Thread: Coticule HELP!!

So I am pretty new to honing straight razors, but have experience with lots of woodworking tools. I will usually set a bevel on a 1k and work my way up to the 8k. When I go to the coticule to polish I cannot get the stone to do anything for me. I know it is possible to set the bevel and finish all on the coticule so I want to know what I am doing wrong.

When using the coticule to set a bevel, should you have real thick slurry? almost paste like slurry rather than a watery slurry?

When finishing on the coticule for polish, should there be any slurry at all? or just water?

Thanks in advance

Originally Posted by bwatte

So I am pretty new to honing straight razors, but have experience with lots of woodworking tools. I will usually set a bevel on a 1k and work my way up to the 8k. When I go to the coticule to polish I cannot get the stone to do anything for me. I know it is possible to set the bevel and finish all on the coticule so I want to know what I am doing wrong.

When using the coticule to set a bevel, should you have real thick slurry? almost paste like slurry rather than a watery slurry?

When finishing on the coticule for polish, should there be any slurry at all? or just water?

Thanks in advance

There are a lot of variables involved in honing with a coticule. For a good start to answer your questions, visit The Sharpening Academy @ Coticule.be. Bart has done a great job at developing a systematic approach to using a Coticule.

The short answer is that yes, you'd use a bit of a thicker slurry along with circles or half strokes to set the bevel, and progress with less and less slurry, finally finishing on water only to get that finished edge.

+1 to richmondesi.

Check out Bart's wonderful site...should be everything you need to know about a Coticule there

Yes thank you, I will look into the site a little bit more. One more thing, when going to the coticule off the 8k norton, do you start off with a light slurry before the final polishing with only water? Either way, appx. how many strokes do you use on the coticule after the 8k, with or without slurry?

Originally Posted by bwatte

So I am pretty new to honing straight razors, but have experience with lots of woodworking tools. I will usually set a bevel on a 1k and work my way up to the 8k. When I go to the coticule to polish I cannot get the stone to do anything for me.

I presume you're talking about honing a razor here as I have no experience with woodworking tools.
So, what exactly do you expect the coticule to do? Can you describe the edge at this point (apparently it doesn't matter before or after the coticule)?

Originally Posted by bwatte

I know it is possible to set the bevel and finish all on the coticule so I want to know what I am doing wrong.

I thought you were using a 1k hone for that. Could you elaborate on exactly what are you doing?

At this point, all I am doing is using the coticule for polishing after the 8k. I am not getting the polished edge I am looking for.

Am I not doing enough strokes? should I start with a light slurry and then thin out until I am using water only?

What I meant by saying the coticule can be used for establishing a bevel all the way up to polishing, I was just trying to say that the coticule is a very versatile stone "IF" you know how to use it. Obviously I am not using the stone the correct way.

You can go straight off of the 8k with water only. Could you describe your issues because it may be that more work needs to be done on lower stones before progressing to the Coticule

Are you getting a nice smooth shave off of the norton 8k ? If the answer is yes then IME a coticule used with water only will give an improved feel to the edge following the 8k. Experiment with the number of strokes. Weight of the blade 10 strokes and test shave. If you feel the edge needs more refinement do more strokes. OTOH, if you are not getting a good smooth shave off of the 8k norton then I would say work on your honing until you are. Then go to the coticule. Just IMHO.

Originally Posted by bwatte

At this point, all I am doing is using the coticule for polishing after the 8k. I am not getting the polished edge I am looking for.

This sounds like a problem, how polished do you want your edge to look like, and are you noticing an increase in polish as you progress through the hones.

Then there are the two big questions (1) why do you think the coticule should produce more polished bevel than the 8k stone (2) what does the polish have to do with how the razor shaves (I know about friction, but I have also noticed that the looks don't always correlate with the function).

Originally Posted by bwatte

Yes thank you, I will look into the site a little bit more. One more thing, when going to the coticule off the 8k norton, do you start off with a light slurry before the final polishing with only water? Either way, appx. how many strokes do you use on the coticule after the 8k, with or without slurry?

After the 8k Norton? I think I would just use water, no slurry at all. As to how many strokes, I can't answer that. Depends on the razor (wedge, full hollow, etc) and also the condition the edge is in.

I know it doesn't help, but if I had to give an answer as to how many laps I would have to say: "Until it shaves well."

Wish I could be of more help with that