Thread: The Dilucot and the Hanging Hair Test

It turns light grey right after the first 20 strokes on one side and continues to get darker for the first 2 sets of diluting, then stays the same with the slurry slowly disappearing.

I had my first shave yesterday evening, after repairing the razor on my coticule.
The shave was ok, somewhere near the sharpness it had before I breadknifed it, I had some trouble getting around the chin area, I had to drag a lot, but surprisingly, i got no nicks.
Now, what I have to do is get it sharper than that, so that I can get a really good shave. Guess I'll return to the coticule this evening, with a very light slurry (1 or to passes with the slurry stone) what do you think?

Hmmm, I tried the above, but no improvement, I even did an extra 80 x strokes on only water, still no improvement in the shaving. Something I must have done wrong in the beginning then?

That Coticule looks good, nice yellow color to it, from what you describe, Slurry turning grey at 20 strokes, It sounds reasonalby fast to me..or par for the course. It's definitely not slow, The slow, hard Coticules are usually green, or gray, pale in color, while the faster cutters tend to be pinkish...One thing you can do yourself is scratch the surface of the stone, If you see a scratch, it's relatively soft, and usually fast cutter...
If you see nothing at all, it's hard, and usually a good finisher...YMMV
It normally takes many Coticules to fully understand this test, with results in the middle, but it should help you...

The simple fact you were able to remove the chip, and make the blade shave your first time out is amazing...I commend you and your efforts...

You said you shaved with the blade and it's not as sharp as it was before....Who sharpened it before? Are you talking about the way it was when you received it, or was it you that sharpened it before you breadknifed it...

The reason I ask is, you may have reached your stones limit...It's difficult for anyone to put into words what they are feeling when they shave...Richmondesi, Paul put it best, he said that a Coticule edge feels dull to him, on his face, but it shaves...I understand what it is he's talking about having used many different type stones and pastes...

When you set the bevel, did you use tape...? How much, one layer, two layers.....? If so, Did you remove the tape once the bevel was set....?

Coticules are capable of very good shaves, Barber's have been using them for years and years. They do take some time to learn, each has it's differences...

Good job, sticking with it......Way to go....!

you just need practice .i would just start again . and dilute very slowly do as many sets as it takes untill you feel your right down to water. take your time make sure every stroke is a nice stroke. also are you stropping on linen before leather.start at a nice milky slurry dilute with one drop of water at a time. see how it goes. you could always finish on a high grit synthetic and then finish with coti water this will bridge the gap of keeness youre missing, plus still give you coti cule feel when shaving. you could always finish with sharpening paste .it is possible to get the keeness from your coticule and with some atempts and good tech nique , good stropping on linen / leather. the hardest bit is getting that final fine edge . you should check out some post s at coticule.be

hope this helps gary

IMO you should send that razor to Bart in Belgium for the free honing. Get yourself a few used antique store, flea market, ebay ..... razors and practice on those. Learning to hone is not something that you can do overnight. Having a pro honed razor to compare your efforts to is essential and gives you something decent to shave with while you are learning to hone your own.

Another thing to remember is to take a break now and then. It can be very frustrating when you are first learning to hone and it is helpful to walk away now and then and come back to the process fresh.

Have fun,

Lynn

Thanks Lynn, I'll do a break for a day or two, however the frustration never lasts long, it's sufficient to read the encouragements on this forum, read some more details about technique in the wiki, or also at coticule.be, and I'm eager to go again from scratch.

Hehe, I never thought one could become addicted to honing a razor, but I'm on my way there, I absolutely need to try again and again and again, until I get the result that I want.

@gary, thanks, what you describe is what I did, but since I only got the coticule, I want to do it on the coticule from start to finish.

@JimmyHAD, maybe soon, but just not yet, I know you are right with what you say, but I still want to try first on my own, another reason I'm reluctant to send it out, is that I got it as a gift, and I don't fully trust the postal service, i wouldn't want to lose it.

@zib, thanks for your comments on the stone, you confirm my idea that it's fast enough in removing steel.
About your question, with "before", I meant right after I breadknifed it, so that means, with a factory "shave ready" hone on it and after some 50 shaves that I had with it. (it felt dull and had a chip missing), so now the chip is repaired and it shaves again, but it still feels dull.

You got me puzzled though with your question about the tape. I didn't use tape to set the bevel, I followed the dilucot procedure step after step as it is explained on the video on coticule.be (bart's video?), he isn't using tape either, he's using tape at the final stage of the unicot method to form a 2nd bevel if I understood this right. So are you saying I should have taped it to set the initial bevel?

P.s. I forgot, I noticed the blade undercutting the dirty water pretty well all along it's length while doing x-strokes, then when I thoroughly rinsed the blade and stone and did x-strokes again on just water, the blade had much more trouble to undercut the water, is that normal?

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

These two things go together. That scratching noise you are describing sounds like you are lifting the spine and digging the edge of the razor into the hone, which will make it very dull.

I would not recommend a coticule to new honer; learning to use slurry is very difficult.

Given the likely damage to the edge at this point, I would highly recommend you send the razor out to have it rehoned.

What is the problem with a coticule for a newbie and what would you recommend? I'm just starting out and have a DMT-E, a BBW and coticule. I'm having some difficulty but have attributed that to my developing skill level and not to the stone. I'd appreciate any advice you could give.

Originally Posted by Qatsats

What is the problem with a coticule for a newbie and what would you recommend? I'm just starting out and have a DMT-E, a BBW and coticule. I'm having some difficulty but have attributed that to my developing skill level and not to the stone. I'd appreciate any advice you could give.

The problem is that they aren't as consistent from sample to sample as synthetics, and it's harder for us to help out with recommendations that are most likely to help you succeed.

Your issues are absolutely attributable to your developing skill, and almost certainly not the stone. You can certainly start off with a coticule or BBW, but the learning curve is a little more challenging. It's a fun and rewarding journey, though. At least it has been for me.