Thread: Slurry on a BBW

I know Ardennes Coticule has given advice in the past that you can use a yellow slurry stone on the Blue. For use on chisels and other cutting tools, I agree. But for honing razors, we are aiming for extremely sharp edges.

All experiments I have done with the Coticules and Blues I have access to, were consistent in the following:

1. Use of slurry on BBW and Coticule puts a limit on the maximum sharpness you'll get off the hone. Without slurry a Coticule becomes a very slow finishing hone, only to be used on already higly refined edges. I'm not going to address the Blue with water right now, other than that it does not offer anything beneficial.
2. Coticule slurry has a lower keenness limit than Blue slurry.
It's much easier to reach sufficient keenness on the Blue with slurry than it is on a Coticule with slurry.

If you mix in yellow slurry on the Blue (by rubbing with a yellow slurry stone) you'll introduce part of the slurry limit of the Coticule.
At least, that's what I would expect, and that's why I do not recommend it when you're aiming for the maximum keenness you can get off the Blue, (before finishing that edge on a Coticule with only water, or even shaving right off the Blue).
I can't say I ever tried it, so this claim is not backed up by any empirical evidence, only by deduction of the difference between BBW and Coticule.

In absence of a Blue slurry stone, a DMT can be used, preferably a DMT-C. The DMT-E 's nickel matrix can be abraded by the Blue, if you use it extensively for lapping and raising slurry. The DMT-C digests such use far better.

In a pinch, also a good quality "wet and dry" sandpaper can be used. Use sandpaper in the 150 - 300 grit range on a small flat sanding block and beware for the paper loosing particles in the slurry (which is not that big of a problem with decent sandpaper).

Bart.