is it such a thing or is it not
one stone hone?
- Thread starter Staggers and Jags
- Start date
There are not many. Depending on the razor and your skills, you can potentially get it all done with a coticule and a slurry stone, from bevel set to finish.
Some people claim to be able to do it with Washita and varying pressure, but I have not tried that.
Some people claim to be able to do it with Washita and varying pressure, but I have not tried that.
Yeah I would say either a les latneuses coticule or a well used washita. I can make them both work but if prefer to finish still on a charnwood, llyn idwal or a norton hard ark but it can be done. I've had surprisingly comfortable and Keen edges from both stones but the finishing part takes technique, very careful strokes(on the Washita) and being willing to do like 300 spine leading laps with the lightest touch you could imagine. Im pretty sure @Gamma has had a decent shave off a washita before and I know numerous folks here can sing the praise of the formidable les latneuses.
Sure, a Belgian hone will work; unicot honing is nearly foolproof.
To do it on a washita it has to be the right washita and I've got 2 well suited for it, one I could make work with some pocket knife sharpening first and one I had was fantastic and was the only one that was actually a good finisher. I ruined its finishing capabilities by trying to lap out a chip on the edge during flattening it, so the surface prep(which was most likely 120+ years of use) is to aggressive for a razor but I'll tune it up eventually. It had a 3 piece box with a strop under the top lid. The stone was almost 10" iirc, probably closer to 9.4" x 2.25 and 1.75" thick. Big stone.
It depends on what you consider a comfortable shave.
It depends on how much work you have to do and how long you want it to take.
If it’s just a simple bevel set then a coticule will fill that role. You can go from bevel set to shave ready in no time. Takes a while to learn but it’s doable.
It can be done well with a good coticule. I did it for a good bit of time till I branched out and it was very nice. I would say if you like a bit keener les latneuses coticule is probably the answer. Problem is depends on what you like plus what you are honing and how much of the stone you want to use up. I was doing old heavy Sheffield wedges and some needed a bit of work to get it right. Those use up a bit more stone. Now if you get just one good synthetic bevel setter there are a bunch of stone you can go to from there to finish some easier than others.
My coticules (2) would be a slow bevel set if a razor is way way out of whack. Japanese stones and coticules are frequently used as one-stone hones. Meaning you raise a slurry and dilute as the edge refines. Now for Japanese stones, you can use various slurry stones on the same base stone, or use a diamond plate to raise slurry. I do not know if coticule Jedi knights use various slurry stones.
To do it on a washita it has to be the right washita and I've got 2 well suited for it, one I could make work with some pocket knife sharpening first and one I had was fantastic and was the only one that was actually a good finisher. I ruined its finishing capabilities by trying to lap out a chip on the edge during flattening it, so the surface prep(which was most likely 120+ years of use) is to aggressive for a razor but I'll tune it up eventually. It had a 3 piece box with a strop under the top lid. The stone was almost 10" iirc, probably closer to 9.4" x 2.25 and 1.75" thick. Big stone.
I use various coticule and bbw slurries on coticules some times, until I got this little les latneuses and it doesn't really a lot of variety. Just a little les lat slurry stone. I think that the yellow side on it is a fine as the hybrid but faster. Id put it at 10k minimum. It will hht off the yellow side with a quick palm strop and it's the only one I got that will do that. It'll kick up hair like an ark after stropping.
I have a LPB coticule that is very fast, and has no issue setting bevels on hollow razors of average hardness. It's not the easiest coti to finish on, but I've done it plenty of times, either under running water, or using dish soap or oil.
Same exact experience here. Both of these guys work the same way. Impressive low to mid range, but the final bit can take some tinkering. It really is humbling to use a small stone to accomplish the same task I normally use many different large stones to do.
I've never had a really great shave off a coticule. Not sharp enough or close enough for me. Not a fan of slurries either. A lily white Washita used with oil and varying pressure can go from bevel-setting to a fairly high range, but not high enough, certainly not as high as a coticule.
In either case, the range can be supplemented by use of a pasted strop afterwards. That would bring things into sharpness-closeness without resorting to another stone.
In either case, the range can be supplemented by use of a pasted strop afterwards. That would bring things into sharpness-closeness without resorting to another stone.
This seems to have been the typical approach in the old days.
It works pretty well too with good stropping technique. Not my first pick but good enough for camping.
I got silent hht off the yellow side only on mine yesterday and I never have gotten one that keen off a coticule alone. I always thought the appeal was solely because of the hybrid side being harder and fine but I think the yellow side is sufficient for a great shave(though I haven't tried yet) without another finisher. It's a really fast and really fine stone. I would put it beyond 8k for sure. The edge seems to retain a little bite too from how aggressive it was on the hht.
I need to experiment a little more with the yellow side. I tried slurry from a La lune stone once. This really increased the cutting speed of the stone.
I use a light lpb slurry on my la lune to smooth it out some. La lunes and coticules seem to play well together. I guess the combo of quartz and garnets have some kind of magic together. I also use fine bbw slurry on it sometimes too, since bbw has a shallower scratch pattern. I just ordered one of the new la lunes last night. Look forward to comparing it to an old one.
