Question About Finishing with Coticule and Taping

Hi,

I've been trying to hone a couple of blades myself, now that I have some professionally honed edges to compare to. I have a couple of questions though.


I honed a Greaves near wedge on a King 1K/6K combo stone. After using the 6k, the bevel looked close to a mirror finish. When I finished on my coticule though, it actually looked duller. Is this normal or am I not doing it right?





TAPING
Exactly what type of tape do you use?
I used electrical tape and it leaves lines/stains on blade that won't come off. I tried Goof Off and Flitz and it still wouldn't come off, so I guess I'll have to use steel wool. This may be because it was really cheap.
I was going to get some 3M electrical at WM, but all they had was Duck brand. I used it and it started coming apart on the stone REALLY quickly. Would 3M be better, or do I need to be using a different type of tape?


Thanks

In Canada all the better tapes are marked CSA approved, it also makes them more expensive. However it is usually the good stuff. I would expect that if you stick to the known brands you will be ok. As for the marks on your hone they should come off with your lapping/cleaning routine. As we hone the hone get loaded with swarf. It is also black and reduces the exposed grit. You need to clean that up on a regular basis. Many people use a diamond hone for cleaning, it does flatten your hone a little but should not be confused with true lapping, where the object is to get your hone truly flat. With coticules, I think it is quite common to clean the hone with the rubbing stone.
The other thought I have about tape, if you think the tape is loading up your hone and not the swarf, you can always use a different color of tape. Currently I am using red. Most likely if you are getting a lot of tape wear on your hone you are putting too much pressure on the spine. As you are honing the blade should have a small amount of torque pushing down on the edge without pushing down on the spine. That is a little off topic but related.

My fav. Coti finish is to put down the Coti & reach for another stone. :) I'm lousy w/ the coti finish. I enjoy & used them quite regularly, but I've known few guys that got the magic they wanted from them without buying & selling alot until they found the right one. I'm in the wrong tax bracket for that. Bart, over at the old coticule.be maintained they would all do a great job. I suspect intimate knowledge in their use is the real magic.

Some good things will come from the effort. You're gonna get really good at an uber-light touch in your stroke. You'll have lots of strokes to practice with, unless you use a La Petite Blanche or other orange-colored fast cutting coti. The fast cutters will hose your edge as fast as they improve it - so pay attention to progress.

You might want to talk to Lynn about his method, which is circles w/ serious pressure & a few x-strokes, then dilute & repeat w/ very light pressure, then clear water w/ 10 very light x-strokes. If I'm remembering the detail incorrectly, pls. forgive me & listen to Lynn on it. You'll find any excuse to talk to him will be a pleasure.

Many types of natural stone will leave a satin finish as opposed to shiny synth finish. The edge is what is important. 3M 33+ is a good tape.
Mike

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JP5

Hi,

I've been trying to hone a couple of blades myself, now that I have some professionally honed edges to compare to. I have a couple of questions though.

I honed a Greaves near wedge on a King 1K/6K combo stone. After using the 6k, the bevel looked close to a mirror finish. When I finished on my coticule though, it actually looked duller. Is this normal or am I not doing it right?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by MODINE

Many types of natural stone will leave a satin finish as opposed to shiny synth finish. The edge is what is important. 3M 33+ is a good tape.
Mike

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Indeed, pretty much all coticule finishes are hazy as opposed to mirror shine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pinklather

Bart, over at the old coticule.be maintained they would all do a great job. I suspect intimate knowledge in their use is the real magic.

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I have tried a few handfuls of coticule, and I tend to agree with Bart, I have yet to see find one that did not get me at least a good result after a few tries. But it does take getting to know at least one coticule very well. Just a lot of time, dedication and repetition, repetition, repetition.

About the tape lines: it might be the quality of the tape. Get some good 3M tape and do not worry about that. Also, make sure that you do not leave it on too long; I tend to change my tape after about ten minutes, clean off the spine with water and a towel. I had rust develop when I started out honing too (because that is what it probably is, if polish does not help), but changing out my tape sooner than I used to diminished the problem drastically.

IME nothing removes tape glue residue like lighter fluid or nail polish remover. Basically naphtha.

As Pithor said, tape lines in the belly of the blade can be caused by leaving the tape on too long. I've left a honing job for an hour or two, or even overnight, and a line is etched on the belly of the blade where the edge of the tape was.

Sometimes semichrome, flitz, or something like that, will remove it. Sometimes not. In that case I live with it. Steel wool or sandpaper leads to more work than I'm willing to do to remove said line. YMMV.

Pithor, I guess you were right about the rust. Polish and strong cleaner wouldn't get the black off. I found a scrap piece of 2K sandpaper and that got it . I'm glad it cleaned up, the blade was near mint before I started honing it. I got it shining again though.
Man, that rust must have set in QUICK. I'll have to try and be more careful about how long I leave the tape on.

I am a messy honer myself (and shaver, too), so I have had my fair share of rust develop while honing. The rust on the spine is another reason to frequently change tape, in addition to frequent changing keeping your honing angle consistent, as electrical tape wears relatively fast. Just the other day that my bevel setting was not coming along as it should and I noticed I had partly honed through my tape.

So when honing with tape, really make sure to change it every so often, preferably do not keep it on longer than ten-fifteen minutes at a time. When you change the tape, wipe of the spine carefully, checking for marks before re-applying tape. It takes ten seconds but will save you quite a few hours of frustration in the end.

Also wipe off the tang regularly if you are like me and get slurry/water somehow to end up in the hand that holds the razor (how about that for a movie title?).

If you're worried about rust while honing, put a teaspoon of bicarbonate in your spray bottle (+ a drop of detergent). A very experienced honer of my nationality (havachat45) told me about it and I swear it works.

As for sticky marks from tape, use orange oil to dissolve them. Denatured alcohol - called methylated spirits in this country - also works, but less effectively.

Unless you are using some kind of incredibly crappy tape, the only thing you should ever need to remove tape residue is the piece of tape that left the residue. Dab the sticky side of the tape onto the residue on the blade and it will pull that residue right off. If you need toxic chemicals to clean up after your tape, then you should buy better tape.