Thread: Coti breaking glass HELP

I have but one Coticule is small about 1.5 x 6 inch cream colored with wood like faint dark (manganese?) streaks in it. I hear a lot of people fuss about these stones but I feel maybe I got lucky with mine because I get nice comfy shaves using it not super keen like the synths I am used to but keen enough and very forgiving on the face.

My routine with this stone starts with slurry not to thick but not runny. After a bevel set and a quick trip on the 3k I start Coticule honing with some firm pressure after a dozen passes I already see slurry darkening, I continue adding finger drops of water to keep the slurry from dying out. I keep testing the edge with my thumb and there will be a point where you just know its very bitey and sharper from starting point. Then I rinse the hone do the slurry over again an make it just a bit wetter hone some more and start letting off on the pressure in increments along the way while also adding a little water. I will test again on thumb maybe on arm hair and just continue if its not there yet. I like to hone in hand no stands for me because I can guage pressure and stone to steel contact much better I think this is important.

There will be a point when the slurry is thinned out and i just wash off the stone re surface with the rubber and wash it off again then its just water again just going lighter and lighter on the pressure. There will be a point when you don't think its getting any sharper. sometimes I go to running water and go really feather light finishing strokes or I have also used glycerine as well with good result. The main thing is as sharpening progresses your pressure lightens up and you can take this to any extreme you want but at least for my stone it seems to deliver with this routine.

I wish I had more experience with different Coticules to understand the typical problems folks are running into but I only have one. So this one man with one stones opinion, I hope it helps.

I just want to add a little something to my previous post. If some of you guys that are using microscopes or some other optics to evaluate edges you may become confused.
To the uninitiated looking at a Coticule edge under magnification may leave you horrified. If your used to looking at nice shiney bevels and or uniform kasumi finishes, you may be shocked to see a rather chaotic and visually less than appealing scratch pattern. Something for me that is impossible to judge the quality of just by looking. So just go by touch and shave test quality and don't get worked up by what you see.

Good to hear, mate!

Keep at it and keep us updated.

I was inspired to touch up my lucky Wostenholm on my La Veinette this morning and decided to use the HHT which scored a 2 once I'd finished on soap and water. Gave a pretty smooth shave this evening

I tend to set the bevel at the 3 k pro level then make a nice light milky slurry . I don’t use half strokes nower days I do pure circles all the way diluting the slurry as I go never letting the slurry dry out just hone and dilute until I am down to water. I give the hone a good clean and perform normal light x strokes normaly no more than 50.

It’s important to strop linen then leather I my self then perform the hht with a batch of hair that I use for years. Then test shave .

When I first started out using coticule I thought it was normal to have an edge that was not keen .

It was only until bart honed my razor I realised there was room for improvement.

From there on i never stopped honing and I succeeded with top notch edges from coticule s.

I shave with naniwas edges and coticule edges and in all honesty there is not much in it.

A coticule edge can be just as as keen and a naniwas superstone edge can be just as smooth as a coticule if you get it right.

The difference is coticule as you have found is just not as easy as it sounds and to be honest I have not had great success with some of these more resent coticule s I have been close but not quite .

Originally Posted by gary haywood

I tend to set the bevel at the 3 k pro level then make a nice light milky slurry . I don’t use half strokes nower days I do pure circles all the way diluting the slurry as I go never letting the slurry dry out just hone and dilute until I am down to water. I give the hone a good clean and perform normal light x strokes normaly no more than 50.

It’s important to strop linen then leather I my self then perform the hht with a batch of hair that I use for years. Then test shave .

When I first started out using coticule I thought it was normal to have an edge that was not keen .

It was only until bart honed my razor I realised there was room for improvement.

From there on i never stopped honing and I succeeded with top notch edges from coticule s.

I shave with naniwas edges and coticule edges and in all honesty there is not much in it.

A coticule edge can be just as as keen and a naniwas superstone edge can be just as smooth as a coticule if you get it right.

The difference is coticule as you have found is just not as easy as it sounds and to be honest I have not had great success with some of these more resent coticule s I have been close but not quite .

Hey Gary
It's been years since you made a video on coticules
Just saying!

I no I need to get a couple made maybe sometime this year.

Originally Posted by gary haywood

I no I need to get a couple made maybe sometime this year.

That'd be great. A lot of us struggle with these Belgian stones, that'd be a wonderful help to the new coticule users.

I find circles leaves a harsh scratch pattern.

I take no notice of scratch pattern on my coticule . Once the bevel is done which I try my best to go no lower than 3 k obviously I will use 1 k chosera when needed.

Btw I use mostly x strokes and may begin with circles just how Lynn perform them.

Then once I use the coticule I just hone and dilute with circles. I check my bevel at the end of circles once I am down to water and just after x strokes and again after stropping and just by the way the cutting edge looks I can normally tell if the razor has a good nice clean cutting edge .

Same with naniwas the edge looks so different under 60 x mag after stropping I see a really nice polished bevel with a nice clean really nice cutting edge .

I noticed coticule leave the same scratch pattern some look more rough than others. I sent a razor to doc and he was very happy with the edge and he did say it was the worse scratch pattern he had seen but one of the best coticule edges he had shaven with, so go try and figure that out.

I only use in general loops etc to check the very cutting edge for nicks and chip s and to see how straight the cutting edge is .

Originally Posted by gary haywood

I take no notice of scratch pattern on my coticule . Once the bevel is done which I try my best to go no lower than 3 k obviously I will use 1 k chosera when needed.

Btw I use mostly x strokes and may begin with circles just how Lynn perform them.

Then once I use the coticule I just hone and dilute with circles. I check my bevel at the end of circles once I am down to water and just after x strokes and again after stropping and just by the way the cutting edge looks I can normally tell if the razor has a good nice clean cutting edge .

Same with naniwas the edge looks so different under 60 x mag after stropping I see a really nice polished bevel with a nice clean really nice cutting edge .

I noticed coticule leave the same scratch pattern some look more rough than others. I sent a razor to doc and he was very happy with the edge and he did say it was the worse scratch pattern he had seen but one of the best coticule edges he had shaven with, so go try and figure that out.

I only use in general loops etc to check the very cutting edge for nicks and chip s and to see how straight the cutting edge is .

Great information Gary. I will try this tonight on some of my coticules and test shave. I don't have a Synthetic 3K stone, only a natural stone that leaves a 3K (ISH) feeling edge. So I may have to set the bevel on the 1K, move to the natural 3K and then the coticule.

Coti's gave me fits! I went through 13 stones several years ago. Some gave me good "coti" edges (good coti edges are smooth shavers, period), some were just pre-polishers. When I gave up more or less and had a conversation with my old honing mentor he explained why I was never satisfied. It was simply because of the type of edge that I preferred. I prefer a semi "crisp" edge, as my first natural finisher was a Charnley Forrest & my second was a yellow-green Escher. While I was producing a perfectly shave-able edge, it was not what I "preferred". I then went on a quest to learn more finishers. It was a costly venture, but I learned that I still prefer a semi-crisp edge.

Enjoy your adventure, a good coti edge on English steel is a fabulous shave!