First Efforts with BBW/Coticule

[LawsonStone]

So having gotten my nice BBW/Coticule from SRD, and with the wife gone Saturday, among my other tasks for the day, I decided to try out the process described in the honing wiki involving the DMT 1200, the BBW, and the Coticule.

Selected 3 razors bought off eBay: a Henckels, a Robeson, and a home-made job mating a set of TI replacement scales to a blade liberated from some bad scales and then cleaned--I think it was Lancaster Cutlery.

Set the bevels using DMT 1200 and/or Norton 1K and got the bevels looking very nice, though the Lancaster had to be set aside with other problems--uneven hone wear, a slight frown, etc. Not a good "learning" razor. Continued with the Henckels and Robeson.

Then set up a milky, watery slurry on the BBW and gave each razor 100 strokes, toward the end diluting the slurry down to clear water. Next, per the wiki, 100 strokes on the coticule with clear water.

Stropped and shaved this AM full 3 passes, using one each of the razors on different sides of my face (I'm one sick puppy!)

Overall, I liked it. I am not sure exactly what's different about the "coticule edge" but it certainly did seem smooth. Smoother than off my Naniwa 12K? Not sure, but I was happy with the results, they did feel different in a way I can't describe right now--might just be placebo effect--and so I will likely try again.

I do like the idea of one stone for the whole process after setting the bevel, though the stroke-count is way higher than I'd use on the Naniwas. The BBW/Coticule combo could be a good stone for travel when I'm away a long time and might need to refresh a razor, though the barber hone reigns on that point.

Thanks to all who have offered advice and encouragement!

[Joed]

Congrats on your purchase. In starting out with the coti lap counts are a good general rule but your results may be less than optimal. To become proficient with this or any other hone you will need to learn and understand the signs while honing and how they relate to the quality of edge. Using lap counts does not guarantee the edge will be at it's best. With the coti the density of the slurry and the rate of diluting will also impact the edge quality and time spent on honing. Since there so many variables to observe and learn along with variations between hones there is a steep learning curve to get the best from this hone when used in a one hone method or even with slurry. For those that don't mind the learning curve it is a great hone. For those that just use it for a finishing hone the learning curve is much less.

Enjoy your coti journey.

[Utopian]

Sure the stroke count is higher, but as a history buff, you should appreciate some things used to take a little longer. For instance, the nights will getting chilly soon, you might want to make a trip to the thermostat...

as opposed to sharpening your axe, walking into the woods,...

I hope you have fun playing with your new toy!

One other thing you can try is to allow the coticule to start to go dry as you are finishing. Sometimes you can get a slightly better edge that way.

[LawsonStone]

Actually I was thinking just that! While it was more strokes, a single-hone process saves a lot of lapping and changing up the workspace, and I rather enjoyed the thought that I had the whole process potentially in a single stone here. I know bevel-setting on a coticule is a long process, but still that it's possible is a fun thought.

Sure the stroke count is higher, but as a history buff, you should appreciate some things used to take a little longer. For instance, the nights will getting chilly soon, you might want to make a trip to the thermostat...

as opposed to sharpening your axe, walking into the woods,...

I hope you have fun playing with your new toy!

One other thing you can try is to allow the coticule to start to go dry as you are finishing. Sometimes you can get a slightly better edge that way.

[gssixgun]

Actually I was thinking just that! While it was more strokes, a single-hone process saves a lot of lapping and changing up the workspace, and I rather enjoyed the thought that I had the whole process potentially in a single stone here. I know bevel-setting on a coticule is a long process, but still that it's possible is a fun thought.

The moment of truth...

Psssst it isn't the stone, any stone that you can comfortable shave off of, and you can raise a slurry on, can do the same exact thing.... Even a lowly Norton 8k can do a "One Stone Hone"
You just have to make the effort....

[richmondesi]

The moment of truth...

Psssst it isn't the stone, any stone that you can comfortable shave off of, and you can raise a slurry on, can do the same exact thing.... Even a lowly Norton 8k can do a "One Stone Hone"
You just have to make the effort....

Glen, I'm curious, how long does bevel setting on a Shapton 30K with slurry take? I have one, but haven't tried it yet... may need to do that

[LawsonStone]

Congrats on your purchase. In starting out with the coti lap counts are a good general rule but your results may be less than optimal. To become proficient with this or any other hone you will need to learn and understand the signs while honing and how they relate to the quality of edge. Using lap counts does not guarantee the edge will be at it's best. With the coti the density of the slurry and the rate of diluting will also impact the edge quality and time spent on honing. Since there so many variables to observe and learn along with variations between hones there is a steep learning curve to get the best from this hone when used in a one hone method or even with slurry. For those that don't mind the learning curve it is a great hone. For those that just use it for a finishing hone the learning curve is much less.

Enjoy your coti journey.

I understand about the stroke-count not being the key thing, but I was in alien territory here since I know Belgian hones are just different, so i decided to risk these eBay razors on the experiment and just do 100 strokes. For such a mechanical approach, it came out really well!

These stones feel very different from any others I've used, so I'm keeping the training wheels on right now.

I still wish someone could put in words what the "coticule edge" difference is. these razors do shave differently, but it's hard for me, with just 6 months logged with straights, to describe it.

[basil]

I know I'm not the most experienced honer but I use my coticule differently than everyone else has said so far.

I start on the bbw side and raise a thick slurry and do a set of 30 half strokes on each side.

From there I do 20 laps and then dip my finger in a cup of water and add that to the stone. I'll keep doing the 20 laps till it's just water then flip the stone over and start on the coticule.

On the coticule I'll start with a thinner slurry but still do laps of 20 until water. After the plain water I'll rinse the stone and the blade and do another lap of 20, if I feel like it still needs it I'll do another 30 on plain water.

For me this gives me an nice sharp and smooth shaving edge.

Also I always tape the spine so I don't get excessive wear on the spine. And some stages might take longer or shorter depending on how the blade undercuts the water on the stone.