I got the HAD. Bad.

I shouldn't have done my tax return already. Getting a sweet refund is just not a good thing for a guy in the midst of HAD rage.

So I did the logical thing: I bought another stone. My first coticule, actually. After combing the internet and talking to Howard at the Perfect Edge (BTW, guys, Howard is a fantastic guy. He *really* knows his stuff, and is a pleasure to talk to), I ended up getting a 8X3 combo stone from VintageBladesLLC. They were the only place I could find that had an 8X3 combo in stock. AdrennesCoticule online store had that size in select coticule, but it was *alot* more money, and it wasn't a combo.

Also, due to the recent DMT8E lapping discussion, I bought a DMT8C for lapping.

I've read just about every thread around here I could find on coticules. About all that's really done is confuse me even more; I just don't know where the coticule is going to fit into my progression. I'm OK with the uses of the BBW side, it's just the yellow I'm not sure of. I have 1k, 4k, 8k, and 16k Shaptons.

I'm thinking of this progression, in general (for ebay specials that need bevels): Shapton: 1k, 4k, 8k, coticule with water, then a shave test, then going back to the Shapton 16k for a few laps, then another shave test.

I'm really curious to find out if the coticule (or rather, *my* coticule, since they all perform so differently) will be a contender to the 16k shapton for finishing edge quality. I'd love to hear from others that have pitted the Shapton 16k against a coticule for finishing.

This weekend is gonna be a blast... I have two Robeson Shuredges coming, and I have a very nice Torrey in the tumbler right now. :) It's gonna be a honing marathon!

Good that you bought a natural. I am still experimenting and getting to know my coticules. My inclination was to treat a natural like a Norton 4/8, i.e. do the sharpening on the blue side and the finishing on the yellow.

I am still playing around with them. I have a number of them and it is interesting to hone with various coticules to see if there is a discernible difference. As Lynn once told me when I asked about the differences in Eschers,"There are subtle differences". The keyword there being subtle. So as with my other stones I am still in the process of really getting to know them.

What I tend to do is use my coticules for full hollows. Solingens or Sheffields and what have you. I set the bevel with the DMT 1200 continuous plate with a couple of drops of dish soap then go to the blue side with slurry.

I follow Bart's technique of thinning the slurry with water as I go until I am down to water only. When the TPT tells me it is time I flip the stone and go to the yellow. I am still fooling around trying water only, slurry diluting as I go to water only.

Shaving off of that or finishing on an even harder coticule or an Escher blue/green. It is determined by my mood at the time.

As far as the coticule compared to the Shapton 16, I don't have a 16 glass but I do have a Shapton pro 15 which I assume is similar. :shrug: IME the shave I get from an edge honed with the natural stones discussed above is similar to the feeling I get from a Gillette Swede in a DE while the feeling I get from the Shaptons is like a Feather in a DE. YMMV.

You'll have lot's of fun with your new combo stone!

I too use the slurry diluting method, starting with a light slurry, and finish with plain water on the coticule.

I have both a coticule from Howard and a Shapton 16K and find the the two edges to be close in terms of sharpness, with the 16K edge slightly sharper than the edge I'm able to get from my coticule. This difference is best described as when I shave with the coticule edge I able to feel a every so slight resistance when the blade meets the whisker, but there is no discomfort, no tugging etc, while the Shapton 16K edge just glides through the whisker. To me the coticule leaves an edge that's more "forgiving" than the 16K, making room for user errors without causing a nick.
Looking at the edges with my cheap pocket microscope at 30X the Shapton leaves a more polished edge IMHO, but I've found I seems to prefer a edge where the scratch pattern hasn't been completely polished away. Adding that my coticule seems to leave a smoother shaving edge than my Shapton it's seems like I prefer the edge off the coticule at the moment, this could be subject of change as my honing skills improve.

enjoy your hones!