I sometimes have to scratch my head here. Maybe the coti's are changing or maybe the quality ones are gone I don't know. A few years ago they were the rage as finishers and people raved about them and lately it seems something is amiss with them. I have an 8x3 I got several years ago and it's my main finisher. I just wet it and use it and it seems to work magic for me with about 60 strokes or so.