Hi everyone,

I am trying to touch up the edges of two razors on a coticule. The first is a Dovo I got from Lynn a couple of months ago (was a perfect shaver upon arrival) and the second is a TI I bought new about 3 years ago. Now that I have felt what shave-ready feels like (the Dovo), I can confidently say that the TI has never been that sharp.
After considerable work on the coticule (30-50 laps with and without slurry), both razors pass the marker test and "almost" pass the HHT: hairs split but do not pop... and the shave test felt rough
Because this is my only hone, I cannot tell whether the poor honing job is caused by the hone, my technique, or both... Therefore, is there any way to assess the quality of a coticule, next to the honing result? I have read somewhere on this forum that the quality of natural hones can vary... As all coticules look more or less the same, I suppose it does not make sense to put a picture of my stone online... wait, there is a small grey-black spot (about 0.5" by 0.25") on the (yellow) honing surface

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

Best regards,

Tim