coticule finishing

**IsaacRN** · 10-02-2007, 08:27 PM

I found that doing 40/60 after the coticule helps out alot...as far as coming right off the coticule.

**LX_Emergency** · 10-03-2007, 08:35 AM

Same here. Works like a charm.

**Howard** · 10-08-2007, 05:49 PM

I use my coticule as the finishing hone and then a natural leather strop. I have used pastes of various types - diamond, CrO, etc. - but now eschew their use due to the mess. Stropping and honing are different operations. Using a paste on a strop turns it into more of a honing operation. BTW, once you put a paste on a piece of leather, that's it, you're committed as you can't get the stuff out. Barbers traditionally used natural leather strops sans pastes after a coticule.

**karkarta** · 10-08-2007, 08:01 PM

I have to agree with Howard 100% - a coticule and a plain leather strop are really all that is needed to put the perfect edge on a razor. Every other method requires a recurring expense and has other disadvantages as well - such as being messy. And if you are going to be honing on a pasted strop, you may as well be honing on a stone - the stone has no recurring expenses involved and you are not dependent on some product that may not be available 10 years from now or whose consistency may vary.

**poona** · 10-13-2007, 12:19 PM

40/60 is the magic number for me also. Not an exact figure but always roughly around that ratio mark.

**Howard** · 10-14-2007, 05:32 AM

I use a plain, natural leather strop after honing on my coticule. It makes a difference you can feel with your thumb and face. If you have an old, natural leather belt, try stropping on that and you'll see what I mean. Natural leather is oak tanned or vegetable tanned leather and is way different from chrome tanned leather. If you don't know the difference, check out the Tandy site for some info. When in the field, I use the back of my sheath (from my sheath knife) as a strop. The stone is contained in the pouch on the front of the sheath. That knife is usually a Randall Model 18 so there's plenty of leather on which to strop.