Originally Posted by
StraightRazorDave
You know, I was thinking about this thread and the coticule as a finisher. I mentioned that I have a couple of coticules and a couple of vintage thuringians. The vintage thuringians work very well and give me a very sharp edge when used at the end of the progression.
On a couple of my razors this is what I've noticed: I honed then up to 8000, then finish on my coticule. Strop and get a smooth-close shave. Then give them a few passes on my yellow-green thuringian, strop and shave. This shave gives me a bit of irritation. I then give the razor a few passes back on my coticule, strop and shave. (These are on different days btw). The shave right off my coticule seems to agree with my face more.
I am by no means saying that the coticule is a better finisher than a thuringian, just that it seems to work better on my face and with my shaving technique.
Also, I think a HUGE part of your like/dislike of the coticule in general is based on your coticule's particular properties. The one that I have great success with at the end of my honing progression was ordered for Howard and he gave me his hardest 8x2 he had specifically for polishing purposes. It polished VERY well, but also slow as hell.
My coticule gave me great results as a finisher because it is one best suited for such purpose. It someone had a comparable one and tried to sharpen a razor on it, it would probably yield less desirable results. A similar argument could be made for a very soft coticule in reverse. i.e. It would excell at removing metal quickly and sharpening, but probably not be the best polisher.
I thought of all of this while I was shaving earlier....It's supposed to be a time of relaxation, but my mind's always thinking. :) Just thought I would share my thoughts!