Thread: norton as slurry stone?

howdy all,

checked the archives but couldn't find anything on the subject. any of you guys ever use the norton 8k to get slurry going on a coticule? i've seen quite a few threads discussing sandpaper (and saying that it's no good), but what about the norton? or would you just wind up creating 8k paste on a 12k plate?

cheers,
jake pollock

Jake,
On a brand new coticule (the kind that is in the mail to you right now), just sharpen one of your kitchen knives on the coticule to raise the initial slurry. It will work just fine and won't hurt the stone (it will help the kitchen knife too). Don't rinse it off at the end. Just let it dry. Next time just spritz some water on it to reactivate the slurry. You can use the Norton on the Coticule if you want but I actually winced when I read the suggestion. The whole idea of rubbing stones started with the Japanese waterstones which are harder than the Belgians and need a piece of chalk (Nagura) to get the slurry going. I've heard it said the chalk helps lubricate the japanese stones but that's hearsay and not dogma.

howard,

in that case, let me ask this... between kitchen-knife-slurry and stone-raised-slurry, do you have an opinion? obviously you now sell cotigura stones to satisfy the archive-rich question "what to use on a belgian," so i can imagine this is a tricky question.

however, in my archive searches, i've read debates on the usefulness of slurry and the less than ideal slurry from sandpaper, but i've yet to hear any thoughts about the "helping out in the kitchen" knife slurry.

many thanks,
jake

Use the kitchen knife method or purchase a "bout" from Howard. Both methods will work.