Only one hone

This is a serious question, but one that the folks with serious HAD might balk at.

The question is, if you could have only one hone for razors, what would it be? But let me give some background before you answer.

Basically, I've come to realize that restoration isn't for me. It isn't that I couldn't develop my skills in that area, but I'm finding other manual pursuits more satisfying right now. I still love razors and love the fact that very few of my razors weren't owned by someone else first, but even putting a shaving edge on a NOS Friodur Inox was more than I wanted to deal with.

I have a set-up that I got pretty good with (DMT 1200, Notron 4/8k, and undersized Belgian Blue and Coticule), but at this point it's more than I need. These days I'll pull out the coticule to refresh a blade and it works great. Maybe I'll pull out the blue if I've got a new-used razor with some micro-chipping.

So now I'm thinking, just like how I'm going from 18 razors to 7 (which has turned out to be 9, seven day "set" plus travel pair), maybe I should sell off my stone collection and put that money towards a single stone. A large coticule seems an obvious choice, but I figured I might as well get advice from multiple people. I asked Howard from perfectedge about this, and will likely go with his advice since his honing advice has done me well in the past, but it never hurts to get more voices.

Thanks,
Dan

Ah, a sensible man that has a level head about what his pursuits are and are not. I keep trying to get there myself but run into the "I may need that one thing I don't use now SOMEDAY!:gaah:"

You've said you pull out the coticule and BBW and it "works great".

Why even buy a bigger coticule? It sounds like you've successfully worked with the one you have. I'd say sell off the D8E and the Norton and enjoy.

Chris L

Does a natural combination BBW/Coticule count? I mean, it's one stone & was laid down like that. If so, that's the one i'd go for. I love it's versatility & even the way it feels as you use it.
If not, I accept my disqualification graciously.

I agree with Ben and Chris, stick with the belgians. You seem to already have great success with the coticule and BBW, so why not just keep them and sell the rest?

If you did want a bigger stone, I would look for a natural combination BBW/coticule so you could have the blue side to use too. You could always use your current BBW and coticule for slurry stones for the larger one too.

So if I had to give up all but one of my kids which one would I keep ? It so happens that out of 12 coticules I have one 8x3 natural that is the best of all of my cotucules vintage or recently harvested. It came from Howard and he of course got it from Ardennes. I guess if I could only have one that would be it because of the versatility. It isn't the "best" finisher I have,

I think that my blue/green and yellow/green Eschers are better finishers but since it is a bbw/yellow and can with slurry set a bevel or finish with water it would be my choice. I am experimenting with Eschers with slurry to see how effective they can be with slurry followed by water. I'm wondering if I can duplicate the performance of the coticule and surpass it but I haven't come to a conclusion yet.

If you want versatility, nothing beats a Coticule.
I regularly manage to get premium edges off just one Coticule, and if I would narrow my collection down to only razors that respond well to that method, It would be all I ever needed.

Bart.

This question is really tough to answer.
I will be agree amoung the stones you want to choose only 1 stone then i go with coticule or norton 4./8k.
Questions doesn't mention are you willing to use pastes after hone?
if this is the case i go with norton 4/8k
.
Again please i love to get maximum edge from any blade and that is why sometimes coticule is best most times escher's best.Depends on your needs.
As i said this is not easy to answer you will be the only person could decide what you want and which hone will best suite your needs/
i hope this helps

BBW/Yellow coticule.

If I had to recommend one hone to a newbie, I would definitely say a Chinese 12k. For $30 it simply cannot be beat.

For a more experienced user looking to simplify, I would say a very hard 8"x2" Natural combo Coticule/BBW

+1 on Chinese 12k... Very nice hone, almost no feedback, but it produces an edge so smooth that I regularly skip CrOx and hit the leather directly afterward... I haven't tried it with slurry, but it's great for touching up razors...
I haven't tried the coticule yet...:cry:
But I would definitely vote for coticule because all the good words I read about it...

I have same setup plus 12k chineese its got tbe bbw/yellow no dout

Thanks everyone.

To answer some questions: I was aking mainly in case there's a hone I'm not familiar with (like the Chinese 12k) that would come up. That said, even with people mentioning the 12k, consensus still seems to be going towards a Belgian combo.

As for keeping the stones I have, I have a 4x2 blue stone and a small bout. Certainly they do the job, but so long as I'm downsizing, I can trade everything in and get a stone with a bigger working surface. (and by "trade in" I mean "post on the classifieds")

And I tried pastes once and paste kept getting everywhere and I think I'm just a little too OCD to handle that. (Yes, I probably overpasted, but my impression is still soured, even if it's my fault).

My primary stone is a 4X2 natural combo. I guess a larger stone would be nice, but I have no problems with that size.

Anyway, if all you want to do is keep things sharp, stick with the coticule/combo. This way if you ever did ding an edge you can fix it with that. A Chinese 12k wont fix an edge for you.

I have a great natural 6"x2" combo from Howard that is one of my goto hones.

After all my blades are shave ready I would select the 30K Shapton and be set for life. I refuse to ding my blade on the faucet. I would also have a CrO paddle because that is not a hone.

bj