Thread: Just when you think it's over..

Not yet. It is on its way. The seller was a little busy so he sent it late.. It's perfectly fine though as i'm patient and I understand that things happen in people's lives. He was very about the whole thing. I will update when it's in my hands.

It arrived yesterday. I lapped it flat ( it was already, but had factory lapping marks on the hybrid side), took an already shaving edge and honed on the creamy yellow side for a while, flipped it and honed on the hybrid side. Wow, nothing like any coticule I have used so far. I'm not saying all new coticules aren't up to snuff with the vintage ones.. This one however seems to be in a different league.

Cool. Have you shaved off it yet?

Originally Posted by Dcaddo1

Cool. Have you shaved off it yet?

Yes I did. Earlier today around 1:30 pm. It was very keen and very comfortable. I haven't had an edge this great in a long time. I find maxing out under running water is greatly rewarding. A very fine finisher that really doesn't need any special technique to work. It just works. The feedback is unreal. It speaks to me...

There's some helpful posts in here if you want more opinion.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...-coticule.html

And +1 on how did it go?

Originally Posted by Frankenstein

There's some helpful posts in here if you want more opinion.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...-coticule.html

And +1 on how did it go?

Thanks for the link Frankenstein.

It is interesting to see people progressions and even their thoughts on the use of coticules. I used to be a Coti or nothing guy but I'm of the belief that not all are made equal, regardless of mine or year mined.

Some proclaim all coticules can finish and I don't doubt that they can't but to what degree are we talking? Just shaving or melting hair off?

At one point I had a 7x2 La Grise that made me dislike coticules and from that point on I sold all my Belgians.

This little piece of Belgian real estate restores my faith in the fabled Coti edge made from my own hands. I'm glad and hope to make a video using it to finish. It will get that suction feeling as described by Dr Matt.

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

Thanks for the link Frankenstein.

It is interesting to see people progressions and even their thoughts on the use of coticules. I used to be a Coti or nothing guy but I'm of the belief that not all are made equal, regardless of mine or year mined.

Some proclaim all coticules can finish and I don't doubt that they can't but to what degree are we talking? Just shaving or melting hair off?

At one point I had a 7x2 La Grise that made me dislike coticules and from that point on I sold all my Belgians.

This little piece of Belgian real estate restores my faith in the fabled Coti edge made from my own hands. I'm glad and hope to make a video using it to finish. It will get that suction feeling as described by Dr Matt.

It's such a strange thing. I agree that any coti can finish - and if you have a stone, any stone, and commit to it, it's surprising the edge you can get. But if you think, ah maybe it's not the best, the result seems quite different.
But there's no denying some are more fun to use than others.

Originally Posted by Frankenstein

It's such a strange thing. I agree that any coti can finish - and if you have a stone, any stone, and commit to it, it's surprising the edge you can get. But if you think, ah maybe it's not the best, the result seems quite different.
But there's no denying some are more fun to use than others.

Are you using them as a finisher or one stone?

How many have you gone through to find the "one"? The "Alpha-Coti" The "one Coti to rule them all"

After 3 coticules I found my one.

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

Are you using them as a finisher or one stone?

How many have you gone through to find the "one"? The "Alpha-Coti" The "one Coti to rule them all"

After 3 coticules I found my one.

I haven't done a lot of honing recently. I've been a little too stressed for it. Perhaps one day in the future I will be able to get back to it.

To talk about the past I've been using them as one stone, and finishers for a while. My first one came from the perfect edge via Gary about 6 or 7 years ago. It is a good stone, 5x3 and easy to use. When I got it I was able to maintain my razors on it, but I didn't have the understanding of how to hone ebay specials so after a while I went into synthetics. I then went the Thuringian way, just thinking one day I might go back to them. That day came a few months ago and the first thing I noticed was they had multiplied. Instead of one I had ten, lol.

I can honestly say, like everyone else, you could use any one of them for a one stone or a finisher. My personal favourite is the little rose rock 4x2. It's definitely not the best one, but I connect with it and find the size really easy to use (elipticot). It only cost about $30 so I find more satisfaction in getting a good edge out of it over the more expensive ones. I would really love to get an Old or Deep rock of the same size one day.
At present all my rotation have gone from bevel to finish on cotis. What brought me back to them was 1. understanding, and 2. simplicity of just one hone to prepare my razors.
In terms of finding a great one, page two of this thread covers that: http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...i-lap-not.html

As an interesting aside, I think the G20k (with 1/3k rubber) is a better one stone hone, lol, but for whatever reason I just don't really care for the edges off it anymore.

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

It is interesting to see people progressions and even their thoughts on the use of coticules. I used to be a Coti or nothing guy but I'm of the belief that not all are made equal, regardless of mine or year mined.

Some proclaim all coticules can finish and I don't doubt that they can't but to what degree are we talking? Just shaving or melting hair off?

I would put money on it that most people who think most coticules can provide a finished edge will agree with you that not all are made equal. There are definitely differences between coticules, also within the same vein.

Note that I said 'most coticules' because there definitely are coticules that are not suitable for razor honing; I have one. It is unusable for razors because it has hard inclusions that will damage the fine edge on razors. So far that is the only type of coticule that I've found that is unusable on razors, but for instance there are those that are dead slow on slurry, which can be tedious at the early bevel stage - they are not very common, though. And I know of at least one person who likes a nice and slow stone.

I never had a coticule edge that melted my stubble off. Every edge I have had off a coticule, even my most successful ones, provide the slight sensation of grabbing the stubble, more or less - if I go real slow and pay acute attention to how it saves. Still, these are perfectly smooth edges, very keen and easy on the skin. But "melting off" stubble would be hyperbolic.

It took me a while to find a coticule I could consistently get good edges on. But this was due to me both learning how to use coticules, reading feedback and making it difficult for myself by starting honing before I could shave properly. I got some great edges off all my coticules, including my first one, I was just not very consistent in doing so. The thing is, a specific coticule is 100% consistent. It does not change or vary, it is the user who does. So if you get a great edge off a specific coticule, then you as a user are able to get a great edge on that coticule; what you need to learn is how to get consistently good edges off one. And that simply takes time.

My first coticule was the most difficult coticule I have ever encountered. Not because it was a challenging stone per se, but because it was my first. I got frustrated so many times: I had trouble figuring out the proper slurry density; I worried about losing slurry along the edges of the stone; how much pressure to use and when; when/how to use tape, etc. Again, the problem was consistency, as I did get great edges early on (mainly through unicot - the secondary bevel method). They were just few and far between.

Normally I don't think vein matters that much, but in this case it's relevant. It took me a few months to figure it out on a general level, so you could think there was some sort of issue with the stone. There was not. It was a La Veinnette, one of the most renowned veins, historically as well as nowadays; universally well liked and on the whole quite consistent as a layer, one that is said to be among the easiest to learn on. It was roughly 10x5x2.5 cm, not huge, but more than enough. It moved to Norway last year I think, where its owner is most satisfied with it. I have come to prefer thinner stones as I find them easier to balance and otherwise manipulate in my hand.

I really feel the individual perspective is much more of a decisive factor in 'finding the One coticule' than the actual coticules tried. Quite like razors, really.