Thread: Thuringian stone vs coticule

How do they compare? What are their grits?
I have a Norton 4K/8K and need a finishing stone. My purchase will be guided by your recommendation. Thanks in advance.

Grits of stones depend on the quarry that they came out of so this is only a guide but the blue coticule is generally said to be in the 4-6K range while the yellow coticule is generally said to be in the 8-10K range. Thuringen stones vary greatly but are generally a little bit finer than a yellow coticule.
Given that you have a Norton, I would highly recommend a yellow coticule as your next stone. Many folks use this as their final polishing stone. You can get a very reasonable price for the quality stone at The Perfect Edge.
Cheers,

Thuringen hones are a bit finer than coticules. As a rule of thumb: the finer the smaller. The really large and fine Thuringen hones were selected by comapnies like Escher and fetch a fortune on ebay.

If you don't use a pasted strop after coticule ore Thuringian you'll notice the difference, if you do the difference is irrelevant IMHO.

Both the coticule and the thuringen/escher are very good natural finishing stones that result in a sharp, comfortable shaving edge.
But for the finest edge I prefer the chinese 12,000 available from woodcraft.com. It is very inexpensive and a massive stone. It is also slower cutting than either of the other two. 100 laps are my minimum on this stone.

You would not go wrong with either of the three.

Just my two cents,

Randy,

Have you ever tried the Nakayama after coticule/Thuringen or 12K natural Chinese? That makes a huge difference IMHO.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

Both the coticule and the thuringen/escher are very good natural finishing stones that result in a sharp, comfortable shaving edge.
But for the finest edge I prefer the chinese 12,000 available from woodcraft.com. It is very inexpensive and a massive stone. It is also slower cutting than either of the other two. 100 laps are my minimum on this stone.

You would not go wrong with either of the three.

Just my two cents,

I would recommend a different approach, because my OCD oriented brain can't handle not knowing the exact grit of natural stones...
The Shapton 16k is a fantastic finishing stone IMHO

Just another thought ......

There are a number of different Thuringians on the market so be careful to specify exactly what you're getting. One member here was misled by a fellow who said something like "stones of Thuringian" when in fact, the stones were not Thuringian stones . . . his office was in the city of Thuringian. Be careful about who you deal with as there's a lot of people saying a lot of . . . interesting things . . . about hones on the web.

I use coticules and I have hundreds of stones in my collection. I like them. They make a shave ready edge. They don't overhone. They don't clog since they're not porous. They're reasonably priced. A lot of guys on SRP use them and recommend them.

Kees...some time ago, 1-2 years, I purchased several natural Japanese stones at an estate sale, $25 each. 2 are Aoto but one is a white and much finer. I will try to post a pic soon. I have never used it. ( not enough time in a day!)

Originally Posted by randydance062449

Kees...some time ago, 1-2 years, I purchased several natural Japanese stones at an estate sale, $25 each. 2 are Aoto but one is a white and much finer. I will try to post a pic soon. I have never used it. ( not enough time in a day!)

They would be well worth giving a try to see if they can give you a scary sharp edge.

Kees... what is the procedure for Japanese natural stones? Soak in water for 5 minutes?, must a slurry be developed?, let dry when finished?