First honing.

Here we are. Today I received my coticule and I couldn't help trying it. I placed the stone under a gentle stream of water in the sink in the kitchen and started x-stroke until I felt the resistance increase. Then I increased the water jet until the friction increased again. In the end I removed the insulating tape on the back of the razor and ran to shave. I can't say it has been the best so far but I was able to shave myself sufficiently. For today I am satisfied! Any advice of course is very welcome!:beer1:
Attachment 320992

Hang in there! You are already a step ahead of me when I first started honing... took me a couple of years and sitting down with a mentor to really groove! (and I still find a mystery now and then, where a razor looks/feels like it should be a shaver, but when I go to shave, it's not the best edge...)

Congrats on your first honing!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Aldwyn

Hang in there! You are already a step ahead of me when I first started honing... took me a couple of years and sitting down with a mentor to really groove! (and I still find a mystery now and then, where a razor looks/feels like it should be a shaver, but when I go to shave, it's not the best edge...)

Congrats on your first honing!

---

Thank you so much for your encouragement. I know well that the path is long but I have your good company! :beer1:

Buy a magnifier or loupe so you can see the edge. It’s pretty much the best way to see if the bevel has been set properly for the length of the blade.

I have used a coticule for quite a while and found that it can get the edge to “shave ready”, but I need something to take it to really finished. Chromium Oxide on a paddle strop might be all you need to get it to that next step - and a good strop.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DZEC

Buy a magnifier or loupe so you can see the edge. It’s pretty much the best way to see if the bevel has been set properly for the length of the blade.

I have used a coticule for quite a while and found that it can get the edge to “shave ready”, but I need something to take it to really finished. Chromium Oxide on a paddle strop might be all you need to get it to that next step - and a good strop.

---

Thank you very much. I had already thought about it but I don't know which type is more suitable for the purpose (40x or more?). Regarding setting the bevel, at the moment I don't want to push things that far, my razors are still in good condition so I'll postpone this job as much as possible so to practice a little bit before fighting with the slurry!:)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dobel

Thank you very much. I had already thought about it but I don't know which type is more suitable for the purpose (40x or more?).

---

Everyone will recommend their preferences but after having bought a ton of the things I'll just say don't waste your time on anything but top optical quality.
I use a Bausch & Lomb loupe. 8 - 10 x is plenty.

Another good quality triplet loupe is a Belomo for your consideration.

https://belomostore.com/belomo-10x-triplet-loupe.html

Bob

“Then I increased the water jet until the friction increased again. In the end I removed the insulating tape on the back of the razor and ran to shave.”

I do hope you stropped before shaving. That really is a necessary step.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BobH

Another good quality triplet loupe is a Belomo for your consideration.

https://belomostore.com/belomo-10x-triplet-loupe.html

Bob

---

I love mine.
My "go to" magnification.

Pete <:-}

I use a belomo and a carson handheld microscope.

Sharpie test. It will give much information.

Strop

My last new coticule needed lapping, it was not flat.

Have you honed on coticule with slurry? Did you get a slurry stone with it?

As you finish decrease pressure on razor.

Lovely looking stone, Dobel, and I love your enthusiasm.
Keep in mind that using water only on most coticules does not do all that much to increase keenness, it's mainly to slightly refine and smooth out an edge. It also works as a touch-up for razors that start to feel less comfortable.

What is increasing the pressure from the tap supposed to do? I've heard about finishing under running water (not my favourite, as I found no difference compared to not using running water and it kept running down my elbow) but that is new.

Regards,

Pieter

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DZEC

“Then I increased the water jet until the friction increased again. In the end I removed the insulating tape on the back of the razor and ran to shave.”

I do hope you stropped before shaving. That really is a necessary step.

---

Yes, I did. I often do it before ATG also. Thanks!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by biglou13

My last new coticule needed lapping, it was not flat.

Have you honed on coticule with slurry? Did you get a slurry stone with it?

As you finish decrease pressure on razor.

---

Hi, I hope mine was flat, because I didn't check. I'll do it before next honing. I haven't used the slurry yet just to make things easier. Thanks!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pithor

Lovely looking stone, Dobel, and I love your enthusiasm.
Keep in mind that using water only on most coticules does not do all that much to increase keenness, it's mainly to slightly refine and smooth out an edge. It also works as a touch-up for razors that start to feel less comfortable.

What is increasing the pressure from the tap supposed to do? I've heard about finishing under running water (not my favourite, as I found no difference compared to not using running water and it kept running down my elbow) but that is new.

Regards,

Pieter

---

Thank you very much Pieter! My first purpose was just a touch-up as you said because I believe it will be better for me as a beginner to make things step by step.
Regarding the water, if I'm not mistaken, using a greater flow of water should be a bit like using a higher grit number stone and allows you to finish better. I see you smoke the pipe, make yourself heard also in the appropriate section! Cheers!

There is a lot more to it than you would expect. It sounds like you are being methodical and taking things cautiously. You have a good attitude so stay with it and read up on some ideas.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

There is a lot more to it than you would expect. It sounds like you are being methodical and taking things cautiously. You have a good attitude so stay with it and read up on some ideas.

---

Thank you PaulFlus! I certainly will. Learning from all of you is useful and fun!:tu

For your first try with a coti, well done. Nice looking rock there, too. Definitely lap it. It should be pretty close to flat, but the flatter the better. All you need is a sheet of sandpaper and a 12 x 12 polished marble floor tile or granite countertop sink cutout, or a very thick piece of glass, or a 12 x 12 piece of 3/4" thick acrylic from TAP Plastics. There are also calibrated granite lapping plates made especially for things like that, not too expensive but kind of overkill unless you like to be super meticulous for its own sake.

Obviously you did not need slurry for the razor you honed, but you should find another razor that is a bit more tired, raise a slurry, and gradually dilute it as the edge comes in. Tape not needed, depending on the razor. Running water is the finish. You can up your game by adding shave lather or dish soap to the honing water for the last dozen or two laps, after ensuring that all slurry is rinsed off. Works best with stones that don't auto-slurry much. This picks up the sharpness quite a bit. Light pressure is the key, and you may find that finishing with very short, like 3" long, x strokes also gives you a sharper edge. LIGHT PRESSURE is a key factor in final edge quality. Especially when you have added a buffering agent like shave lather to the equation. Such buffers will make the stone act like a much finer medium and require additional strokes. This is all introducing more variables into the honing equation and we all know that is bad, right? Except no, when you really nail it, you will be happy with the edge. I think it will all come together for you quickly though, from your initial success.

Ive read Glen saying many times to learn honing from the top down. Meaning to learn to touch-up first. Then step down a little more with time and experiance. Most of us dont listen. Lol. Good for you to want to learn to touch-up first. But to learn with a Coti seems way out of line. But thats JMO. Good for you and good luck. Keep learning and practising.

You need all the magnification you can get, to see what is going on. As you learn what to look for and understand the honing process, and what you are seeing, you can get away with less magnification. But until then, you are honing blind.

A Carson 60-120X MicroBrite, lighted handheld scope at $10-15 will help you tremendously. Then it is a matter of understanding what you are seeing.

As said a sharpie run down the edge will help you see where you are and are not honing all the way to the edge. If you lightly run the fiber tip on the edge you can also feel if you have any microchips.

Touching up is all you ever need to do unless you damage the edge and get a chip. Also as said, the importance of stropping cannot be overlooked.

Here is an old post with good micrographs that show a new honer going from start to finish and the razor bevels at each stage of the process. (Second Try at Honing.)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Euclid440

As said a sharpie run down the edge will help you see where you are and are not honing all the way to the edge. If you lightly run the fiber tip on the edge you can also feel if you have any microchips.

---

<Face palm> Why didn't I ever think of that? Good tip. The felt tip definitely alerts you to chips or artifacts. I just never put it together, always thinking about other things, processing other data.

I have the Belomo 10x triplex and it is pretty nice, remarkably well made for the price. A couple cheapies too that I don't use much. A 4x magnifying glass that is surprisingly useful. Out in the shop a microscope that goes up to 2kX which is fun to play around with but isn't all that practical for honing more than one or two razors unless I feel like spending a couple of days with them. Several cheapie USB microscopes and one that clamps on to a phone. But the magnifying glass and the Belomo get the most use from me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Euclid440

As said a sharpie run down the edge will help you see where you are and are not honing all the way to the edge. If you lightly run the fiber tip on the edge you can also feel if you have any microchips.

---

Dear Euclid440, I would be grateful if you could repeat the concept in simpler words. Unfortunately my English is really poor and it seems that even google translator in this case goes into crisis. I regret not having followed Mom's advice to study more...:banghead:

He's talking about using a felt tip permanent marker. Sharpie is a brand name like Magic Marker. In Italy maybe a Tratto pen. Mark the edge of the blade with it to make it black so that when you go over the stone It wears the black marker off of where the stone comes in contact with the bevel.

I also wish that I had learned Italian like I wanted to but alas I took French in school. It doesn't matter though because even though I used to be able to speak it now from lack of use I have lost all I had known. Oh well. :shrug: I looked on a translator and it said penarello. Also he is saying to run the tip of the marker along the edge of the blade which will help you feel where there are chips if there are any.

The goal of honing is to create 2 planes, (bevels) that are flat from heel to toe, and in the correct bevel angle from edge to back of the bevel (in line with the spine) and that meet at a single edge, chip free.

When you hone if the bevels are not flat or in the correct plane angle the hone is not removing steel across the whole bevel, what we refer to (not honing to the edge).

If you mark the bevels with sharpie ink and run the bevel on the stone, any spot where ink is not removed, is where the steel is not touching the stone,(Because the bevels are not flat or in the correct plane.) If you use colored sharpie ink, I like red, it is easy to see quickly, and often without magnification. Usually it is at the very edge.

If the bevels do not meet, you do not have an edge. Inking the bevels will tell you if you are honing to the edge, it will not tell you if you have a microchip. Magnification or your face will tell you that.

This is what is meant by a sharpie marker.

https://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-Perma...%2C192&sr=8-10

Attachment 321027

Attachment 321029

Attachment 321028