Thread: Which colour of coticule is the most suitable for Unicot?

Originally Posted by Dalton

Glen, my experience is veeery little to say anything above that. Thanks again for your advises I'll keep them close.
All i know is to try hard to achieve a goal. If this will not work, then I will have to move on.

And still, if I get with a Coticule where I want to, in a reasonable time, I will consider it a success.
That extra time that a coticule takes comparing to synthetics, might give that extra smoothness for my sensitive skin, so I guess time and experience will tell.

You won't find the extra smoothness hiding in the stone, the smoothness is in the hands, only people that are marketing the stone will ever try and make you believe that myth,, Or people that have heavy hands while honing and just never really master the technique required to bring out the best edges....

Originally Posted by gssixgun

You won't find the extra smoothness hiding in the stone, the smoothness is in the hands[...]

I agree with Glen, here. I find that coticules do give a very smooth edge of their own accord, but that it tends to be less keen than many other hones. From those other hones a similar smoothness can come from a very light touch that polishes the edge without degrading it-- the great fallacy, then, being that synthetics give a 'harsh' edge. The jump a coticule-- or Escher, what have you-- has on a synthetic is simply that it allows a honer with, shall we say, a higher handicap to get a smooth edge with less experience and effort.



Now, all this said, I do think a coticule is a very fun stone to play around with. The trick is not to get caught up in the hype and believe that it is the ultimate stone, with limitless potential. It is, as are so many others, just one tool in a vast workshop.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

You won't find the extra smoothness hiding in the stone, the smoothness is in the hands, only people that are marketing the stone will ever try and make you believe that myth,, Or people that have heavy hands while honing and just never really master the technique required to bring out the best edges....

Or people w/ heavy hands while shaving--they're the ones quick to call a nice sharp, smooth edge "too keen" or "harsh" when the problem is on their end: they're pressing hard (& removing lots of skin) when they shave! (No wonder it's "harsh"!)

Originally Posted by PA23-250

Or people w/ heavy hands while shaving--they're the ones quick to call a nice sharp, smooth edge "too keen" or "harsh" when the problem is on their end: they're pressing hard (& removing lots of skin) when they shave! (No wonder it's "harsh"!)

We kind of getting away from the coticule subject here, but ok, isn't it a rule that the keener the edge, the more unforgiving it is and the more "catchy" it gets on the skin?
Also, its kind of objective with every user's skin, some types can accept a heavier "scratch" than others.

IMHO, I don't think that all coticule fans have heavy hands which makes them aprecciate the not so sharp coticule edge.. I dont know..

Originally Posted by Dalton

Also, its kind of objective with every user's skin, some types can accept a heavier "scratch" than others.

The old adage that you will be more likely to cut yourself with a dull knife than a sharp one applies to razors AFAIC. Of course proper technique is requisite to a good shave. Read my sig below to see how to avoid nicks and cuts with a truly sharp straight razor. In any case, if the razor is truly sharp and shave ready, and the user has the proper shaving technique, the razor won't pull on the whiskers or catch on loose skin. Pulling on whiskers and/or catching on the skin is failure of the razor, the technique, or both. IMHO.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

The old adage that you will be more likely to cut yourself with a dull knife than a sharp one applies to razors AFAIC. Of course proper technique is requisite to a good shave. Read my sig below to see how to avoid nicks and cuts with a truly sharp straight razor. In any case, if the razor is truly sharp and shave ready, and the user has the proper shaving technique, the razor won't pull on the whiskers or catch on loose skin. Pulling on whiskers and/or catching on the skin is failure of the razor, the technique, or both. IMHO.

That sig actually i first read quite long time ago and it helped me SO much, so thanks for putting it down there. By then, I though that I have to be more persistent with my strokes in order to get a BBS and everything was going well until I put that blade on my face for a 3rd pass: Then, it felt like I'm scratching my skin off and of course after the shave I was looking like Mr Pimples.

So now I can shave my sideburns to perfection and play around on my face with the blade much better after holding the razor the lightest I can. That way is something like having a razor with suspensions, huh

I still find my spartacus dreadnought very unforgiving though, its finished on a Naniwa 12 professionally, and despite the fact I have smoothened the tip, the days that i cant concentrate that well or Im in a hurry, I get full of nicks, so I will have to improve my technique more than that, or its the heft of the blade..

just my thoughts

Just an upgrade: Eventually I got that bout from the vendor, sorry for the pics' quality: Its a selected grade, clean yellow with a hint of violet-purple(?) inside






again thank you all for the precious help

Originally Posted by Dalton

isn't it a rule that the keener the edge, the more unforgiving it is and the more "catchy" it gets on the skin?

As a general rule, no that's not true at all. Not until you get to something like 0.1 micron lapping film or Linde B compound or something like that. Maybe then it might be true, but for something like an Escher or Jnat, or 0.5 micron spray media, absolutely not. You won't be able to get away w/ excessive pressure as easily, but you shouldn't be doing that anyway, so it's really a moot point.

Another thing is some stones require a much lighter touch during the finishing stages to yield their full potential for smoothness--they require more skill to use properly is all.

Personally now, I have much less alcohol burn (zero, in fact ) and a longer lasting shave after shaving w/ a Jnat or Thuringian or even a pasted edge than I do off a coticule edge. Nothing wrong @ all w/ a coticule, but I've personally found I get better (closer, more comfortable) shaves off of other media, and I have slightly sensitive skin, so I don't necessarily buy the "coticule is the best edge for sensitive skin" argument. It sounds just a shade too dogmatic for me...

The best thing to do is try many different finishes honed by people who really know how to get the best of of those hones to figure out what suits you best. It might well be a coticule or it might not. You just have to experiment.

Originally Posted by PA23-250

The best thing to do is try many different finishes honed by people who really know how to get the best of of those hones to figure out what suits you best. It might well be a coticule or it might not. You just have to experiment.

Thats what I'll do. I was getting very smooth shaves out of my chinese 12k but not as close as I get from vendors honing, everytime I buy a new razor. Now I've sent to a honemeister 4 razors to finish in 4 different stones, including Shapton 16k, vintage yellow Escher, and one razor will be completely "dilucoted"

thanks for your input