Thread: Coticule help - have an edge, but can't get it sharp

My coticule arrived Thursday and I've been playing around with it on three different razors. The seller said it's a slower coticule, so it took me awhile to get an edge, but I kept trying and now my razors can shave my arm very easily.

The problem is that I can't get much smoother than that. I tried shaving with one and it wasn't happening. It just wasn't sharp enough.

I'm not terribly impatient and am not demanding that I get a great edge a couple of days after receiving my first hone, but I want to know what I should be practicing. Here are my biggest issues:

I think I'm going to water only too soon. The edge needs to be sharp enough to pass a HHT before I go to pure water on the stone, right? My razors are not doing so hot on the HHT right now.

If my stone is a slower coticule, I probably need to work longer during each dilution phase of the dilucot method, right?

Once my edge can cut arm hair, should I use any pressure at all from there out?

After the bevel is set, should I still do half strokes, or should I alternate sides between each stroke.

Should I ever wipe off the stone and create a new slurry using dilucot? The videos say no, but not sure if that applies to slow cutters.

Thanks for the advice. My wife thinks I'm crazy for spending so much time running a blade against a stone.

This is part of what is tricky with using a coticule to do everything - you need a good way to assess how the edge is progressing, and you need to know how to take that assessment of the edge and figure out what amount of slurry to use on the coticule. (This is really something that occurs with any one stone honing method, not just coticules.)

The various "methods" out there are best attempts to produce a repeatible process that will apply to coticules in general. But all coticules work differently, so those "methods" will not be optimized for YOUR coticule. They can be a good starting point, but you'll have to tweak what you are doing.

In order to tweak, you need to have a good way to assess the edge, and you need to have some idea about how your coticule is affecting the edge. Both of these become a lot easier with more honing experience, and that is why I don't recommend a coticule to a new honer.

What I would suggest is that you create a light slurry and start doing X strokes. As you go, check the edge periodically. Use whatever test you are comfortable with, be it TPT or HHT or an arm hair test or whatever. Keep honing until you get no more progress. Maintain a light slurry all the while - you may need to raise more slurry and/or add more water at various times. When you see no more progress, rinse off the hone and do the same thing (hone and test) with just plain water. This process should help you learn your coticule.

Don't get stuck on how your razor performs on the HHT unless you know how the hair sample you use performs at a given sharpness level. The HHT is worthless for me. I am bald and my wife and stepdaughter have extremely fine hair that usually won't pass a HHT with a pro honed blade that is a wonderful shaver. You need to develop tests that work for you. You do that through trial and error and really paying attention to every detail. I used to drive myself crazy trying to get razors to pass the HHT, now I don't even use it anymore.

Originally Posted by McNutt

The problem is that I can't get much smoother than that. I tried shaving with one and it wasn't happening. It just wasn't sharp enough.

Every hone has it is maximum potentials . You need to make sure your coticule is suitable for putting final edge to the straight razor

I'm not terribly impatient and am not demanding that I get a great edge a couple of days after receiving my first hone, but I want to know what I should be practicing. Here are my biggest issues

I agree every single hone specially natural ones will take time to learn them.

I think I'm going to water only too soon. The edge needs to be sharp enough to pass a HHT before I go to pure water on the stone, right? My razors are not doing so hot on the HHT right now.

Not really just forget about HHT.

If my stone is a slower coticule, I probably need to work longer during each dilution phase of the dilucot method, right?

This is obvious slower cutting stone will take longer time.

Once my edge can cut arm hair, should I use any pressure at all from there out?

NO

After the bevel is set, should I still do half strokes, or should I alternate sides between each stroke.

Doesn't matter as long as you are making even strokes on each side.

Should I ever wipe off the stone and create a new slurry using dilucot? The videos say no, but not sure if that applies to slow cutters.

Yes you can

Thanks for the advice. My wife thinks I'm crazy for spending so much time running a blade against a stone.

Have patience and gl

Have you checked out coticule.be?
I get a good result using chest hair for the hht, read that on this site somewhere but I can't find the reference right now.

I tried again with a slightly thicker slurry than I was using after the bevel was set. I was able to shave with the razor and am very happy. The razor was far from smooth, but that's something I think I can correct. I feel like I'm slowly connecting with the coticule now. Thanks again.

It takes a lot of practice to use the dilution method on a coticule and you need to really spend some time with your individual coticule to learn its characteristics.

You could also try the "Unicot" method, which involves creating a second bevel. I found it to be a bit easier than the traditional dilution methods, but i just dont like using tape because I am lazy.

Or it could be that your honing is fine and for whatever reason you do not like the edge off a coticule.

I would not worry too much about the HHT. Do you have any other razors that you know are shave ready that you could try the HHT on to see how your hair reacts to the test?

One of the things that helped me the most is actually seeing the edge that you're honing. Howto do that, the pocket microscope. Really though it does, it can help to tell you that you need more slurry or not. They're only about ten dollars on ebay.

Success!

Tonight I tried honing an old ebay razor that I hadn't touched yet. I used a pretty thick slurry to give it an edge. I did this in two phases, washing the coticule in between. Next I worked on the edge with a decent slurry, washed, and followed by a weaker slurry, etc. I went away from the dilucot method by washing the coticule in between instead of slowly diluting it, but the razor passed the HHT with flying colors and gave me a super smooth shave.

It's crazy the difference between a sharp razor and a really sharp razor. My other razors, even one that was bought "shave ready" hesitated a bit when they hit heavy patches against the grain. This razor never hesitated and my strokes had much more confidence.

Thanks for the help!

Easy coticule with slurry can take a fine edge off but perfect for getting bevel correct best reverse hone in circles, then to get an edge water onlyIf the edge still not there or comes off you know your getting there false edge has gone what we want,reverse hone with slurry you will get a different feel back sound as though you have no high spots,then water only very gentle hone the correct direction,super sharp should result,i swear by mine,maybe some feel skill experience needed but take it from me its not rocket science youl be fine.