Thread: Sharpening knives to justify DMTC

Well, in terms of polishing, yes the Chinese 12k does an excellent job for it's price. And since you are thinking about getting the D8EE, a good polishing stone is all you really need.

But the Coticule serves as a fast cutting stone (similar to the 8k norton) and polishes as well.

Basically, the 12k will take more work to remove the D8EE scratches, but will polish a little better, while the coticule will work faster and leave a nice edge that's not quite as sharp (but maybe a little smoother).

Confused?

You won't be disappointed with any of the common hones we use. The differences we talk about are subtle and are mostly negligible. A great edge can be obtained through many routes.

For a blade that's shave ready, you can refresh it with the finishing stone followed by various strops, or D8EE followed by a finishing stone and/or various strops, or just the pasted strop. You'll just have to decide which method works best/fastest for you.