Difference between hones

What's the difference between water hones, barber hones and coticules and what are the pros and cons of each. I'm trying to decide what to acquire next and I've had this question in mind. Thanks in advance!

Your question is General.it is almost impossible to answer all of them?if you can tell exactly what are you looking for then we can help.there is too many water hones,swaty's oil hones etc etc

I suggest that you start by taking a look at the Honing section of the Wiki (Linked in the toolbar at the top of the page.). That will give you some basic info and help you refine your question to a more manageable scale. What you asked about "what are the differences?" is not too complicated to answer purely on face value, but it leads to a very involved discussion pertaining to use (ie: where does each hone fall in to the overall scheme of things). Without that discussion your question of "what to get next" is a particularly difficult one to answer.

Also, it would help to know what you are using now, and how it is working for you.

Barber hones such as Swatys and such were used to do quick touch ups of an already sharp razor. Some of the barber hones are finer then others and they have their fans. Before I got other hones I used to use a Swaty as a finisher following the Norton 4/8.

Coticules are a natural stone cut from sedimentary rock. They were the mainstay of barbers for many years and are still favored by some. They are versatile in that you can create slurry by rubbing them with another stone and they will cut faster or you can use them with water only and they will be more of a finisher. Old barbers I knew years ago would use the lather from their hot lather machines.

Water stones is a large category which includes the fore mentioned stones as well as other naturals such as the Escher and Thuringan family and the many synthetic hones. The Norton 4/8 used to be the recommended hone for beginning straight razor users until the Shapton GlassStones came along. Now it seems to be a tossup though I personally think that the Norton is more user friendly for inexperienced honers.

Since natural stones are composed of whatever sedimentary material time and weather dictated there are variations in their characteristics. They will be similar generally speaking but some will cut faster while others may be more suited to finishing. The synthetics being man made are more uniform in composition and therefore more predictable. Doing the homework to learn which grits to use will get a razor sharp once the honing skills are developed using naturals or synthetics. As a friend of mine once said, it is not the arrow, it is the Indian and as Bill S said take a look at the Wiki and the honing forum for more info. :gl:

Jimmy had basically answered my question. What I was trying to get at is what were the reasons that they're named differently. If they were all the same they would have the same name, or so I would assume. I'll check up on the wiki right now though.
Thanks!

do yourself a big favor unless you have a lot of money to burn, read all you can on the subject 1st then purchase with that knowledge in mind, or you will wind up like a lot of guys here with a drawer full of hones that you dont use anymore but are too attatched with to sell, not that thats a problem but your wife will think you have lost it