Thread: Shaving off of a Coticule

I received a Bresnick Black Diamond Wedge from an ebay seller that was in nice shape with the exception of a 1/16 chip in the edge and a lot of micro chipping. I took my 1K Shapton and spent a lot of time on circles and a back and forth motion with a bit of pressure that I call paddling for lack of a better term. I finally got the chips out and a bevel started. I then went to my 2K Shapton and finished setting the bevel.

I have a variety of hones, Shapton pros, Norton, Eschers, and coticules. I recently bought a vintage coticule with Made in Belgium ink stamped on the side. Some of you are no doubt familiar with that vintage. It is a natural and a big beautiful rock.

My next move would ordinarily have been to the 5K and 8K Shapton followed by the 15 and just lately the 30 but I decided to give the 'new' vintage coticule a go. I started out on the blue side and did my usual X pattern with light pressure and a slurry. Every 10 or so strokes I did the TNT. Wasn't long before I had the TNT passed and I moved on to the blue with water only and the TPT.

I can't recall how many strokes before I felt it was satisfactory but I finally went to the yellow with water only. Maybe twenty or thirty round trips and I was popping hair off of my leg (none left on my arm ) all along the length of the edge. I honed a bit more and normally would have finished on a higher grit stone or perhaps a few licks on the chrom ox.

I have always been fascinated by the fact that barbers from days gone by honed their razors with Belgian coticules and shaved people one after another on a daily basis. So I decided to follow suit and went in and did 50 & 50 on the linen and leather. I lathered up after my usual prep and got a close and comfortable shave.

I have no particular point to make save that a coticule by itself is plenty good to sharpen a razor and make it shave ready. At least to my personal criteria. That being closeness, smoothness and comfort. I will continue to play around with all of my hones and get razors sharper then this one when I can but it was a nice experience and a test of my newly learned skill.

Originally Posted by JimmyH-AD

I will continue to play around with all of my hones and get razors sharper then this one when I can but it was a nice experience and a test of my newly learned skill.

Jimmy:
I read your entire post and enjoyed it all, but this is the truly important part of the thread, YOUR SKILL...
No matter the stone, the true edge is made from the skill of the guy honing the blade...
Congrats though, there is something cool about doing it old style....

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Jimmy:
I read your entire post and enjoyed it all, but this is the truly important part of the thread, YOUR SKILL...
No matter the stone, the true edge is made from the skill of the guy honing the blade...
Congrats though, there is something cool about doing it old style....

Thanks Glen. I tried to shave with straights over twenty years ago but the lack of skill in honing had me give it up in frustration. It is only through this forum and the contributions of members like you that I have been able to acquire what skills I have. Also being totally obsessed with it may have helped.

I agree with Glen.

Skill or experience matters more than anything else.

Without doubt, some hones are better than others or easier than others is a better description.

But the right touch on the right hone and you get a magically super smooth sharp blade.

It's a combination of skill, hone and experience without any question.

The one thing that I have learnt over the years is that throwing money or buying the latest gimmick is not the answer.

But it is worth while, keeping your eye on the street because occasionally, just occasionally, there is a new boy on the block that is worthy of attention.

Jimmy, I love your keep it simple plan with this one exception, I like to go to the Escher for a final edge, I think its just a notch above, but I can not fault your logic, you can(I have) get a great edge right off the yellow coticule! Keep rockin'!

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Jimmy, I love your keep it simple plan with this one exception, I like to go to the Escher for a final edge, I think its just a notch above, but I can not fault your logic, you can(I have) get a great edge right off the yellow coticule! Keep rockin'!

Yeah, I ordinarily would too if I were using a coticule, a Norton 4/8 or a Tam. The whole point was I just wanted to see what a shave off the coticule by itself was like. I have seen a few coticule aficionados post about how effective a finisher they can be, notably Bart, so that is what that was about. I will continue to use Shaptons or Eschers whenever the mood strikes.

I needed to get some razors too, ebay works for me. If you only have 4 or 5 it is not enough to really get to know your hone. *(The razor too)

With my first set I have learned some about how to get a sharp edge and get the bristles off my face.

With the next set I'd like to get to know my stones better. I think I get the clearest feedback from shaving directly off the stone. Just one pass, with some clean up passes to tell better what's left. Which is essentially my everyday shave anyway. Next day I strop which always gives me an improvement... then i try to improve it again with the next stone.

Like you say one can continue the the progression to a much sharper edge. The cocticule edge I get is almost tugging while truly loading the lather with whiskers.
Shaving oneself it must be far more difficult to loose track of exactly where you are shaving- like with a superduper sharp edge it can almost disapper in the foam a little.

It makes me think for a barber that feedback through his fingers could really help in giving nick free shaves.

A fine stone and a very fine progression, sir.

In the art of honing, everything must work together: your skilled honing stroke, the quality of your hones, the order in which you used them, when to raise a slurry and when not.

I'm sure that coticule is going to serve you well. Using plain water and light pressure, you can use it after almost any of your hones and get a distinct improvement of the edge.

Best regards,
Bart.

Originally Posted by English

I agree with Glen.

Skill or experience matters more than anything else.

Without doubt, some hones are better than others or easier than others is a better description.

But the right touch on the right hone and you get a magically super smooth sharp blade.

It's a combination of skill, hone and experience without any question.

The one thing that I have learnt over the years is that throwing money or buying the latest gimmick is not the answer.

But it is worth while, keeping your eye on the street because occasionally, just occasionally, there is a new boy on the block that is worthy of attention.

I think this is superb advice. I had my HAD period, and eventually realized that – apart from the cost to my pocketbook – I wasn't really learning the potential of each of my hones.

It's easy to succumb to the fallacy that progress in honing is measured by new acquisitions.

For years Lynn used nothing but the Norton 4/8k. If I'm not mistaken all he's added to this is a coticule and/or escher.

I'm in the process of downsizing my hone arsenal and simplifying my sequence, and in doing so I'm learning the wonders of the coticule – how versatile it is, and how it responds to a bit of an experimentation and an ever-surer touch.