Russel,

I think we're not really disagreeing here. It sounds like you have a softer coticule than I do. This has come up before, with some people swearing that a coticule creates a slurry just from honing, and others insisting that it doesn't.

I have a 2x6" coticule and a 4x4" coticule, and I could hone for hours with plain water and not generate a speck of slurry. I've done experiments where I honed for a while, then let the hone dry without cleaning it off to see if there would be any dust on the surface, and there wasn't. The only way I can raise a slurry is with my rubbing stone or by grinding the blade on the hone with significant pressure.

So it's quite possible that your "plain water" edge is more like my "light slurry" edge. I've found that a slurry always leaves a duller edge than either plain water or dry honing.

You said yours is a vintage coticule, right? Maybe the older ones were softer. Mine are both new.

The main pitfall of looking at the hone marks on the bevel is that they are two-dimensional. You can see the width of the scratches, but you have to guess at the depth. I've had edges from a "coarser" hone that shaved much more comfortably than those from a finer stone. In my opinion, wider, shallower scratches create a more comfortable edge than shallower, finer ones. That's why chromium oxide produces a nicer edge than diamonds of the same grit.

Just my 2 cents.

Josh