Thread: Problems with Coticule and Dilucot

Hello,

Sorry for another coticule help post. But I wanted to explain my problems and ask for help. I have been trying to get an edge on this coticule for I think now at least two weeks. And I just cannot get any further than hht1 or maybe hht2, but mostly a rather weak hht1. If I try unicot I get edges that are quite nice, not what I get when stropping on a CrOx strop, but smoother and easily shaveable. But trying Dilucot only gets me to a pulling shave that ends up not too close.

So what I have been doing: Honing on slurry in various ways, circles, halfstrokes, but mostly the latter. I create some milky slurry and dilute down every few sets of halfstrokes, mostly by feel or when I feel like it. I can consistently get a slight violin on the hht after that. And I dulled the edge before, so that should not be from before. But then I just cannot refine the edge further. I don't know. I tried a power touchup as described on coticule.be and quite a few strokes on pure water, with very little pressure or even just balancing the razor. Or directly on water. Nothing got me further. But again, I can get an edge via unicot that is quite shaveable so my honing stroke is not totally off.

What I observed was that the bevel seems to be polished not up to the very edge, but a little bit below that. I have nice even scratch pattern up to maybe half a millimeter up to the edge and from there on a more chaotic pattern and sort of a matte finish. I then proceeded to check if my coticule was flat, and it was. It just has a super slight high spot in the middle that I created by using the slurry stone only on the ends of the hone. So I don't think that this would be a problem

So now some facts about the coticule it is a 150x40 mm (~6x1.5") new coticule from Ardennes-coticule. I don't know the vein, but regarding the hardness it seems in the middle. I can scratch it with my fingernail, but just a little bit. When honing on water it does not autoslurry, or at least it does not feel like it. But I normally rinse every 10 strokes, to ensure that. Oh and as it came from the factory, it had a slight convexity that I kept. By that I can hone a little more evenly (the hone wear is concentrated on a relatively small spot, so the toe and heel get even wear too).

Thank you in advance, I will be thankful for any tips.

Originally Posted by Blunon

What I observed was that the bevel seems to be polished not up to the very edge, but a little bit below that. I have nice even scratch pattern up to maybe half a millimeter up to the edge and from there on a more chaotic pattern and sort of a matte finish.

From what you said above I would hazard a guess that your bevel isn't set. After I'm sure the bevel is set, I get the most from my coticule coming off an 8k Norton.

I was gonna write the same, Benz.

Originally Posted by Kees

I was gonna write the same, Benz.

I bet if he drops down to a 4k Norton, then to 8k, and finish up on his coticule he'll have a very smooth shave.

This seems more like a honing issue rather than a hone topic.
Do you tape the spine during this honing?

Sounds as is the bevel is not set. If the bevel were set the scratch pattern would go all the way to the edge.

Proper bevel setting is 90% of the honing process. Until the bevel is properly set going any further is futile.........

Originally Posted by Benz

From what you said above I would hazard a guess that your bevel isn't set. After I'm sure the bevel is set, I get the most from my coticule coming off an 8k Norton.

Same here, I use mine a strictly a finisher, 50 super light laps on plain water gives me great edges

if you have obtained a hht 2 rub your coti with a hard shaving soap like a palmolive stick... this should bring your razor to hht 3 after 30 laps - (if yr bevel is set right of course) - this is what I do to get hht 4 on my Veinette coti

Thanks for all the answers so far.

I didn't think about my bevel as an issue, because just before I set it with dilucot and it got from not shaving anything to hht1. So I didn't think about that. But now I tried setting the bevel on a 4k I have, I don't know the brand, but this is finest grit I have. I hoped to cover the rest with the coticule. So I went back to the 1k until the bevel was set, then to the 4k, and then I went to the coticule with one rub of the slurry stone, did 30 laps or so and then another 50 with water only.
But still the only thing I could achieve was hht1. But this time I am absolutely sure the bevel is set. The 4k is even freshly lapped.

Originally Posted by Utopian

This seems more like a honing issue rather than a hone topic.
Do you tape the spine during this honing?

No I didn't. And if it is a honing issue, then what could I do differently?