Cleveland Nicholas. Honing issues and coticule issues

Hello fellow straight razor loonies. Extremely new to this place. But needed somewhere to start when i bought a razor and a few stones. I feel my biggest issue is honing itself. Might be the cheap razor i bought as well. I own a gold dollar straight i bought for 40 ish bucks. Figured i would get trained up on honing before i get myself a nicer razor. I restored one razor already, an imperial blade that is extra hollow. I shined it up nicely and put new scales on it. I also bought a norton 4/8k stone, a welsh slate stone which in my opinion was a waste of money. But it is a 30 dollar stone. And a very very small coticule. I feel as if i get a smoother edge off a coticule then the norton. The stone i have is 4 1/2 inches long and like 1 1/4 inches wide which to me is a pain in the ass to hone with. I am thinking of just selling my norton and just investing in a decent sized coticule from the superier shave and just do one stone honing with it to save myself the hassle of having tons of stones. I am looking for another coticule which is hopefully bigger. Please keep me updated on where to find one and honing advice.

Welcome to SRP!

You will need more than one stone for one stone honing. The one stone honing concept is based on using one stone 'after' the bevel is set, you need a separate stone for bevel setting, somewhere around 1k. Bevels can be set with a Coticule but it takes a some time; been there, done that. Hang on to your Norton 4k/8k as you can set a bevel on the 4k side, just takes a little longer and from what I've read a while back that is basically used used for setting the bevel.

As far as the Gold Dollar goes it isn't the best razor to learn with as they have some heel/shoulder issues that need correcting first which takes time and experience. You can do a search here on SRP concerning those issues. If those issues were corrected before you bought it then you should be OK.

Enjoy the journey!

Hi and welcome. I wouldn't bother with the Gold Dollar and would hone the vintage razor instead. As said Gold Dollar razors have factory issues that need to be fixed and then may not take a decent edge. Might be worth honing on the norton 4 / 8 and using the coticule as a finisher to cuy back the amount of time you spend on it. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask

$40 for a Gold Dollar?
Man I have some razors for you...along with a bridge or two. Lol

Seriously though, the GD is NOT a great razor to learn on.
Learn what a "shave ready" razor fells like before learning to hone. Send one out to a Pro so you have something to compare your edges against.

Thank you all for the amazing advice. I may look into getting a vintage razor and restoring it myself. I have my eye on a wade and butcher razor at an antique store with a wedge edge.

I have to agree with the others...
1. Find someone in your area and get some 1 on 1 help. I do this for new guys in the Mnnesota area.
2. You are not ready for one stone honing. That takes some skill and the proper Coticule.
3. Keep the Norton 4/8. They are the workhorse stones for razors.
4. Worry about a finishing stone later. You can develop a very, very sharp edge from a Norton 8K.

If your in Cleveland ohio. I'm. In akron. And tintin is somewhere near you. Welcome aboard