Thread: not quite passing hht

thanks guys!

the perfect edge... oh boy- i have a long way to go. i almost went out a bought a norton last night. i think i might wait now and get a yellow coticule or a strop and cromium oxide... what do you use to 'finish' edge?

cheers,
ryan

I prefer the coticule for finishing and actual honing. But I have a really coarse beard, and it beats the crap out of my edges.

I've found that edges finished on a pasted strop don't last as long for me--sometimes only three shaves or so.

If you have an average beard, a pasted strop is probably the best initial investment. You can take those barber hone edges up several notches that way.

Josh

Once you're popping hairs, a pasted paddle is the easiest and cheapest way to improve that edge. Like JoshEarl, I think that pasted paddles produce somewhat weaker edges, so don't overdo it on the paddles - do just enough laps to get the blade where you want it then stop.

If you want to stick with hones then there are high-grit barber hones out there (do a search), and the Coticule is certainly popular among the honemeisters and probably the least expensive of the exotic naturals (~$50+) from Howard). The Chinese waterstones are quite reasonably priced and also have a smaller but devoted following. Eschers are both unpleasantly expensive and quite hard to come by, but much beloved by the lucky SOBs that have them. The Shaptons are easy to find but still expensive, and AFAIK none of the honemeisters really recommend them.

it seems like the next step for me cost about the same (pasted paddle, coticule, norton). i think i will stick to the stones/hones instead of pasted strops for now due to the reasons stated by josh, parker et al. so i just need to figure out norton 4k/8k or go with a small yellow coticule w/cotigura...
i should have a few wapienica coming next week and will be eager to get them up and running.

cheers,
ryan