rickboone said:
For starters, if I am in the wrong section please forgive me.
It’s the correct section, and you’ve come to the right place. I was wondering how you were doing.
rickboone said:
I have read everything here about honing. This was my first actual honing attempt.
Reading your entire post, I think you’re not doing as bad as you might think. Without doubt, you still have a way to go, and there will be some more of the same frustration ahead of you. I believe all competent razor sharpeners go through it one way or another, before they can put a comfortable edge on a razor. That statement is applicable for all honing setups, Coticules are no exception, to say the least. It took me several weeks before I was granted my first successfully honed razor, and after that it took me almost a year to reach the competence of honing razors with a 99.9% predictable success rate. There was far less information available back then, so you will be able to shorten the learning curve considerably. And you already made some significant progress.
rickboone said:
Day 1:Took razor (Genco) and breadknifed then did the unicot method. Strop, test, FAIL.
Day 2: Do some touch ups on the coticule w/ water only. Go to pasted strops diamond spray then CrOx, linen, leather, shave....better but still FAIL.
Based on those 2 statements, I think you got stuck at some early part of edge refinement, or maybe didn’t quite ended up with a good bevel.
On a razor with a good bevel, Unicot works as reliable as Swiss clockwork. No matter how slow or fast the Coticule, there are no variables for doing the taped steps. If it fails, it’s nearly always a problem with the “bevel-stage”.
In essence, pasted stropping relies on the same principles as the added layer of tape in Unicot. The tape tips the razor on the very edge, relaying all “keening” to that part. The pasted strop does the same by folding around the edge a bit. Both principles are closely related, with the main difference that the taped approach creates a clean transition between the main and the secondary bevel, while the stop creates a gradual (convex) transition.
Your testimony that also pasted stropping did not deliver the desired results, pretty much confirms that you went to the finishing stage too early.
rickboone said:
Day 3: Start with dilucot method. Do this, testing along way it is performing much better than previous two days. Take it to linen and leather. Shaves but lots of pulling, very uncomfortable.
Lack of keenness. Somewhere along the lines, to edge no longer followed. Since so many guys in your thread on SRP were making the point that Coticules are too difficult for a newbie, I will try to put my finger on one of the differences that might be perceived as difficult, in comparison with synthetic hones. On synthetic hones, you progress through a number of different grits. The problem is knowing when the edge is ready to go to the next grit, but at least, the grit stays constant while you’re working on a given hone. Coticules don’t work that way. In a manner of speaking, we have a stone with a variable grit rate (this isn’t a physically correct statement, but Coticules do vary speed and keenness limit with the thickness of the used slurry). That gives you total control over what’s happening, but also total freedom to mess things up. You can allow slurry to become denser and actually reset the keenness of your razor to a limit you had crossed already. Or you can dilute too soon, which will have the same effect as going to a next grit too soon with a synthetic setup.
I am always putting much thought in what it is that makes successful honing on a Coticule a bit of a challenge, on top of the general honing challenge of making a steady honing stroke. It must be something that those, who have mastered it, have caught on automatically, since no one of the experienced guys is able to pinpoint it. I think the ability to control slurry is very important in that respect. If you can’t manage to keep a particular slurry density at a constant level for a while, you can’t probably manage to get good results off a Coticule. If you have problems loosing all slurry, or you’re allowing it to dry out, you can’t possible have good results off a Coticule.
rickboone said:
Day 4: Water only about 100 strokes. Test shave, still not there. Do about 40 on CrOx and huge improvement on tests (TPT, HHT) but shave test is horrible. Pulling and such.
Probably still too early to finish on water.
rickboone said:
Day 5: Dilucot. Test shave. Better than all above but not smooth. 40 laps on CrOx, 60 linen 100 leather. Best it’s been but still not where it should be.
While the edge appears smooth the edge just doesn’t seem sharp enough. If that makes sense?!
Yes, that makes sense. You are starting to arrive somewhere. I think success is nearby. On a Coticule, sharpness is all you need to worry about. It can be evasive, but once there, you’ll find that the legendary smoothness came for free.
rickboone said:
Now, I know I am probably asking the moon. I mean Bart has honed (as well as most of you) many hundreds of razors. Me, this is my first one. So, for me to expect to get those results is kind of far fetched. But...I am here to learn.
I appreciate all your advice.
Well, you’re not asking for the moon, as far as I’m concerned. It is not as if Coticules only work after years of experience.
Let’s end with some practical advice.
I would take that Genco through Dilucot again, but start on a thin slurry. Half the density you’re used to. I recommend the updated procedure, as it is laid out in the Dilucot article on this website.
As soon as you’ve finished, perform a HHT. (use thick, freshly washed hair, the hair must be held at the root side, try it both directions when in doubt)
It must pass, at a minimum distance of 1/2” of the holding point.
If it doesn’t, you’ll probably notice that the hair can “play violin” with the edge (a faint ringing sound can be heard while you drag the hair across). If you get that, don’t give up. I get that half the time, and I tell you, it’s just a matter of trying some additional finishing strategies to make it pass.
Here are some things you can try. Perform a HTT after each attempt.
1, Use 5 sets of 10 halfstrokes on water (add some pressure).
2. Make 60 strokes on water in stropping direction.
3. Rub the Coticule *once* with the slurry stone and make 30 stropping strokes.
4. Put shaving lather on the Coticule and make 60 light X-strokes.
5. Make 50 very diagonal (almost perpendicular with the hone) X-strokes.
If one of this attempts gives you an improvement, but you’re not quite there, repeat it!
If you eventually get a loud violin, but still can’t manage to pass the HHT:
6. add a layer of tape to the spine and make 30 of the lightest X-strokes.
(It’s technically a Unicot, but we don’t need the light slurry at this point)
The hair WILL now pass the HHT. Or something is very wrong.
Strop 60 laps on a good linen and 60 laps on clean leather. Try the HHT again,
There must be a distinct improvement. The hair must pass at 1” and further away from the holding point. If not, we must discuss stropping.
That is the edge that should be reached on a Coticule in order to make it shave well. After a full test shave, you can try to add some laps on the CrO-pasted strop. On a perfect Coticule edge, it won’t make any difference.
Please let us know how it goes?
Kind regards,
Bart.
