Thread: For guys who have a hard time getting a good coticule edge

Beg pardon if this is a bit long-winded, but as it's geared to newer coticule users I wanted to make sure to fully explain in an easy to understand manner.

I often see newer coti users posting about having a hard time getting a good coticule edge, and while I have seen many methods and tweaks suggested by our very helpful members, I've not seen one that I find quite helpful on the trickier coticules. The very hard coticules are relatively easy, but those just slightly softer stones can be problematic for some, due to their tendency to auto-slurry.

As most of us know, slurry on many stones makes them cut more rapidly and often with a considerably coarser finish. For coticules this is especially problematic as the slurry consists partially of relatively large garnets (compared to that portion which protrudes when the garnets are still contained in the stone's matrix).

This is pretty obvious with quite soft stones, but with those that are still quite hard, the auto-slurry often isn't really visible - mostly what is seen during honing with these is black swarf - however on those borderline stones this often still contains quite a lot of those problematic (for finishing) loose garnets. Very often a member will suggest honing under running water for this type of stone - and while this does help, it still sometimes fails to provide a satisfactorily comfortable shaving edge.

Hence we arrive at the method alluded to earlier. It's quite simple really, and very effective in my experience. Here's all it consists of: in addition to (or even rather than) honing under running water, simply pause every 5 laps or so and rinse the razor, then wipe the surface of the hone with one's fingers with a scrubbing motion while holding the stone under running water. I also usually give the blade a single wipe on both sides under running water - drawing my fingers from spine to edge to thoroughly rinse any tenacious garnets away from both stone and blade.

If you have ever raised a slurry on a stone then rinsed said stone under the faucet, you have seen how all the slurry isn't removed - some always stays behind on the surface of the stone unless it's wiped/scrubbed under running water - running water passing over the surface isn't enough to remove it fully. This technique solves that problem and gives me quite good edges.

Hopefully this is helpful to at least one or two fellows, happy honing!