Thread: How to hold the razor to prevent it from dulling on the hone

Because we are talking about stuff on a very small scale it is impossible to prove one way or another, but there is a school of thought, very common amongst coticule users, that slurry dulls the edge very slightly and then as it breaks down it then begins to polish it again. So this could follow along with what you are experiencing. utopian is absolutely correct in that if it is lost it will come back, with dilution of the slurry and even strokes until you are finishing on water. I do not have a relationship with a coticule. Most people that love them and use them often have a relationship with them.

I gave this some thought and I have a theory, it is more of a question to the more experienced honers here as it is a statement about your situation. The step between 3k and coti is quite big, could it be that the coti polished out the "saw teet" on the edge and therefore makes it appear as the bevel is lost. So after a bit of work on the coti the edge should be good to go...?

I don't have much experience with cuticles my self so my thoughts might be a bit off...

In about 2 years I will probably move to Amsterdam, so then I can help you... But hopefully you have figured this out by then

Jacke

I think it cannot be a problem
they also use Coticule to set bevel at a 1k level

For me, the key to keeping the blade flat on the stone, is elevating the elbow until the forearm is parallel to the stone. Once there, the elbow does not fluctuate on it's vertical axis. At first, this will feel a little stiff and mechanical, but with practice will become more relaxed and natural.

I will try that

Originally Posted by JackeHj

I gave this some thought and I have a theory, it is more of a question to the more experienced honers here as it is a statement about your situation. The step between 3k and coti is quite big, could it be that the coti polished out the "saw teet" on the edge and therefore makes it appear as the bevel is lost. So after a bit of work on the coti the edge should be good to go...?

I don't have much experience with cuticles my self so my thoughts might be a bit off...

In about 2 years I will probably move to Amsterdam, so then I can help you... But hopefully you have figured this out by then

Jacke

That's (kind of) what slurry dulling is supposed to be. Garnets are the cutting material in a coticule. And they're generally shaped like a do-decahedron if I remember right. So in that slurry you have a bunch of essentially garnet balls bouncing around that ding up the edge and make it feel a little less dull on a thick slurry.

But as Utopian said, if you're doing your dilutions properly by the time you're on plain water all that damage should be erased and you ought to be left with a smooth edge.

My question - are you sure the coticule is a good one? I ask this because my coticule was a devil to figure out. I have synthetic stones up to 8K grit, and even skipping utilizing my coticule with slurry it still took a comfortably shaving 8K edge and dropped it down to around 6k. It was also most uncomfortable to shave with. I finally got it to put a good edge on a razor, but it can not be used with any sort of diluticot/unicot method. It can only be used with thin oil as a finishing stone. I have to use synthetic stones or a natural progession for the middle grits then switch to the coticule.

I'm not sure if this will be any help, but I catalogued everything I tried before finally hitting pay dirt here:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...-me-drink.html

I presume your Naniwa and King stones are full size, at least 2 1/2" wide. It is easy to keep most blades flat on a full size stone unless the blade has a pronounced smile. Honing a smiley blade is for experienced honers.

Because full size natural stones can be expensive, many people purchase smaller size stones or even irregularly shaped bouts. With experience, you can learn to hone on a 1" x 2" nagura, but for a novice, that is rather difficult to do.

When honing on any stone, and especially if you do have smaller sized stones, keep your larger muscle groups still (back, neck, shoulder, elbow) and perform movements with your finger, hand and wrist muscles over which you have far greater control. Even your breathing needs to be controlled. If necessary, place a towel, foam pad, etc. under your forearm to keep it steady. Think like a sniper trying to shoot a target 1/2 mile away. That is the kind of precision control you want over your razor so you will maintain a uniform contact angle and pressure throughout the length of the blade.

My Coticule is 20x5 cm . So large enough. It is indeed a difficult one. That I know already.