Here we go again... coticule thread

[Whiskers]

Ok, so I did quite a few laps on the coticule with just water only, stropped and had a shave. The particular blade I used on the coticule had an established bevel but the sharpness or keenness was not very apparent. In other words, it needed some work to bring it up to par. I decided to check the edge every 50 laps or so.

The edge just got sharper and sharper but did not pass any tests such as the HHT or something along those lines. I didnt really know what to expect regarding a shave from a blade like this. I have previously passed these tests easily off of a Norton 8k and the coticule edge felt sharper in comparison but didn't pass the 'tests'. I dont put much faith in these tests per se, but worthy of comment I thought.

Man, what a smooth shave. This morning's shave made me a faithful believer in the coticule! Two passes without a ding. I am very impressed with this stone... so much, in fact that I might end up buying another one ... or seven ! HA !!

Kitchen Cabinets here I come !!

[gary haywood]

Off the coticule it does'nt pass hht or only just but i have found that after stropping you can passhht after copti i finish on chr.5 oxide that realy adds to the coticule and is very consistant.

[Bart]

Ok, so I did quite a few laps on the coticule with just water only, stropped and had a shave. The particular blade I used on the coticule had an established bevel but the sharpness or keenness was not very apparent. In other words, it needed some work to bring it up to par. I decided to check the edge every 50 laps or so.

The edge just got sharper and sharper but did not pass any tests such as the HHT or something along those lines. I didnt really know what to expect regarding a shave from a blade like this. I have previously passed these tests easily off of a Norton 8k and the coticule edge felt sharper in comparison but didn't pass the 'tests'. I dont put much faith in these tests per se, but worthy of comment I thought.

Man, what a smooth shave. This morning's shave made me a faithful believer in the coticule! Two passes without a ding. I am very impressed with this stone... so much, in fact that I might end up buying another one ... or seven ! HA !!

Kitchen Cabinets here I come !!

Coticule edges are very smooth. No micro-serrations whatsoever. For that, they need more keenness to catch a hanging hair, than an edge that caries microscopical teeth. But they are very friendly to the skin.
I you can manage to pass a HHT right off a Coticule (trust me: with some practice it can be done, regardless of the hair as long as it's a clean one), you 'll be in shaving nirvana once you stropped that razor and start shaving. (please note that I am talking about passing HHT off a Coticule and not off any other hone)

Cheers for your great results,
Bart.

[gary haywood]

I like your website bart i would'nt mind a razor to be honed by you

[PA23-250]

Well, I officially bit the bullet: I bought an 8x3 from Vintage. (Hand selected by Rob for razors.) Even got a box to hold it.

It should be here next Mon...

[Howard]

Keep playing with the coticule. Lots of folks get great, shave ready edges from them. Always consider the possibility that the problem might be the razor and not the stone. You might also try different honing techniques as I've noticed that certain razors will sharpen differently off of the same stone. I'm getting great results these days with a side hone technique and with some razors I have to use a few back honing finishing strokes to get the job done. There are lots of variables so keep experimenting.

[BeBerlin]

i would'nt mind a razor to be honed by you

You would not, indeed.

[kingreverent]

Hi,
As you can see I'm living 'northwest of coticule' in Belgium and last holiday made an excursion around Vielsalm where the coticule is mined.
I couldn't resist to visit the factory and had a very interesting talk with Mr.Celis.
I bought a nice natural combo yellow/blue coticule which he selected especially for honing str8 razors. It's a 'soft' coticule.
He wrote the name of the vein on it: "La nouvelle veine" which means, "the new vein" in french. It gives a wonderful edge.
This part of Belgium is also famous in history. It was indeed here where the "Battle of the Bulge" was fought in 1944. Towns like Ligneuville, Poteau etc. (see the 'Band of Brothers') are in the vicinity. You can still see the foxholes dug in a hurry by american troops in the woods while driving your car, and also some preserved american and german tanks on the crossroads. The lines between the american and german troops were only separated by the road!
See also this link:http://www.belgiumtouristguide.be/pdf/en/BAT60.pdf

[PA23-250]

My 8x3 got here today--a quick lapping and it was show time! Immediately touched up all my razors (2 of which needed a light Dilucot (lots of previous pasting).

This thing cuts FAST w/ water! After coming off the slurry on my Wapi, i did 50 strokes on water and wiped off loads of swarf. I was well & truly shocked! I tried dry as well (before wet & lather) and dry seem much slower than wet. Lather seems to be the slowest & smoothest of all.

It's also reasonably quick w/ slurry as well. It's dark yellow w/ some green-gold wavy coloration going through it (very cool looking). It gives loads of feed back w/ slurry or water (the sensation of the blade trying to cut into the stone when it has nearly maxed out). I've now added some soap to my water to cut down on it (on lather it doesn't do this.) Shave test coming tomorrow; stay tuned.

[PA23-250]

First shave-test report using my Wapi (Dilucot):

Razor went though a 3-day beard very well. 2nd pass was ultra smooth on face. The shave was just about BBS, save for that one trouble spot on the left side of my neck I can never quite get. Otherwise, it was just about as close as my Naniwas (and pasting) gave when I was using those. This was w/o any pasting at all--I'm sure it would be even better with a little crox stropping.

It also appears that my coticule is from "Le Petit Blanche" layer! It's a rare 'un!