Thread: Coticule after other finisher?

Originally Posted by Marshal

Bouncing off this, as you can see, many (more? ) coticules are prone to auto slurry. The fact that the garnets are loose an prone to break out of the bonding material makes them very fast, an quite versatile for a natural stone. The downside is that should a larger garnet break loose, you're going to end with an edge that is disappointing to shave with.

I might suggest you try honing under running water. You can't stop the stone from auto slurrying, but you can wash the slurry away to minimize the damage it does.

I have to use my coticule with a 50/50 mix of mineral oil and mineral spirits to thin it out and use very light pressure. Otherwise the particulate it releases can degrade an 8K edge. When the stone wants to cooperate it is a good finisher. When it doesn't, I seriously consider relegating it to working on chisels and knives.

I have heard many get good results under running water, but it never works well for me. Mainly 2 issues I run into, maybe someone can educate me on what I do wrong.

1) The ergonomics stinks, I'm leaning over the sink with my arms extended further than normal. Typically, I hold the stone about shoulder height and pretty close, like a T-Rex honing.

2) And this is the toughest, I get crazy sticktion/suctioning of the blade on the hone. Dr. Matt claims this is when it is done, but that is far from true in my case as it occurs 10ish laps in. Once it gets bad enough, I go back to thorough rinses and my dinosaur position.

Albeit, this is generally with one specific coticule that I use the most with stone-in-hand honing

One other thing that may help is honing edge trailing. If a stone drops a particle it may scratch the bevel but it won't ding your edge.

With respect to honing under running water, I dislike it for the ergonomic reasons you mentioned. Plus I don't want my fingers pruned/wrinkly from a prolonged honing session. I'd rather stay as dry as possible.

I've never experienced the amount of stickiness you and Dr. Matt describe, even under running water. I tend to presume a blade is done when a quick visual check with a loupe shows the edge has ceased improving, and the blade passes a shave test to my satisfaction. Sticking does give an indication the edge is about as polished as the stone will make it, but I don't just assume the work is done because the blade stuck a bit. That's also part of why I use oil, or soapy water/extra wet shave lather. Lubrication prevents that sticky feeling and allows the blade to glide across the hone freely.