Thread: Coticule honers -- purists or pragmatists?

Since acquiring a BBW and coticule from Ardennes, I have been 'reinvigorated' to using these hones for as much as possible. The recent rash of posts on coticule behaviour, grit, history etc. (which I want to add have been fascinating and incredibly valuable) has also had an effect on my thinking.

Up until now, I've been seeking the sharpest edge in my honing activity, going any which way in order to get a sharper blade, ultimately for the most 'S' of BBS shaves. This led me (and I suspect many others) to finishing on the 0.25 micron diamond pasted paddle. Incredible edges and hairs literally jumping off the edge with HHT. But one downside for my skin type -- mucho irritation.

A light touch would still lead to a little redness in sensitive areas, but yes, the shaves were incredibly close. I shave at night and next morning it still felt like I had just shaved.

With my new coticules (I've had a narrow blue/yellow natural combo for some time, but not good quality) I decided not to use the pastes. My thinking was "What's the point of undoing that lovely smooth scratch pattern from the coticule?". And I'm glad I did, because I'm pleasantly suprised by the results. Although the edge was clearly not as sharp as off 0.25m paste, the resulting shave was completely irritation free, and very smooth. I expected the opposite, possibly because I expected to use a less light touch in order to get the close shave. I was wrong.

However, smooth though it was afterwards, I have noticed that the smoothness does not last as long -- next morning there is a little growth. Very little, and discernable only through touch. Through a little more experimentation I've managed to get the edges sharper, and I'm considering giving up on pastes altogether.

So my quesiton to coticule owners is this:

1. do you take a purist approach and hone only with the coticule because that's really all you need and you won't get a smoother irritation-free shave?
2. do you take a more pragmatic approach and use finer grit naturals after the coticule, and if so, how does it affect the feel of the shave on your skin afterwards?
3. do you use pastes, and if so what's your experience of what that does to how your skin feels?

I should have used a poll on this, but I've typed it now.

Please excuse the very subjective and unscientific premise of this post -- at least compared to some of the recent coticule posts! But what I'm primarily after here is not theory or science, but a very simple "How does it feel to your skin?" judgment. And really, right now, that's what I'm enjoying most.

Cheers
M.

I rarely use a coticule anymore. I found that not all razors like a coticule as much.
But when I do, I always use norton stones first, and use the coticule only for polishing with water, and nothing after that.

However, on most razors I feel no need to use anything else after the coticule. The only reason I don't use it much these days is that my Nakayama Maruichi gives me even better edges, and has a 100% success rate.
When my current project is finished I want to experiment a bit more with the coticule to see if I can improve the results.

When I got into this I started with the Nortons. I soon picked up the Shapton pro series as well and then a Blue/Green Escher and a finally a coticule. I have since added more naturals to the mix as well as diamond paste and chrom ox.

I have always tried to shave off of the hone after stropping and only used the pastes before the second and final pass if the edge wasn't as sharp as I liked. I too noticed a bit of harshness to the blade off of diamond paste and found that following with the chrom ox smoothed it out.

I also found that my face likes the feeling of the razor finished on a natural better then on a synthetic. I must have sensitive skin because regardless of what I shave with a third pass will always give me a bit of irritation hence I make due with two passes and that is enough for bbs most of the time.

Depending on the razor and the condition of the edge at the start I may use any of the fore mentioned hones to get it sharp. I am still playing around with the finishing. The Escher or Coticule versus the Shapton 15 and 30K. So far the Shapton makes it sharper and the naturals make it sharp enough and smoother. I have to see if I can get the smoothness out of the 30K. It may be that my technique needs more refining.

I use pastes to try to make up for my poor honing techniques. And that's classified info, don't let the honing contest judges find out!

I usually follow the Norton with the coticule, as I find it gives me a sharp and smooth edge. Recently I got a Nakayama Maruchi and while I haven't honed many razors on it I find it gives me even sharper edges than the coticule with out the irritation I get from synthetic hones and paste.

The Nakayama step is not needed IMHO, as the coticule gives me perfect smooth shave ready edges.

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

I use pastes to try to make up for my poor honing techniques. And that's classified info, don't let the honing contest judges find out!

Ha ha. I actually wondered if at least one of the razors in the contest would be honed with pastes only from start to finish. I then wondered if said razor would actually win with accolades from the judges only to be revealed post contest that it was a paste honed razor, sending all us HADdicts into a state of whirling confusion.

I still use my cotties.

Chris L

I use my coticule as an intermediate hone because it is a hard hone. I choose not to shave off it.

For finishing, the most effective method I have found to date is using the 10k Naniwa Chosera (5 to 10 passes) followed by Chromium Oxide (5 passes on a leather bed strop). The process is so quick and efficient and to be honest, there is no learning curve and very little skill required. Super smooth close shaves every time. No harshness whatsoever.

I also like my Escher type hone which has a green slate colour followed by Chromium Oxide. It to gives a good smooth edge, but its a lot more finicky to judge when things are right.

As to the comfort of the shave. Interestingly, I think the choice of razor has as big a part to play in this as does the choice of honing/stropping method. I have had razors that given the same honing treatment will cut too close for comfort, give me my perfect shave or feel sharp but crude. I have concluded that once you know you can trust your honing skills, the razor itself can be the difference between comfort and discomfort.

I think determining which razor is best, is very much an individual thing. I therefore don't think it helps to list the brands that I enjoy. Even in seven day sets of the highest quality, you will find good ones and not quite so good ones. It has to be something to do with the steel, but I don't pretend to understand the why's and wherefores.

I always finish with a Nakayama. Some razors are better off with a coticule some with an Escher as second last hone.

Yea, depending on the razor I'll either finish with the coticule, the vintage escher or the vintage japanese stone. I never use pastes with hones. They sharpen differently and I don't like combining them. If I use paste, its paste all the way. I have just a few razors with very hard steel that do better on Diamond Paste.

For me at this point, it's usually either the coticule or the Shapton 16k with a Chrome Ox finish and I'm not shy about the Chrome Ox... I do 50 very light laps on a flattened leather bench hone. I can shave just fine off the coticule or Shapton without the bench strop but I prefer to use the bench strop when I can... the way I do it does not seem to make the razor sharper, just smoother.

Regards

Christian