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.