Coticule Succes!

Wanted to share a success I had, using a coticule. I have a 5/8 TI "Super Gnome", which I couldn't get sharp, with my Coticule. I've honed, again and again, only to find the edge semi workable for about one shave.
Yesterday I've added about 30 x-strokes on the Belgian Blue side – slurried, of course – of the Coticule. I returned to the Yellow side, after, for a non-slurried finish and that did the trick. The edge isn't perfect yet, but after two shaves, I can state that this was a major leap forward.
I really like the idea of a natural single, as opposing to multiple synthetic stones. It took some time, and I'm still improving, but it's worth it.

Next to my desire to share my (great) success, I hoped this would help someone who, like me, almost gave up on the Coticule.

Omri

Go to www.coticule.be and click on coticule sharpening academy. Check out the Unicot method and also the Dilucot method. One of those methods, when properly employed, will work for you. Give this site a sincere try.

JERRY
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I did. The site is great and I used it extensively. It is very helpful. I couldn't get the strokes/slurry/angle/pressure right, and so it wasn't quite good enough. My final goal is to use either the Dilucot or the Unicot method, but the Belgian Blue was, in my opinion, easier to deal with (easier to produce slurry, I think). Could have been just a lucky break, though...

Wow, that must have been a work, Congretulations :)
The Super Gnome, just as the most of the other TI´s have a very hart steel and coticules have very different characteristics depending on the layer theire coming from. i have three Coticules i use for sharpening and only one is aggressive enough for the Dilucot without using hours for sharpening.

It always feels great when you get a problem razor to shave well=] Well done !

Well, two shave and the blade has already become duller than I would expect (I'm stropping after each shave, of course). I hope my next hone will last longer. That makes sense, right? Better hones last longer than not-as-good hones would. Would a better hone improve the sharpness of the edge, as well as the gap between one hone and the next?

Omri

Quote:

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Originally Posted by imomri

Better hones last longer than not-as-good hones would. Would a better hone improve the sharpness of the edge, as well as the gap between one hone and the next?

Omri

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I'd be more inclined to think it was a stropping issue. IME if a good razor is well honed it'll hold an edge like any other (though having said that, there are some exceptional razors that hardly ever seem to need reshowing to the stone).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by imomri

I did. The site is great and I used it extensively. It is very helpful. I couldn't get the strokes/slurry/angle/pressure right, and so it wasn't quite good enough. My final goal is to use either the Dilucot or the Unicot method, but the Belgian Blue was, in my opinion, easier to deal with (easier to produce slurry, I think). Could have been just a lucky break, though...

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While at the old coticule site, make sure you find the thread on 'diliblue' - use of the BBW, finishing w/ mostly backstrokes (spine-leading). The technique of getting sharp on the BBW and finishing on the coti side is fairly common and effective. Despite being underwhelmed at my ability to get the sharpness I want w/ a coti, the bbw has consistently rivaled the edges from my Nani12k, though not as smooth. Going then to the coti side for smoothness makes sense. There are guys that can do magic w/ just the coti, but I'm not one of them.

...and then there's the unspeakable truth that not all cotis are good razor hones.

In my experience, a short-lived edge comes from honing the steel out to a finer level than it can sustain, but I doubt you've done that to TI steel on a coti. Try stropping on a single thickness of newsprint held by a bulldog clip. If you pull it from the clip, you're doing something too hard. You can tell by volume whether you have only one surface (spine or edge) on the paper, which is wrong, or if you have both surfaces riding the paper, which is right. The right way is significantly louder.

Best wishes