Thread: Anyone Using A Coticule For Touchups?

To me, of course YMMV, a touchup on the stone every 5-7 shaves
seems a bit excessive in the context of proper stropping (especially
with a nice linen side) -- even with a single razor used daily.

- Scott

I used to use a coticule to touchup all my razors with great success. My stone is fairly hard and it takes a few dozen light laps with water to feel some improvement. The resulting edge is typical for a coticule: smooth and comfortable.

These days I mostly use my Naniwa 12k for touchups, but I still have a couple razors with "pure coticule" edges.

While I don't own a coticle, it does sound like a good plan, depending on the grit of said coticle.
I usually do a couple of conservitive pyramids at the point I feel a touch up is needed. 4K/8K Norton is what I"m talking about of course. The last touch up I did on pre-hone inspection I found I had put a very small but noticable flat spot near the toe of my Dovo, it required me to go do some circles on the 4K side of my Norton to get my even bevel back before doing some more pyramids and finally to my Chinese supposed "15K" PHIG stone, about 40 to 50 very light strokes were done on that rock and finally a few light strokes of Crox.

That MY store and I"m sticking to it, no mater what!

Have fun with it chaps, tinkersd

Sorry, I meant that's MY STORY, thanks.

Originally Posted by tinkersd

Sorry, I meant that's MY STORY, thanks.

Darn, I was hoping I could buy something !

As coticules are my main hones, I do most of my honing on them and all my finishing. Most touch-ups too (although I recently got a small grey Thuringian, but re-touched only one razor one that).

There's a couple of things I've tried. Pure water on most, and it seems to work pretty nicely. 30-60 back-and-forth X-strokes on a coticule seems to work. I have honed quite a bit on quite a few different coticules now and so far I have not overhoned anything (overhoning I guess would be creating a burr, which on a coticule on water has to be virtualy impossible), so you can always do more. I once did a hundred, but the result was no better than after fifty.

Another thing I have tried quite recently is something which seems to work very (surprisingly) nicely. A fellow coticule user came across it and shared it, I have done that quite a bit now and I must say it works too. This is it:

- Load your coticule with water
- Give it ONE back and forth stroke with your slurry stone (or only a one way stroke, less might be more, haven't fine-tuned it yet), you really only want a very thin slurry, only a hint really.
- Make eliptic motions across the hone back and forth (as if you're writing elaborate connected L's) in the following progression: 5 circles, 4 circles, 3 circles, 2 circles. Use only the weight of the blade.
- A crucial aspect: inbetween the progressions dip the razor in clear water.
- Strop like you normally would after honing

That's it. It seems to work, definiately at least worth the try. No need to make lots of X-strokes on clear water.

I tried something like that on the Thuringian as well, it seems to work pretty nicely, but then again it auto-slurries a tiny bit.

Here is a pretty good thread about finishing and touching up (please excuse all the OT stuff that comes later)

http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...oticule-3.html

In post #90 you will find a vid of the "Pigtail" stroke that I am talking about in pervious posts, and how is can be used to very good advantage with a coticule...

I bought a 1.5 x 5" Coti on Lynn's good advice early last year, as the one stone to take along with two straights on a multi-month trip overseas. I also had a strop and a stick of CrOx. Stropping and occasional passes on the CrOx did the job for the first six weeks, then I ran both razors across the Coti for a few dozen light strokes, lots of water. This re-honed the edges very nicely, and I did not have to use the stone again for the remainder of the trip (another six - eight weeks).

An additional benefit to the Coti was that the blue side worked perfectly to keep my two everyday carry knives nicely honed. Great recommendation!

Originally Posted by HamburgO

I bought a 1.5 x 5" Coti on Lynn's good advice early last year, as the one stone to take along with two straights on a multi-month trip overseas. I also had a strop and a stick of CrOx. Stropping and occasional passes on the CrOx did the job for the first six weeks, then I ran both razors across the Coti for a few dozen light strokes, lots of water. This re-honed the edges very nicely, and I did not have to use the stone again for the remainder of the trip (another six - eight weeks).

An additional benefit to the Coti was that the blue side worked perfectly to keep my two everyday carry knives nicely honed. Great recommendation!

Not to hijack this thread, but I had been considering a natural combo coti about 1.25 x 5" and was wondering how the size would work for just maintaining a razor, i.e. retouching the edge? What is your experience on the size you have?

Originally Posted by BobK

Not to hijack this thread, but I had been considering a natural combo coti about 1.25 x 5" and was wondering how the size would work for just maintaining a razor, i.e. retouching the edge? What is your experience on the size you have?

I have found a 5" coticule to be a nice size. Especially if you prefer to hold the hone in your hand. Many of the old barber coticules, that I saw firsthand in shops years ago, were 5x2 1/2.