BBW with plain water, then to coti with a light slurry, then to coti with plain water.

For whatever reason, this system has worked better than dilucot FOR ME, on certain razors. Josh Earl has recommended it also.

BACK TO THE OP: You see, you have to have used several coticules and BBWs to understand the question you ask. Once you have used many coticules, you will see that some can only polish, while some are very aggressive. They do not all cut nicely from bevel to final polish at a completely steady speed, which is why the BBW has its uses.

+3 to Holli's comment. I have found that when I cannot get the level of sharpness needed on the coticule side no matter what I do, that doing circles followed by very light strokes on the BBW side will often get the sharpness up to where I want it. T
hen I go back and do some very light laps on the coticule with water only, to finish. I use a drop of Trader Joe's liquid handsoap on the hone to help the blade to "stick" with good results. YMMV.

Originally Posted by pcb01

I know the guys at coticule.be are working on a method to use the BBW effectively, and will publish a procedure (similar to the current Unicot and Dilucot and J-nat ones) once they have it down.

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?