Quote Originally Posted by woodsmandave View Post
I have been advised to try shaving off the 4k, but alas, I have not done so - yet. I hate to blame the coticule, as I obtained a very similar level of final sharpness of a kitayama (8k-12k) hone prior to purchasing the coticule. I just can't seem to get that final "edge" that I need. Back to your questions, the slurry will get darker, but not dark. On hollow grind blades, the blade will "stick" when on the coticule with just water. I have about 10 razors currently in my rotation. I have only 2 that I can shave with right off the hone. One is an 11/8 WM Jackson hollow grind, one is a joseph rodgers 8/8 wedge. The rest always require paste. that includes a new dovo and a dubl duck. Most of the rest of the blades are some grind of wedge.
I do not think you would gain anything from shaving off 4k, but again have you tried to go to coticule after 8k synthetic? From your description of how the slurry darkens it is possible you have a slow coticule and going to it off higher grit might solve your problems.