Thread: Belgium Blue : Amazing Stones !

Originally Posted by pedro083

Have you shave tested this razor, as I have not had this exact model but similar ones of uk ebay and I could not get a good edge on them all, metal was just rubbish

Hi Pedro, yes whilst it wasnt a full shave and there is room for improvement it does shave both stubble and arm hair quite happily.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

There was a thread suggesting exactly that not long ago. I have a number of combo coticules and used to use the bbw with slurry before going to the yellow but pretty much leave it alone now. If you have a lot of patience and/or that is all you have it will get you there eventually. I prefer a stone that leaves a finer edge and gets you there faster. Coffee is good this morning.

I only have a coti combo so it's all I'm able to use.

Usually I set the bevel on the yellow side with a thick slurry and the slurry is black in 10 half strokes.

Then it's off to the blue with a slurry and I thin out until nearly water. I flip over and use the slurry that was already there with whatever blue slurry is still left on the blade and then I just go until I dilute down to plain water 10 laps at a time.

In the end I feel that this gives me a much smoother shave than anything else I have tried.

While I'm no expert honer I feel like I'm doing an ok job on my razors. Now would I be able to home other peoples? Probably not, it's just that I'm used to my Grelots and know what I have to do with my particular stone to get where I need too.

I've been thinking about maybe trying out other stones or methods but why change what worka for you!

Originally Posted by basil

I've been thinking about maybe trying out other stones or methods but why change what worka for you!

I used to use the same procedure you gave in your post. Later I found that after setting the bevel on a synthetic I could skip the blue altogether and start with a thin slurry on the yellow and dilute as I progressed. This worked as well as the blue/yellow progression. I can't say I won't go back to the blue/yellow again. Just depends on the mood. That is exactly why other stones and methods are fun. Depends on the mood and to some extent on the razor.

I think if honing is approached as a hobby, rather than just a way to maintain the razors, variety keeps it interesting. Nothing wrong with honing for maintenance either though. I suspect that the majority of our membership does exactly that.

Since the BBW compared to other hones has come up again here, I would recommend taking a look at this thread - http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...-bbw-coti.html

I don't think the BBW is mislabled or misunderstood. I belive it is in the 6k-8k range with a very smooth edge feel. Much like the Coti is in the 8k-10k range with a very smooth edge feel.

I think it is people's understanding of what you need for a close and comfortable shave that is incorrect. You only need an 8k edge - Norton, Naniwa, Shapton, natural, whatever - to get a close and comfortable shave. You can even push down to about 5k (I did it off my Naniwas and really enjoyed it).

I think people get naturals, get a close, comfortable shave, and assume that means the hone is 10k at least. But that's just not true. If you want to get a more accurate estimate of a hone, try shaving with a razor off the natural hone in question AND a razor off a (5k, or 8k, or 12k) synthetic in the same shave. You'll be surprised, I think.


My only disclaimer is that naturals vary, and maybe you have one that is finer than most, but if you don't do an honest shave test against a known hone, you're not really being honest with yourself.

I 100% agree here with Dylan...

You have to compare the edges to get a any idea..

IMHO the 4-6k is accurate for the BBW and the 8k is accurate for most Coticules.. I think recently with so many people using things as a "Polishing" stone they forget that "Shave Ready" is at 8k and anything higher is not really needed.. I also think some is marketing and just plain hype...

I also believe that the "Estimates" that are given on all the forums are quite high in general..

I doubt any Barber hone is over 8k and think most are 6-8
I doubt any Coticule is anywhere near a 10k
or that a BBW is higher then 6
I believe that Eschers are in the 9-12k levels and most all Japanese naturals with plain water are no higher the maybe 12k (the slurry accounts for higher levels)
Thuringens I would bet run from 6-10k the finer ones being the more vintage ones...

I believe this upward trend in guessing grit levels can all be blamed on the Shapton GS stones
Ever since those stones started being used by us razor nuts the guessing game has reached higher and higher..
Many of us have tested and shaved the known grits down to even the 1k level, and a few of us have seen the you start getting pretty nice comfortable shaves at about 4k, by 8k life is really good, and higher then that is just gravy...

Well written Dylan


Oh yeah BTW this is just my humble opinion JMHO and just a wee bit of actual experimentation and experience to back it up

I agree with Dylan and Glen.
I test all my naturals against 12k Super Stone and label them finer, same or coarser. No grits attached, because IMHO how the edge feels off a natural stone does not indicate necessarily the grit of the stone.

Originally Posted by mainaman

I agree with Dylan and Glen.
I test all my naturals against 12k Super Stone and label them finer, same or coarser. No grits attached, because IMHO how the edge feels off a natural stone does not indicate necessarily the grit of the stone.

LOL I basically do the same with my 1k bevel setters and the Norton 1k

They are either Faster or Slower then the Norton 1k
Then I rank them as Smoother or Deeper cutting
Amazingly these are all rated as 1k synthetic hones and there are huge differences... Imagine the differences with Naturals

Originally Posted by mainaman

I agree with Dylan and Glen.
I test all my naturals against 12k Super Stone and label them finer, same or coarser. No grits attached, because IMHO how the edge feels off a natural stone does not indicate necessarily the grit of the stone.

me too, me too. with respect to being in agreement.

I too agree with Dylan. OTOH, I no longer even try to apply a grit # to natural stones. I have in past posts repeated what I've read but basically the individual stone either works well for me or it doesn't. Some give me a finer shaving edge than others.

I just received a new BBW with the intent of using as a progressive step before using my coti. The idea of using two identical razors to test / compare the BBW to the coti sounds like a great way for me to use the new BBW.

I have two TI Super Gnomes that I can start to test this weekend.