Thread: Do I need a belgian?

Is there an advantage to having a Coticule versus just raising a slurry on my barber hone with a Coticule slurry stone? I"ve been experimenting by reducing the thickness of the slurry with water slowly until there is just water on the barber stone, finishing with a Chinese 12k.

Since you have a barber hone and a chinese 12k, I think you're pretty well covered in the finishing department. Coticule can do more work when used with a slurry though. If you're only going to use it for finishing/polishing a razor, than what you have you have will suffice.

So in answer to you question: Do you need a coticule? No. But is it nice to have a coticule? Hell ya!

You might prefer it over a chinese 12k, but that's a personal thing. I personally love the coticule, very nice stone.

I don't know. I thought about putting slurry on a glass plate and hone on that. Perhaps it could work, perhaps not. In one of the books I own it is said that once there's slurry on a Coticule, the garnets in it also abrade the binder stone, so that more fresh garnets are released. According to that source, this is one of the mechanisms that defines a particular specimen's cutting speed. With separate slurry on another medium, you would not have that advantage. Maybe if you refreshed the slurry often?
For finishing purposes, no slurry is used, so the garnets stay embedded in the hone's surface, only partially protruding. That will be hard to emulate without an actual Coticule. Someone (I believe ChrisL) once had the idea of dressing a strop with Coticule slurry, but I don't know he ever got to it. I sure didn't read any findings.
I've honed with slurry on top of the DMT-E, which is very pleasant to do, and yields about the same results as honing on a Coticule. The keenness levels off at a very comparable level. (It's also a great way to break in a new DMT-E).

I also made some paste for a buffing wheel, based on Coticule dust, which does a decent job replacing my brown prepolishing paste, but nothing more than that. I could try rubbing it into a strop as well, but I have already more projects on my hands than I can manage right now.

That's all I got,

Best regards,
Bart.

I don't know

Isn't this a crazy question. C12K . One thing for sure the 12 isn't a specification. Barber hone. Aren't these all over the map on grit.

My point only; who can say.

If you can get one without hardship rock on. If you hunt around for razor stuff you will eventually find one for cheaper. imho regardless of what else you sharpen with, eventually, sooner or later a coticule is a must have.

I bet you could even side sharpen on the rubber.

Absolutely You need one, and you should buy it from that guy Zib in the classifieds, I heard he's a great guy:

Seriously, I have a bunch of different Barber hones, but they're way up there too on the grit scale, They have to be close to 12k, most are smooth as a baby's butt. I also have a C12k which I hardly use anymore, simply because it has to soak for 30mins. When I start honing, I want to start honing, not wait. One can never have too many hones. A Coticule is just another weapon you can use. What I like about them is their versatility. I have maybe 7, who's counting, and everyone of them performs different. Without the slurry, I love the edge it puts on my blade.9 x out of 10 I shave right off the coti, maybe follow with some cro2, I have a 6x2 combo on my counter in the bathroom, along with an old barber hone. The Coticule is kinda pinkish in color. You raise a good slurry on a Coti and it's more aggresive. You should always try to keep your slurry and hone the same to maximize results, although, That's a good idea about using a coti slurry on a barber hone. I'll have to give that a go sometime, Rich

I heard that too. And at reasonable too. I paid more for a 12k slurry than what he is charging for BBW and Coticles.

There has been endless talk about what to use for creating a slurry. The concensus from the honemeisters here is to stick with the same type of stone. For ex. BBW slurry stone on BBW, Chinese 12k slurry stone on Chinese 12k finisher. The main reason is to maintain consistency in the slurry and cutting on your stone. Since there are cheap slurry stones available, you can't go wrong.

I personally have tried many combinations including sandpaper, but the same stone on stone is by far the fastest and most consistent for me and my stones seem to stay flatter for longer too.

Just my $.02.

Good honing...

Originally Posted by jjpharris

I heard that too. And at reasonable too. I paid more for a 12k slurry than what he is charging for BBW and Coticles.

Just my $.02.

You shoulda got the 12k from me.....8.50

Maaaan, why did you have to go and say that for??? And just as I was starting to like you too...
I paid 3 times that for mine. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice big piece of rock, but whatever. I just chalk it to a newb with a mild case RAD.

Gotta admit your prices are hard to beat! I will be contacting you in the future. I need to cool down the spending right now though. Unbelievable how a hobby can turn into full blown obsession in a heartbeat.

Chinese 12k's are supposed to be soaked for 30 minutes before use?? Hmmm. You sure about that, Zib? The C12K seems as non-porous as you can get. I just sprinkle the top with water and get to work.

Originally Posted by FloorPizza

Chinese 12k's are supposed to be soaked for 30 minutes before use?? Hmmm. You sure about that, Zib? The C12K seems as non-porous as you can get. I just sprinkle the top with water and get to work.

Yes you do ...... err or some do but the instructions that came with mine say to soak it, See this thread here.

As for whether to get a coticule, I would agree with the others who have said you can get by fine with what you have but if honing is something that you enjoy it is a nice stone to have and leaves a really comfortable edge on my razors when I choose to use it.