Thread: Love to hate my coticule

I have a Naniwa 1k SS i use for bevel sets, and then i finish on my coticule. I still cannot figure out this stone, and i sure as hell cant get a comfortable shave off it. Even after a finish on a crox balsa strop, and about 60 laps on the latigo.

This morning was a nightmarish tug fest with a freshly honed solingen blade (zartina cutlery works). I put it down and finished with the DE.

Maybe i just dont have the patience for the coticule or my technique sucks on it.

I start with heavy slurry, moderate pressure, and progress to water. I do 5-10 x strokes per dilution easing back on pressure as i go.

Any ideas here guys? I am about fed up with this stone. Tonight i am going to hone an old W&B i have started restoring to se if it is the razor or my honing that sucks.

Thanks!


Jon

Jon,

Start with a lighter slurry, like cloudy water, try 20-25 x strokes per several drops of water, keep your dilution till water is clear, rinse coticule and razor really well, then try 100 x strokes on clear water; adding more water as needed. Finally, strop really well. Keep trying...
check out http://www.coticule.be/

I just got a new coticule and should be here in a day or two. I hope this thread goes on a bit as I'm sure I will have some battles with this stone.

Once the bevel is set refrain from pressure, all this does is deepen the scratches and break the edge. Invest in a radioshack microscope so you can see the edge as you progress, this will show you what is going on with the edge and is more valuable than any advice over the net.

Thanks. This gives me some new technique to try.

Jon

If you do back and forth strokes on the coti .... or circles, how long does it take for the slurry to show metal ? If it is a fast cutter you'll see the slurry begin to turn gray. If it is a slow cutter, some are faster/slower than others, it may be more of a finisher than a sharpener. Get a norton 4/8 combo and use it after the bevel set. Shave off of the 8k, when it is 'right', and if it is good, then take it to your coticule to see if you get a better feeling and closer shaving edge.

Coticules are not as efficient for the stage we call sharpening (even though every stage in the honing process is sharpening, I think) as properly prepared 4k naniwa hones or something similar are. I couldn't tell from your post if that was something you were already aware of or not - if so, then I guess I can't help you because I had a love/hate relationship with my own coticules

I'm still new to honing but my Coticule has produced excellent results thus far. These videos by gssixgun really helped me get the best out of it:

gssixgun Coticule 1 stone honing part 1.wmv - YouTube