The final honing-stage

[Guest]

Hello all,

First of all; I am a new forum-member and my name is Bol.

I tried all kind of stones and after some years experimenting with 1000/2000/3000/4000/8000(all Wüsthof waterstones) and for the final stages of a hone-session Arkansas black surgical and/or Translucent oilstones and Spyderco, I decided to try once again the beloved Coticule. Why once again a Coticule?

As you all know....; you can shave after a 8000 Wüsthof or Norton, but a shave can be better! The Arkansas oilstones(used with oil and sometimes with water/lather)give after the 8000 a very sharp - but a little too agressive - edge. Some strokes on CrOx or red paste did help, but then the the agressiveness was total gone. A Spyderco-Ultra Fine ceramic hone after the 8000 was not good at all....: very sharp, polished and shiny, but not good for shaving ( perhaps because all the tiny teeth on the edge were gone?
The Coticule I took begin April 2010 once again out of the box gave me after the Wüsthof 8000 a very nice shave. It's true....: if you know your trade and handle your razor and hone as it should be done, you'll get indeed a great edge with a Coticule.

So........, at the moment I like a build up from 1000 to 8000 and after that some more sharpening on a Coticule but no polishing with water in the last stage because this makes the edge too mild for me. After the sharpening on the Coticule I just do 5 or 10 laps on black paste/balsa. Now the question I'd like your opinion about. Are there more honers on this forum who experience this difficulty in honing when your edge changes from sharp and a bit agressive to lesser agessive but too mild? I hope you all understand what I mean by this! Just 5 or 10 laps on black paste/balsa is for me much better than polishing on the Coticule! Perhaps it is just a personal preference and I finally found the procedure that is perfect for me?


Regards,


Bol from Holland

 

[Bart]

Hi Bol,

Welcome to Coticule.be

I understand most of your post, but there are some things that need a bit further explanation for me.

So........, at the moment I like a build up from 1000 to 8000 and after that some more sharpening on a Coticule but no polishing with water in the last stage because this makes the edge too mild for me.

This part puzzles me. What do you mean with "more sharpening on a Coticule but no polishing on water"? Are you using slurry on your Coticule after the synthetic 8000?

After the sharpening on the Coticule I just do 5 or 10 laps on black paste/balsa. Now the question I'd like your opinion about. Are there more honers on this forum who experience this difficulty in honing when your edge changes from sharp and a bit agressive to lesser agessive but too mild?

I don't have experience with the Wüsthof hones, but many synthetic hones (depending on grit size) tend to leave a microscopic jaggedness at the very edge. These micro-serrations lend the edge performance, but are not all that nice for the skin. When you go to finer finisher, whether synthetic or natural, those serrations will vanish or become reduced. The edge will loose it's bite. That's both a good thing for you face, but a bad thing for severing hairs. Such edges will pull a bit. The solution is making the edge keener. Keener means that both bevel sides meet at a cleaner, finer line. An excellent and easy way to do that is pasted stropping. It convexes the edge a bit, effectively reducing micro-serrations and "keenifying" at the same time. Great stuff, and you could shave for the rest of your days with the excellent edges you can achieve with your black paste (I presume Dovo black paste)? There are several other abrasives you can try, Chromium oxide (green stuff, but NOT the Dovo green paste) being widely acknowledged as one of the best.

I hope you all understand what I mean by this! Just 5 or 10 laps on black paste/balsa is for me much better than polishing on the Coticule! Perhaps it is just a personal preference and I finally found the procedure that is perfect for me?

Personal preference is a very big factor when we talk about edges of a straight razor. But with the information you provided, I'm not convinced that you really got the best of your Coticule. There's a button that says "Free honing Service" in the menu bar, that would offer you a guick way to find out, but you can of course try the methods presented at this forum, and find out with an edge you honed yourself. There's even a Dutch version of the Unicot procedure, which is most likely the quickest and easiest way to experience a Coticule edge in all it's glory. If you still prefer the edge after the black paste, after trying that, I think your question will be answered. Just make sure the edge passes the HHT straight off the Coticule (before any stropping). Otherwise your edge will be smooth but will probably lack the keenness to satisfy your needs.

Kind regards,
Bart.

 

[Guest]

Bart,

Thanks for your quick reply.
I tried all your honing-ideas, Unicot and Dulicot included and studied much more Coticule manners. From 1000 to 8000 on Wüsthof and the moren sharpening on the Coticule is for now my favorite. After the 8000 I use a milky slurry on the Coticule. Testing is done with the TPT and shaving hairs on my inside forearm and....: looking at the edge with a handmicroscope.

I like black paste from Dovo?? Anyway, it is paste that comes in a little red box with black and red pasta - Dovo? Perhaps I made a mistake with green paste because I thought that all green pastes were CrOx.My green paste came from a little tube with green tape and this paste was much too agressive!

Good advise Bart. You talk about the HHT after the Coticule before stropping!

Regards,

Bol