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The surprising ease of Coticule (Dilucot)
After five years with a single straight razor (DOVO best 6/8 half hollow), I have developed a good feel for the basic techniques: lathering, stropping, finding the beard's grain, adjusting pressure and angle, and speed. Although I succeeded in maintaining an edge, I never managed an edge that fully satisfied me. My tools were a barber's hone, and a pasted strop (1 micron / CrOx). A couple laps on the wet, then dry hone, then the pasted strop, then normal stropping, and I would get a workable edge. However, since I started shaving the whole face (bye-bye goatee!), I have been having problems with the chin.
Switching gear sure has helped understand my previous limitations. On my 35th birthday, I splurged on a new Böker Arbolito and a natural combo Coticule. I had been thinking about a full hollow for a while, and man, should I have gotten it earlier. But the real surprise was the Coticule. I wanted to do the whole edge myself on it, and not rely on a honing service. So I read high and low, and I ended up trying the Dilucot procedure.
Now, some seem to make a big fuss of honing, and I'm sure you could spend an inordinate amount of time getting that perfect edge, especially on natural hones, but DON'T LET THAT IMPRESS YOU! The point of honing is to get an edge, not a medal. If it shaves, and you like it, and you skin likes it to, then YOU WON!
I blunted the factory edge on glass, and made sure it didn't shave arm hair. Then I raised a slurry on the Coticule side until it resembled milk (3.25% fat). I did two sets of 30 half-strokes with light pressure. I aimed for the nicest slurrrrrrpsh sound to adjust pressure. Then I did about 10 sets of 15 half-strokes diluting the slurry. I added a finger load of water at each set. By the end, one drop at a time, I ended up with an almost clear stone. I rinsed everything, and did two sets of 30 X-strokes on water. Wipe dry, then 60 laps on linen, 60 on leather, shave!
The only improvement I made so far was to do the intermediate step on the Belgian Blue side of the hone. I worked the Coticule side with slurry as above, then I switched side, and raised a lighter slurry (more like skim milk!). I did my 10 sets of half-strokes, adding one drop of water at a time. Then I finished back on the Coticule with water. I gained noticeable sharpness, but both edges are equally smooth, and my chin is perfect each time. I can now shave every day with my straight, with zero irritation (something that even a quality DE blade couldn't do since it would shave very close yet rip some skin off too).
I can't get enough the smoothness, and of the fact that I did it all by myself with a single hone. Granted, I'm not sure I could repair a POS razor from flea market, but I don't care either!
The lesson in all this is that I hit the rock with my DOVO, and it ended up almost as nice as the Böker. As the DOVO is a half-hollow, I think it will need more honing to get the proper edge, though.
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