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My standard for an edge just went up again

justalex

Well-Known Member
I love these moments. eureka level +1! I've been -almost obsessively - tinkering around with my stones. Mainly my; la verte, Dressante and Ozuku.

I've been having a bit of bother with a Crown and Sword razor that just wouldn't get smooth. I honed on my coticule refreshed with the BBW and everything seemed fine - HHT 3-4 - all good but it seemed to break up during shaving. Under the microscope, it was a bit scratchy.

I worked out that it was super hard steel and I hadn't honed enough. I ended up applying alot of pressure with a semi skimmed slurry - or slightly thinner, pretty light slurry anyways - as I was afraid of slurry dulling so I reset the bevel after dulling it. I honed for half an hour, rinsed the stone refreshed with my tomonagura a couple times and after the bevel was near mirror finish and was sucking to the stone, I moved to my Ozuku. I did roughly two sets of 30 light halfstrokes on water without the thumb on the spine - too much pressure and I get rough edges on my ozuku - then I did between 50 and 100 super light laps on the ozuku and 5-10 leather strops and I was good to go.

It was the smoothest, sharpest edge I have ever shaved with that I honed myself, up there with Gary's edges. I now have a new standard for my edges, I love these moments.

Refreshing the coti with the tomonagura seems to give good results, like refreshing with the BBW, I've still to experiment a bit more but, it seems to work well.


kind regards
Alex
 
Awesome, these finds. Today I noticed I just keep improving with dilucot on my new La Verte, getting HHT 3/4 on my second and third attempt. The first was a half-assed attempt on my La Veinette, but I'm still counting that. So three attempts, one good and one great edge.

Downside is I tried the BBW unicot on my La Veinette, but wasn't able to restore the bevel. After quite some fruitless efforts, I decided to set the bevel on the yellow side. Nothing :confused: Tried it on the La Verte yellow, which I had used an hour before succesfully on aforementioned dilucot; still no cutting bevel AT ALL after at least four sets of half strokes :confused:.

I put it away now, no point in frustrating myself.

It's one of those days, in both aspects:

It just works...and then it just doesn't work, no matter what you try.
Yay for us :thumbup:
 
I used to bevel set on thick slurry, but it kept slurry dulling so only wasted time, now I set it on semi skimmed slurry - less dulling and saves time - also I apply a bit more pressure to compensate for thinner slurry, My edges have never been happier

the La Verte seems a bit easier to finish on for me, I use it if my Dressante doesn't get it sharp. I've started only honing an hour a day, which is plenty, if I can't get something to work, I go away and do something to cheer me up and go back to it the next day :)
 
Hello justalex, please don't mind but I am curious... what do you mean by the name "Tomo Nagura"? Did you buy a Tomo Nagura? I am just asking because "Tomo" means "the same" or "identical".
When using a JNat, whatever kind it is, a Tomo Nagura is a piece of the same origin, the best being a piece cut from the same stone.
Sorry for being intrusive
Kindest regards
 
Pithor said:
Nothing :confused: Tried it on the La Verte yellow, which I had used an hour before succesfully on aforementioned dilucot; still no cutting bevel AT ALL after at least four sets of half strokes :confused:.
Never underestimate the belly of a convex bevel, Pieter. IF the bevel is convex, 4 sets of halfstrokes is nothing.

Last time we got together with a bunch on razor aficionados, Leo Debrouwer had this Wade&Butcher wedge that he wanted me to sharpen on a Coticule (I suspect he didn't think I could do it :rolleyes: ) The razor was seriously convexed at the bevel.
I dulled on glass, and spend the next 30 minutes rubbing vigorously and fast in sets of halfstrokes on a rapid Coticule that Wim (Decraew) had brought with him (it was most likely a Les Latneuses). Once the razor started shaving arm hair, the job was done less than 5 minutes later.
I didn't count the sets of halfstrokes, but it was closer to 40 than to 4. (I normally would have reached for my Cretan hone, in this case, but I didn't have it with me in Brussels).

Kind regards,
Bart.
 
My apologies Ovnifou, I am talking about the slurry tomo nagura I got with my Ozuku which has to be softer than the jnat I think? so its just my ozuku slurry stone that maxim sent me from japanesenaturalstones.com
 
Please do not apology, it was just to be sure you know what a Tomo Nagura is, as I have seen many guys asking for buying one with too many sellers saying that they have one without asking the main stone specs, especially when reading "I will do a special price for you, my friend".
Just to help members to know exactly what we are speaking about.
Have a nice day
 
Bart said:
Never underestimate the belly of a convex bevel, Pieter. IF the bevel is convex, 4 sets of halfstrokes is nothing.

A-men brother. A while ago I posted about a wedge I just couldn't get shave ready.
I literally spent hours doing half strokes, first on a coticule, later I decided that a DMT might be a better idea. I gave up when the "bevel" was about 0.5cm. :mad:

I recently took up that razor again. Using a Tormek. (I'm using the flat side for the bevel and the rounding to hollow the razor a bit).

Bart said:
Last time we got together with a bunch on razor aficionados, Leo Debrouwer had this Wade&Butcher wedge that he wanted me to sharpen on a Coticule (I suspect he didn't think I could do it :rolleyes: ) The razor was seriously convexed at the bevel.
I dulled on glass, and spend the next 30 minutes rubbing vigorously and fast in sets of halfstrokes on a rapid Coticule that Wim (Decraew) had brought with him (it was most likely a Les Latneuses). Once the razor started shaving arm hair, the job was done less than 5 minutes later.
I didn't count the sets of halfstrokes, but it was closer to 40 than to 4. (I normally would have reached for my Cretan hone, in this case, but I didn't have it with me in Brussels).

... and that was nothing Bart, you ended up with fairly small bevels as I recall.

I remember Leo looking appreciative when he tried the razor on his arm hair, and then quickly grabbing his loom strop to do a few laps on red paste :lol:
 
decraew said:
I remember Leo looking appreciative when he tried the razor on his arm hair, and then quickly grabbing his loom strop to do a few laps on red paste :lol:
Yes, :) I don't think Leo trusts a shave straight off a Coticule. But that's ok. To each his own.

Bart.
 
Thanks a bunch, I figured it had to be something like that. I already decided to dull it again, start from scratch so I know where I stand (after doing numerous laps on the BBW, La Veinette, unidentified coticule and La Verte, so not just 4 sets, closer to 20, including the BBW though).

It's just typical because I've had the same problem with that razor, dulled it, and now again. Although I think it was my pilot episode of 'Razor Meets Hone', that might have had something to do with it.

Anyway, if you don't find me cursing the razor within the next week, assume we got on the air prime-time. I won't settle for nothing less now B).
 
Bart said:
decraew said:
I remember Leo looking appreciative when he tried the razor on his arm hair, and then quickly grabbing his loom strop to do a few laps on red paste :lol:
Yes, :) I don't think Leo trusts a shave straight off a Coticule. But that's ok. To each his own.

Bart.

I think your right Bart, Leo mistakes the smoothness of a coticule edge for being not really sharp enough for his feeling. I must confess that I'm using his loomstrop myself because I can't yet obtain the optimum sharpness straight from the coticule. But you loose the really smooth shave, it gives the impression that's it's sharper however. But if done right the coticule edge is every bit as good as I had the pleasure to experience when you send me a razor when I started out a few months ago. Someday I hope to get a good enough result that I no longer might need the Loom strop.
 
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