Thread: Shapton's 30,000 or Coticule?

Hello All,

It seems that I've got a beard that's made of Tungsten Carbide because my recently honed Henckels is already dull and no amount of stropping with leather or lined will help. Admittedly my stropping technique is not good...

Regardless, I'd like to hone my own and was wondering on the consenus on whether I should go with the Shapton 'system' (very expensive as I was advised to get the 30,000, and another stone, the Diamond profiler and the 'widget' that keeps the stone steady for honing. It would all come to several hundred dollars.

The other option I was looking into was the Coticule with the Yellow and Blue Stones and calling it a day with those.

Which would you recommend and why? Please keep in mind I don't intend to restore razors, or anything above just honing them to keep them sharp. If it gets to the point where I need to have them re-beveled (because I might screw up the honing) then it'll be done by a pro.

Cheers!

If those are the two choices you are looking at only, then get the Coticule...

As the Shapton 30k doesn't do that much without the system behind it and is crazy expensive...

Now if you want other opinions beside the Shaptons, I have them but you didn't ask... so I only gave an answer based on your question... These two choices are just way apples and oranges

Norton 4/8 and maybe a Naniwa 12k superstone if you want icing on your cake. Because, after fooling with a lot of razors and hones those are what I've found are the best bang for the buck. Add a coticule for later if you like to play with hones and an Escher if you have HAD and deep pockets ...... not to mention the j-nats.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

If those are the two choices you are looking at only, then get the Coticule...

As the Shapton 30k doesn't do that much without the system behind it and is crazy expensive...

Now if you want other opinions beside the Shaptons, I have them but you didn't ask... so I only gave an answer based on your question... These two choices are just way apples and oranges

Don't be mean... give up the goods!

You're right though, I should have opened it up to alternatives and would gratefully receive them!

Cheers

The Shapton items you mentioned are the same items that you would add to a typical Shapton set up if you wanted to make it a "cost is secondary" set up. Unfortunately, even by adding another stone, they don't represent a very effective honing arrangement. It's like you got the icing on the cake....but no cake.

If you want to focus on the Shapton line, and budget is a consideration, I would suggest substituting a DMT 8C and a generic stone holder for the DGLP and Shapton stone holder. Instead of the 30K (plus one more stone) consider 1K, 2K, 4K, 8K & 16K Glass stones. This selection would give you everything you need (except practice) to go from bevel setting to finish and touch up.

Obviously, there are many other options, but I wanted to point out a more cost effective Shapton based alternative. As this thread progresses I'm sure you will see that there are many ways to approach honing, especially on the high grit end of the process. For what it's worth, I would prefer the coticule and bbw to the Shapton 30+ one, but only because the 30K has a very limited range and is very costly. If you said a 4K and an 8K I would go with that over the coticule/bbw. If nothing else, it's probably more cost effective if you compare similarly sized stones. I'm not that excited about the bouts or other very small coticules that are available at a low cost.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

If those are the two choices you are looking at only, then get the Coticule...

As the Shapton 30k doesn't do that much without the system behind it and is crazy expensive...

Now if you want other opinions beside the Shaptons, I have them but you didn't ask... so I only gave an answer based on your question... These two choices are just way apples and oranges

I'll ask. Suggestions?

Naniwa superstones are pretty good.

If you go the shapton route, good lord you sure don't need all the "extras." Just the stones up to 15K or so will do you more than fine, I reckon.

Was the guy who told you that a Shapton salesman?

If it were me, I would get a norton 4/8 combo and a barber's hone. That keeps you set for life, plus you can sharpen old blades on the Norton.

Coticules are nice but they are, imo, in the 8K range and leave me wanting more keenness which I can never get no matter how much I try, so I use other stones before it if I want to finish on it.

I don't own the Shapton 30K but it's crazy money, only can be used at the end of the shapton system, etc.

If your shave-ready razor was dulled by shaving the coticule is all you need to get her going again. 30K hone is probably too fine for touch-ups so you'll still need a 8-10K hone if you buy a Shapton.

i would go for the coti because that stone can take you from bevel setting to finishing i would also add a c-12 it's only 25$ and can be used to touch up and its a finisher