Thread: The magic of the coticule...

So... I have this gorgeous Shumate spike point. It is my favourite razor. A terrific shaver.
Some months ago I finished my normal shave and stored the razor in the usual fashion: dry and snug in it's box and in a bag with sillica in a dry cupboard. Some weeks after that I took it out and I had this small rust spot very close to the edge. No biggie, I thought... I'll just carefully sand it of. And I did... the problem was that, while removing the spot, I removed the keenness of the edge and having only a small barber hone (thanks Joe!) I figured I had no business trying to hone the edge sort of... back! But I did - to no avail. And life went on and I used other razors to shave.
Some time ago my grandmother gave me her father's razor (a Rugra, that is in my future projects bin), a little shaving cup thing and a coticule. It is a very slow cutter, I reckon, but does a great job touching up my razors.
So... back to the Shumate. Having the coticule, I decided to go back to the Shumate but achieved nothing. And life went on for some more months.
Fast forward to today: I decided to give it one last shot with a different technique - small circles on the trouble spot: 10 circles clockwise and 10 counter clockwise, followed by 10 normal strokes. Did that with water, lather and water again for some time. I figured that I might have to send it out to someone so I might as well try my best. I insisted (because it is a very slow cutter) until the blade was cutting under the water instead of pushing it. I stropped and shaved - and alas! the problem was solved.
I am a happy shaver today!
However, I still NEED to buy a new Coticule that is a faster cutter and a Belgian Blue to match. One of these days I'll just have to rent a car and go visit the quarry.

Might want to experiment a bit more with the stone you have first(Unicot, Dilucot)

Originally Posted by janivar123

Might want to experiment a bit more with the stone you have first(Unicot, Dilucot)

The method I tried worked well enough and the Shumate is back in business. I may need a it more work but the shave was smooth and close. Before, the razor just jumped and skipped on the trouble spot.
Being a bit of a scrooge myself, I figured that my "need" can be tamed fairly easily. But yes, I need to experiment more and I need a slurry stone so I can extend the scope of the said coticule.
Nonetheless, I was happy to have my favourite razor back.

I would just get a slurry stone. I have been using circles a lot lately with great success. Congratulations

You are definitely in the right place to get a Coticule. A slurry will speed up the process. I'd do 20 lapps, followed by 20 circles with a slurry, dilute, repeat, and finish with water. See how that does. If you don't have a slurry stone, you can use wet sandpaper to generate one.

I'm glad I don't live in Belgium. If I did I would have made the pilgrimage to Ardennes and spent all of my money on natural combos. You really should call over there, tell them you are an SRP member, rent the car and go. It will be a nice trip and they'll probably roll out the red carpet and show you the whole operation. Maybe give you a special stone at a good price.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I'm glad I don't live in Belgium. If I did I would have made the pilgrimage to Ardennes and spent all of my money on natural combos. You really should call over there, tell them you are an SRP member, rent the car and go. It will be a nice trip and they'll probably roll out the red carpet and show you the whole operation. Maybe give you a special stone at a good price.

Maybe you'll have a couple of hot women in bikinis lap your hone for you. Then they'll work up a slurry and slather it...

Wait, this was a fantasy, right Jimmy?

Originally Posted by Utopian

Maybe you'll have a couple of hot women in bikinis lap your hone for you. Then they'll work up a slurry and slather it...

Wait, this was a fantasy, right Jimmy?

I know its mine!

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I'm glad I don't live in Belgium. If I did I would have made the pilgrimage to Ardennes and spent all of my money on natural combos. You really should call over there, tell them you are an SRP member, rent the car and go. It will be a nice trip and they'll probably roll out the red carpet and show you the whole operation. Maybe give you a special stone at a good price.

I did it, was there during vacations. I entered the "factory" without any reservations or call and got a show of the operation. Then I bought a big natural combo Coticule with the Blue one.
It was a "Nouvelle Veine".

Originally Posted by kingreverent

I did it, was there during vacations. I entered the "factory" without any reservations or call and got a show of the operation. Then I bought a big natural combo Coticule with the Blue one.
It was a "Nouvelle Veine".

Sweet. I hope you took pictures and can share them with us. At a minimum, please post a pic of your new coticule.