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Should I buy a Chinese 12k?
I'm pretty new to honing but feel like I'm just not getting that edge off the Norton 8k and .5 paste. I feel like There should have something in between. What do you guys think? Also moneys tight so I thought this particular stone would be a good deal at 40 shipped.:shrug:
I keep getting people telling me they don't think the Chinese stones are doing the finishing job they think they should be getting from a 12k stone. The last fellow, last week, actually put a finished razor under a scope from his chinese and from his coticule and said the chinese was rougher. I have found the same thing. We know there is no standard of roughness for natural stones and one country's 12k just may be another country's 6k. The guy has reverted back to a coticule.
If money's tight, buy a bout coticule for $65. You won't regret it. You'll get that extra 10% of performance out of your blade that you know is still in there.
Howard is very right. The coticule is an, all around, great stone.
But many people do get excellent edges from the Chinese 12k, myself included. It seems that quality control is the big issue with these stones.
But in reality, your setup should be producing great edges, buying a new stone may or may not fix your problem. I'd recommend working on your techniques first, make sure you're stropping correctly on the plain leather, and seriously look into the coticule as it's easier and more reliable.