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Importance of the sharpness tests
- Thread starter Paul
- Start Date
Bart
Well-Known Member
I do remember that thread on SRP, Paul.richmondesi said:Looks like you were right again, Bart
Up here, I'm always right. Except when I am wrong...
But seriously: a full honing job on a Coticule is all about keenness. Your edge will gain keenness till the very last finishing lap. It's the only thing you'll have to worry about, during the entire honing job. Get the razor keen, and the shave will be outstandingly smooth as well. It helps big time to have some kind of quick test to find out how close you are to that final target.
One of the most revealing ways to really get to know a Coticule is this:
-find an hour and a half time.
-get a small strand of freshly washed hairs
-dull a razor on glass and work on slurry till it shaves armh air
-take is through a slow dilution stage
-start working on water, performing a HHT every minute or so.
-experiment with: one swipe of the slurry stone, sets of half strokes and some pressure on clear water, lots of ultra light laps on clear water, stropping on the Coticule with clear water, X-strokes on lather, and whatever you can come up with that makes remotely sense. Witness how all these things affect the HHT, from "violin" to "promptly popping". Use a few swipes on very thin slurry to see how much is sets the keenness back, before trying a new idea.
-bottom line: Play! and learn.
Merry Christmas,
Bart.
PS. Note to aspiring Coticule honers: if you don't have a source of hairs that responds well to the level of keenness you manage to get of your Coticule, just find an "easier" source. You can always step up to more challenging hairs later. The main idea is to have a test that offers you meaningful results. This is not about passing some general standard.
Paul
Well-Known Member
Excellent information, Bart.
The thing is when using my other stones, I could get TPT to a certain point and go from there up my progression to the point that I could feel I was done with that stone and move on. With my coticule, I've lost my "crutch" of knowing where I am on the stones (hope that makes sense). So, these tests have proven invaluable in letting me know where I am. I've already gotten the edges to be sharp with my coticule, but I'm confident that I can improve them a lot more. This is fun
The thing is when using my other stones, I could get TPT to a certain point and go from there up my progression to the point that I could feel I was done with that stone and move on. With my coticule, I've lost my "crutch" of knowing where I am on the stones (hope that makes sense). So, these tests have proven invaluable in letting me know where I am. I've already gotten the edges to be sharp with my coticule, but I'm confident that I can improve them a lot more. This is fun
richmondesi said:Excellent information, Bart.
The thing is when using my other stones, I could get TPT to a certain point and go from there up my progression to the point that I could feel I was done with that stone and move on. With my coticule, I've lost my "crutch" of knowing where I am on the stones (hope that makes sense). So, these tests have proven invaluable in letting me know where I am. I've already gotten the edges to be sharp with my coticule, but I'm confident that I can improve them a lot more. This is fun
Paul,
You have found the secret to using the Coticule. I use only my 60x scope and the HHT for indicators now. Fine tuning now is the fun part, well, so is the the other...LOL.
Ray