Thread: My first honing on coticule

BTW, I only have a coticule, thurry and barber's hone.

is that possible to post all your stones +razors pictures?
specially i like to know what type barber hone you have name .2 colors or not, Thurry is new ones or old ones, Lastly please do ask from the seller about your coticules.
if the seller as you said deals with straight razors then you are in very good shape . he could confirm is your coticule good enough for straight razors.
gl

Originally Posted by rickboone

Should I start from the beginning or where? Say the razor has the bevel set and shaves arm hair and my marker test shows well? Wondering how/ where to start?

Try the TNT. If the razor doesn't grab your thumb nail uniformly from heel to point the bevel needs more work. If it passes that and shaves arm hair touching the skin keep at it with light slurry until it will pop arm hair without touching the skin. The razor con video with Lynn and Glen honing here is a good tutorial on some honing techniques. You can't rely on prescribed numbers of strokes with what you have and what you are doing.

You have to hone and test to assess the progress you are making. The instructions in that unicot method were guidelines but each razor is different and may need more or less work. IME setting a bevel with a coticule is a task that requires patience and persistence. Some are faster cutters than others. You should see your slurry getting dark from the steel removal as you go. If it shows up fast you may have lucked out with a fast cutter. The Thuringan will probably be a good finisher once you've gotten the razor as sharp as you can on the coticule.

As you no doubt are starting to discover, honing is and art, and once you add variables to the system is gets really crazy. Your coticule is a big variable, as well as trying to do the whole process with the one stone... yikes...

As much as I want to have all naturals for my straights, I just haven't gotten there. However once I set my bevel up to 1k it's off to the naturals for maintainance from then on.

Look up the member map up in the "Community" tab and see if you have anyone close that you can contact. More eyes on the system can help out. It's not always easy to see your own shortcuts. I'm planning to film myself at different angles to see if I'm shortcutting anywhere, I dread watching them

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

is that possible to post all your stones +razors pictures?
specially i like to know what type barber hone you have name .2 colors or not, Thurry is new ones or old ones, Lastly please do ask from the seller about your coticules.
if the seller as you said deals with straight razors then you are in very good shape . he could confirm is your coticule good enough for straight razors.
gl

My barber's hone is a Swaty 3 line.
I will try to get a few pics later. Off to celebrate cinco de mayo.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Try the TNT. If the razor doesn't grab your thumb nail uniformly from heel to point the bevel needs more work. If it passes that and shaves arm hair touching the skin keep at it with light slurry until it will pop arm hair without touching the skin. The razor con video with Lynn and Glen honing here is a good tutorial on some honing techniques. You can't rely on prescribed numbers of strokes with what you have and what you are doing.

You have to hone and test to assess the progress you are making. The instructions in that unicot method were guidelines but each razor is different and may need more or less work. IME setting a bevel with a coticule is a task that requires patience and persistance. Some are faster cutters than others. You should see your slurry getting dark from the steel removal as you go. If it shows up fast you may have lucked out with a fast cutter. The Thuringan will probably be a good finisher once you've gotten the razor as sharp as you can on the coticule.

I notice the slurry turns black really quickly. My assesement was the testing of arm hair. I haven't really done much in teh way of a tpt or tnt. I tried the TNT and really have no idea what I'm feeling for. Every time I've done it it feels the same at every level.

patience and persistance for sure. I will hit this again later on.

I wasn't so much expecting that an exact number of strokes would work. I was doing 30 each side, then checking the arm hair. Took many, many times before it halfway shaved arm hair. maybe I should've kept going until it shaved a little better on the arm hair?

You would say the thurry should finish more favorable than the coticule?

As stated earlier, it could take hours. I will keep this in mind and get comfortable.

Using the coticule the slurry quickly turns to a thick paste then starts drying out. I keep adding a few drops of water to keep the stone wet. Then it turns grey, so I add more water and eventually grab the slurry stone to create a new milky slurry. Am I doing this right? Anything here I should know?

Originally Posted by DwarvenChef

As you no doubt are starting to discover, honing is and art, and once you add variables to the system is gets really crazy. Your coticule is a big variable, as well as trying to do the whole process with the one stone... yikes...

As much as I want to have all naturals for my straights, I just haven't gotten there. However once I set my bevel up to 1k it's off to the naturals for maintainance from then on.

Look up the member map up in the "Community" tab and see if you have anyone close that you can contact. More eyes on the system can help out. It's not always easy to see your own shortcuts. I'm planning to film myself at different angles to see if I'm shortcutting anywhere, I dread watching them

I did this once. Will have to contact the person again. This was a while back. I agree, having a pair of eyes to see is great.

I will have to get myself a bevel setter one day. Though, this is my only un-honed razor. Something I was just playing around with, really.

Originally Posted by rickboone

I notice the slurry turns black really quickly. My assesement was the testing of arm hair. I haven't really done much in teh way of a tpt or tnt. I tried the TNT and really have no idea what I'm feeling for. Every time I've done it it feels the same at every level.

patience and persistance for sure. I will hit this again later on.

I wasn't so much expecting that an exact number of strokes would work. I was doing 30 each side, then checking the arm hair. Took many, many times before it halfway shaved arm hair. maybe I should've kept going until it shaved a little better on the arm hair?

You would say the thurry should finish more favorable than the coticule?

As stated earlier, it could take hours. I will keep this in mind and get comfortable.

Using the coticule the slurry quickly turns to a thick paste then starts drying out. I keep adding a few drops of water to keep the stone wet. Then it turns grey, so I add more water and eventually grab the slurry stone to create a new milky slurry. Am I doing this right? Anything here I should know?

With the TNT a razor that is dull will slide across the nail without grabbing at all. As it gets sharp it will begin to grab. When it offers resistance because it is digging into the nail it is ready to move on to the TPT. How this should feel is a learned skill. IOW, knowing how much resistance to look for. Just the weight of the blade BTW.

For the TPT if you have a new DE blade to try it you'll get an idea of what you're feeling for. Here again it is resistance. A dull blade won't grab the thumb pad the way a keen edge will. Arm hair is fine to test with as long as it lasts. It becomes a scarce commodity as time and honing go on so learning the other tests is good to preserve the arm hair for another day and avoid looking as if you have a skin condiition.

I put a lot of water on my stone and create the slurry. I do add water if I have to but my slurry/water seems to last a pretty good while. If it is very discolored ai rinse the stone and start with clean slurry. Just me, not sure what others do. I dilute when I get to the point where I intuitively know it is time. The TPT and arm hair tell me too.

Some people might disagree but for my particular face a razor finished off of a Thuringan gives a slightly better .... as in more smooth and comfortable shave. Nothing shabby about the shave off a coticule and sometimes I go with that if I'm in the mood. Try it both ways once you get that razor and maybe others shaving for you.

I would email Bart pictures of your coticule, they're all different and yours may work differently than mine, etc.

mine is a very fast cutter with slurry, super fast, it turns slurry black in ten passes. On water it's the slowest hone in the world and polishes only after about 200 passes or so. It is a La Nouvelle Veine and from the faster side of that layer of coticule.I really had to tune in my dilution method to make sure I get keenness from the water without diluting to much and not having any keenness. You can see mine here:
http://coticule.be/the-cafeteria/topic/458.html

Once Bart tells you what kind of Coticule you have you can then ask him the speed of the hone (about) in slurry and in water. Then you will need to tune your dilution method to get the razor to be truly shave ready.

Honing only on a coticule is HARD and it takes a TON of experience and practicing. This is why I prefer synthetic hones and then finishing on an Escher.

You can PM me if you want me to explain more, I have practiced this method.

My coticule: It has some words on it, but the only one I can read is "Shields."

I brought it back out tonight, slurried up and started at it. I checked and it could shave arm hair. So, I did a few x strokes. Then... I remembered the marker. I did this then started at it. The marker took a while to come off. I was thinking a few passes it'd be gone. But, not. I used green so I could see better.

Well, I said my stroke needs work. I mentioned when I take the edge away from me I sometimes come off the hone. The marker shows I do this quite a bit. The toe on that side had hardly any bevel. The marker stayed there a LONG time.

So, my plan is to try and start over. I will try sitting at the kitchen table instead of holding it in my hand. I like the feel of holding the hone in my hand but I am not having good results. Obviously.

The marker test will tell you what you need to do relative to the stroke. When I apply marker I generally get more than I need. We are only concerned with the very edge of the razor. Once the maker reveals the effective stroke I wipe the residue off with a solvent such as lighter fluid (because I have it) or alcohol.

Take your time and focus on the stroke. If you have to put your index finger on the point do so. It may be a 90 degree angle is what is required or it may be a heel leading 45 degree angle. In extreme cases the rolling x. The marker will tell you which is appropriate for that particular blade.

The focus should be on keeping the spine on the hone without lifting it with the bevel that is directly parallel also on the hone without lifting it. Bevel setting requires some pressure while sharpening demands less and finishing even less. It is an art as well as a science. Hard to put into words. Keep at it and you'll get there.