Thread: Belgium Blue : Amazing Stones !

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.

The BBW does a fine edge, as the recent study showed. I've done the uniblue (tape) but tat2ralphy gave a good method for no tape, using normal x-strokes, rather than the uniblue backstroke. I've only done one each with the method, but the uniblue was a bit crispy for me - 'toned it back down w/ the coti on water. The Dilublue from Ralphy was coti smooth - very satisfying.

I've resorted to backstrokes on the BBW if I have any trouble bringing the keenness up on a blade.

I used to think BBWs left a great edge after shaving with cartridge razors then only experiencing the edges of BBWs and cotis. Im sure they'd still leave what I'd consider a respectable edge, but I prefer an Escher's edge.

Im not surprised many people believe a BBWs edge to be satisfactory, considering 90% of sharpness comes off a 1K, and 95% of 4k, 99.5% of 8K etc...4-6K is fine....especially when many of the secrets of honing are in the hand. Neither would I be surprised if some honers amongst us can achieve a superior edge of a BBW than others can of 8Ks and above.

Bottom line: My edges are far more comfortable off Thuringians.

Originally Posted by pinklather

The BBW does a fine edge, as the recent study showed. I've done the uniblue (tape) but tat2ralphy gave a good method for no tape, using normal x-strokes, rather than the uniblue backstroke. I've only done one each with the method, but the uniblue was a bit crispy for me - 'toned it back down w/ the coti on water. The Dilublue from Ralphy was coti smooth - very satisfying.

I've resorted to backstrokes on the BBW if I have any trouble bringing the keenness up on a blade.

I have been using the Dilucot method, which I like the results very much, so I will use the same method with the BBW... Dilublue. I'll use my white scaled gnome on the coti, and the black scaled gnome on the BBW. I bought them both at the same time, so I'll look for serried differences, wear differences, etc.

I'm going to try a couple test razors on the BBW to get a feel of the stone before comparing the BBW to the Coti this weekend.