Thread: Hone Gap

I am trying to fill a void in my hones.

I have a 1k 5k and 12k. I need an 8k, but will a coticule or BBW work as an intermediary?

a belgian blue whetstone should be perfect to close the sharpness gap (whatever that means) but you may not get the same smoothness you could from a coticule

How about a combo?

i read the above advises but i think you need a little more.
This is what i think
your 1 k is great
5 k is ok too.
the problem starts in here?
Your 12 k assume is chinese 12k ?is this right?
if yes then you are going to add one more belgian blue ?
in this case you will have 2 very slow cutting stones.it will take forever finish it up your razor.

I assume will better go with norton 8k as you do have 5k.
after norton 8k you can go 12k .still 12 k will take 100-200 laps after norton.
it will need 500 laps after belgian blue( estimation?
hope this helps.

You might also look at those Naniwa super stones that SRD has in,,,
I just got the 1k to increase my bevel setting repertoire and so far really like the feel of the stone... Just something to take a look at, as I haven't been using it long enough to give it a solid recommendation yet, but I like what I see so far....

Originally Posted by singlewedge

I am trying to fill a void in my hones.

I have a 1k 5k and 12k. I need an 8k, but will a coticule or BBW work as an intermediary?

Why not just pick up a norton 4k/8k combo? You could always just get norton 8k stone, it would last you FOREVER seeing how thick it is. But it seems most vendors sell the combo stones and not the single grit ones...

My vote is for a norton 4k/8k, they're decently priced, and they'll give you that full range of grits that you need.

Thought about it, but I would like to stick with either a BBW Coticule or barber hone.
A single grit Japanese wet stone is also preferable.

I would go for the 8K Japanese stone. On the BBW, they say 4K, but slow cutting. Can use slurry. On the Coticule, they say 8K, although I have always felt closer to 10-12K on water and slurry unless heavy heavy slurry. Barber hones really are for finishing as most of the instructions on them indicate 4-6 strokes to refresh a razor.



Lynn

Originally Posted by singlewedge

I am trying to fill a void in my hones.

I have a 1k 5k and 12k. I need an 8k, but will a coticule or BBW work as an intermediary?

What brand 12K?

Coticules have a gap of their own.
With slurry, you get keennes in the ballpark of a 2K edge, albeit much smoother. Just not sharper.
Without slurry, a Coticule is a great finisher: adds smoothness and a typical feel to a wide variety of shaveready edges, but not sharpness.

To fill the gap between the use with slurry and the use with water, you can use a Belgian Blue, or any synthetic hone that's capable of "keenifying" the sharpness. The Belgian Blue with light slurry levels off at a keener level than the Coticule with slurry. But for finishing with water, the Coticule excels the Blue, that does not seem the work very well with only water.

Depending on your answer to my 12K question, a Coticule could replace it.

Bottom line: if you want a hone that can make your razors a bit keener than what you get off the 5K, go with a fast synthetic water hone in the 8K region. or with a Belgian Blue, if you prefer the feel of natural hones. If you want a superior finisher that possibly can be used for bevel correction as well, go ahead and get a Coticule. (but you still need a mediator in that case)

Bart.

I've been pondering your dilemma and my suggestion is to get a Norton 4/8 combo. I have a Shapton Pro 5k and I like the Norton 4k much better. I also have a Shapton Pro 8K and here again I prefer the Norton 8k. The coticule is a great stone to have and I think anyone who hones for the sport of it ought to get a coticule/blue in their arsenal of hones but to fill your specific void I think the Norton is hard to beat. Just from my own experience.