Thread: New Coticule

So finally after many weeks my purchase has arrived. It came from Germany and the seller said he lives close to the Belgium border. It looks to be very old and after lapping it, it appears to be a nice piece. Some of the lines running through it actually look much smaller and fainter then before lapping. It took a good hour on my DMT 325 to get it flat, then I used wet sandpaper and finally a coticule bout. you can see the back side of the stone and it fits really nice in the hand. It is roughly 4 by 4 1/2 inches and is one inch thick. I gave it a try with just water and didn't produce an edge that would pop arm hair after 10min. Using the dilucot method I got it to pop hairs but not very well. I'm going to give it more time on slurry tonight till it's good then I'll test shave it.

I do like blushing hones. I don't know if they hone any better but they sure look great.

Each Coticule has its own characteristics, just like women.......you have to work with them to discover what each one likes. Once you get that figured out you'll love the results!

Well the test shave was good. Not great but it will improve with time. I did notice that it made my face feel different then any I've shaved with before. Can't quite explain why but the "feel" afterwards was different and not in a bad way.

Dilucot takes a while to learn. Keep at it, you'll get it.

Look up coticule.be for more tips. They refined the 'suggested' technique from the original dilucot technique to make it more reproducible.

Learn that coticule! It has many secrets ready for you to unlock..... patience and lots of honing with it. Great looking coticule btw.

Originally Posted by JosephHoffer

I gave it a try with just water and didn't produce an edge that would pop arm hair after 10min. Using the dilucot method I got it to pop hairs but not very well.

Coticules on water don't really abrade any significant amount of steel as to make a distinct difference in keenness (most of them anyway), so I'm not surprised at all that ten minutes on water produced minimal results. Also, as has been said, the dilucot is a bit tricky to master. But if you're popping har in one form or another you're at least on the right track.

Enjoy your honing journey, on that beautiful piece of rock you have there!

I find the way my skin feels after shaving off a coticule is totally different from any other stone.... In a good way.... Not better just interestingly different

Nice looking stone that.

Here are two pictures of the back. There is no slate backing on this one and the angles and nooks feel nice in the hand. I suppose that's why the back looks that way. Still can't seem to figure it out. I can get an edge on it ok but I can't seem to refine that edge down to a comfortable shave. Practice, practice, practice I guess.

Well, if you get tired of it, let me know and maybe we can work out a trade for it.

Seriously though, it does take a while to learn how to hone on any hone - coticules included. It is usually easier to hone on the 'regular' ones - long and narrower. The bouts are sometimes too short to get a consistent stroke going. 4" is usable, but on the short side.