Thread: what does a coticule edge feel like

Originally Posted by 32t

I am thinking about starting a thread about Hirlauism's,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Originally Posted by Hirlau

don't do that, they'll toss me into the box with no smokes.

Originally Posted by tintin

been thinking about getting a coti but after some reading on the superior shave web site i read a statement that made me wonder. i have a tough beard and have been happy with the edge off my 8k naniwa ss. they seemed to say that a coti edge might not be good for a tough beard. what is your experience?

I can't speak for anyone but me, and IME I've gotten very fine shaves with coticule edges. I will say that not all coticules are created equal, so that needs to be taken into consideration. I also cannot speak for anyone's whiskers but mine. I've never shaved anyone but me. My beard is tough enough around the knob of the chin, sides of the jaw line, and down the neck, but I don't know that it is as tough as yours.

Dang Jimmy that's an old one,,,,

Well, I've never shaved with a razor of mine that was honed with a coticule, so I would not know if it hit me in the face. I touched up a Tanifuji with a translucent ark yesterday that would not shave very well and I had a smooth and comfortable shave. I know that a lot of people do not like arks as they are notoriously slow, and they are correct! Non the less, very nice!


Mike

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm0uSVvjsOA

Don't think, Feeeel!

I have to wait until april to be able to test my coticule (it's a birthday present).

If it's anything like the edge I got off a Lorraine/salm type the other day then it's going to be good!

I've had tuggy shaves from a certain coticule, smooth but not sharp enough for me; but I've also had tugless shaves from another coticule, also smooth and sharp enough; both left me skin feeling smooth, skin friendly.

Because it doesn't feel as sharp as a thuringen edge, I find myself paying more attention to shaving technique and beard prep, but that's just me. (Which is not a bad thing)

It all depends, but there's a lot of experimenting with these stones, there's a lot of variety; I just finished a razor on a coticule with lather wheres with water my edges were OK, but not good enough for my liking, so I'll see how that goes.

Different veins get different results, I think, many say the results are negligible and that most coti's leave somewhat of the same sort of edge; I do seem to prefer some veins over the other.

Trial and error it has mostly been, and I most likely haven't fully conquered the art of honing on a Coticule.
But when you get it right, it's a wonderful thing, I haven't always completely appreciated, but I'm starting to now.

I also have read and have experienced that when I'm finishing on a Coticule it needs a good stropping session, this should give excellent results.

Maybe a little off topic, but my best shave I ever had was a razor finished on a BBW with just water, but one of my least pleasant shaves were also coming off a BBW, so hmm yeah.

Dull. But in a nice way. Mushy, buttery, some call it smooth?? I find them the kindest to my skin but yet to find a coti that you do not feel some resistance especially ATG. You love em or hate em.Personally I think there is to much debate about keenness. Granted the high grit synthetics are bullet proof and cotis are not easy stones to use. At the end of the day a razor only needs to be keen enough to cut hair. This may not be the most pleasant shaving experience, but I have had some of my closest shaves from these edges with enough passes. Very, very forgiving edge to the skin and you can really get stuck in with a bit of pressure.
I shaved yesterday with a razor honed on a Gokumyo 20000 and to be honest the shave was excellent (cruised through whiskers just razor weight) but felt that if my touch was anything but light as a feather I would have grafted some face skin. And to be honest the result was not very much better if at all. Just my 2 cents

Joe

I'm told the more recent Coticules are inferior to the older ones and even those came in grades so it depends whether you have an OK one or a good one or a very good one or an excellent one.

The one I have is probably about 15 years old and when I got it that Coticule was my best stone and I used it as a finisher and I got great edges from it. Of course when I got my Escher the edges were better but the Coticule was darn good for shaving.

I find my zulu yields a keener smoother edge than my La Veinette (slightly). Where the coticule really comes into its own is when backing off a really keen or even harsh edge honed by other means. Between 5 to 20 laps usually does the trick. Nothing dials in smoothness without losing much keenness like a coticule IMHO.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I'm told the more recent Coticules are inferior to the older ones and even those came in grades so it depends whether you have an OK one or a good one or a very good one or an excellent one.

The one I have is probably about 15 years old and when I got it that Coticule was my best stone and I used it as a finisher and I got great edges from it. Of course when I got my Escher the edges were better but the Coticule was darn good for shaving.

Given that they are all in excess of 70 million years old - or 700 hundred million depending on which book you read, the fact that you can discern a difference in 15 years is incredible.