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garyhaywood

Well-Known Member
Going back a while ago i had problems with my TI achieving smoothness of my coticule. The only way i could get a smooth shave was by finishing with issards pate rasoir, which trans formed my Ti.I tryed several times with coti no joy.

Yesterday i rehoned my TI. I used my fast cutting coti nu 3 to set bevel. I then refined and polished on my coti 21 (dilucot). I have to say i have douted the sharpness of the coticule in the past. I found paste has improved the edge.I also no it can and has been the case where i have achieved with out paste.With lots of practice i have been achieving some great edges. The differance being keeping my slurry at the right milky ness, not letting, slurry thicken which will decrease keeness. The Ti i shaved with and the differance was unreal. The razor felt so much softer on my skin. The shave was so crisp i could not believe the differance. Now i no why they say the coticule can produce a magical edge.We have all experianced the smoothness and i'm sure some of us hav'nt. It realy is down to practice, once you get there all your douts we be answerd in the shave. Theres no dout i could survive with out paste. Would i have said that three months ago , NO.
 
Great post, my friend.:thumbup:
It completely confirms with my own experiences. I knew you would fall in love your n°21 "La Grosse Jaune" after you two got properly acquainted.:D

With all our new members still stuck knee deep in the learning curve, I think we could really use someone testifying how his Coticules work for him. Having many threads filled with honing problems is normal for a forum that aims to help people with getting the best of their hone, but it sometimes almost looks as if many owners are having problems with their Coticule. Which I don't think is true. I think our aspiring honers will find a lot of encouragement in your post.

Thank you Gary.

Bart.
 
Yay Gary nice to see your back mate :thumbup:
how was Oz? magical place I heard, anyway +1 from me on what your saying, I am right now what I would say is a stage before you, unicot is spot on every time without fail well 99/100 you know? but dilo-bleeding-cut! different story, had plenty of great finishes on dilocut and every now and then I get 1 thats well just amazing, however last few attempts that "extra tiny tiny I cant really pinpoint it" extra bit that makes us go WOW! is eluding me, the magic has slightly escaped.

And I know why, its simply that I am no longer doing it as often, sure I hone at least once a week but a month or so back I was at it nightly, I still get great edges dont get me wrong, but the magical dilocut soo sharp yet soo smooth and forgiving edge has slipped away slighty.

I plan to sit myself down tomorrow and hone 1 razor, just 1 but I aim to get that magical "I feel like this razor wouldnt ever cut my skin, but the whiskers just melt away" edge back, and by golly I believe I will achieve it too!

Ya Dig
 
Hi Ralfy,
Oz was magical it was just how england was twenty five years a go.

I have rehoned all of my razors with dilucot and have yet to shave with the all. I'm going test each one. The TI was all ways the one i could not get the best out and my DA's. I found extra hollows a piece of cake. The only thing, i have changed is i do alot lot less laps than i have ever done. Also when diluting gradualy towards the middle and last stages instead of dropping one drop at a time, i create more water,but i keep the puddle of water mixed sluirry on the hone as best as i can. Where as before i tend to have diluted right down to water,slight slurry but not enough fluid was on my hone, im sure this was efecting the keenes by knocking it back just a tadge, enough so that water alone in final finish was'nt steping it back up.I end up with a razor that would shave great but not fantastic unless i hit the paste.

I also found some razors are just not as stubben, there the easy ones . The stubben ones are a differant story, also more of a challange. I just honed an old razor for a chap as a favour. I used dilucot, i would normaly use paste just to make sure it was absalutly sharp, especialy as its for some one else.

After i honed and stropped i test shaved and the shave was magic. I actualy thought there's no way i'm finishing this razor with any paste, just incase the paste took that coti feel away.

as you no the main thing is once your bevel is set your away. During dilution you must not let the slurry /water loose it densaty. What i was doing was counting laps and honing away and forgetting about my slurry. i hav'nt counted laps for a while now instead i just keep my eye on the slurry by adding water as soon as i need it ,which somtimes can be every 10 laps or 20 ,towards the end 30 or 40.

I feel paste is great for making up for under par razor. I also feel that if i use paste after my coticule . when i shave i'm not realy shaving with coticule edge i'm actaul shaving with cro.ox edge which is to defeating the object.

It's like using 4k 8k norton and finishing on coti you get the coticule feel when shaving not the 8k norton.

Having said that it does'nt matter how we get shave ready so long as we do.

I just want to get the best out of my coticules. I have used so many differant hones and i always had better shaves when i started using paste.

When i look in classified and see all these great finisher and hones for sale, i never bat an eye lid now, before i would get tempted. I carn't see any other hone being any better than a coticule. I would say the coticules can be tricky and at times especialy for a newbie's very hard to achieve a keen edge, but take it from me keep trying and the results will worth it,plus you will never need another hone.
 
[note=garyhaywood]I haven't count laps for a while now. Instead I just keep my eye on the slurry by adding water as soon as I need it, which sometimes can be every 10 laps or 20, towards the end 30 or 40.[/note]

An absolute key statement.:thumbup:
 
Tonight i just gave the ti and da a test shave on two and halve day growth on my tuff beard.

I still carn't believe how good the dges are of the coticule. I have been honing and shaving of straights for Nearly four years, i have tried many differant hones. I only started using coti two years ago. With out a shadow of dout the dges i'm getting now are the best i have ever had. Bearing in mind i have had razors pro honed by lynn and other top guys. The most recent one was honed by bart , it was that one razor that inspired me to try and match barts edge of the coticule as i could not believe how smooth the razor was.I have to say i never could , i was'nt far of . Untill now. The edges are smoother than cr'ox by far i never thought i would say that.

Tonight i don't normaly but i did shave against the grain. It was the most comfortable efort less shave against the grain i ever experianced. As i aproched just under my chin, i would normaly have to stop there.Not this time the razor wanted to carry on up and over my chin . Thats a sharp razor.

I hope this inspires the new guy's i realy recomend you keep practicing and asking question's. It is realy worth it . Like i say i have spent a fortune on differant hones. Out of all the diamond paste and naniwas, nortons etc the coticule has gave outstanding results. If any one wants to borrow my DA to sample there more than welcome.
 
Maybe I should create another thread telling my own story (it’s long but interesting) but…

I have to agree with you Gary. I too can no longer tell the difference between the edges sharpened with my Coticule only, and the edges finished on a “special” CrOx lapping film (home made). Now I know some folks don’t like an edge so sharp that it may catch the skin (it’s not for everyone), but I have grown accustom to it. I love an edge that effortlessly slices through whiskers while I hold the razor with a light grip. I also shave against the grain, and that’s my test of a good shave… no hiccups… just a "Positive Cut", and I am happy.
 
Against the grain is the real test. The best way i can discribe a well honed coticule edge is, the edge melts through the wiskers. Its as if the edge of the razor is'nt touch your skin. It's unbaleivable feeling. I carn't wait for my next shave . How many men can say that. Most men i speak to hate shaving. not me.
 
I think Gary is saying he CAN tell the difference in that his coti edges are the best :thumbup: thats true of me too, now and then my coti edges are not quite as sharp as a pasted edge, but they are smoother everytime. And I shave ATG everyday!
 
You've got tough skin ralfy! There has been times i just hav'nt felt that real smoothness.Adding issards pate or cr.ox i have improved smoothness/sharpness.I'm sure if the nu 21 is making the differance, i'm getting smoother than paste by far and the sharpness is second to none.I have used my coti nu 3 constantly i only recently introduced my 21. Also as i said before keeping my water and slurry mix realy wet. I will try nu 3 coti alone and compare.

My TI i must of rehoned 6 times and i could not get the smoothness unless i used issards pate. I just settled for that.. When i honed my razor (da) using 4k 8k n i shaved after the 8k the shave was fine. I then did 50 laps on my Nu 21 coti And the da was smooth as hell, so i have a feeling my 21 is just a great finisher.
 
garyhaywood said:
You've got tough skin ralfy!
Click to expand...

I thought everybody did ATG every shave? I do at least 4 passes on my neck trouble spots, some times 6!!

Mind you, I am a gnarly old man hahaha
 
tat2Ralfy said:
I thought everybody did ATG every shave? I do at least 4 passes on my neck trouble spots, some times 6!!
Click to expand...

Hmm, I envy you either tough skin, or such sharp gear ;) I do ATG right behind the chin and on lower sides of the neck, but still can't get a comfortable ATG pass on my cheeks... not mentioning mustache area, do you do ATG there, too?

regards,
Matt
 
Of course I do the "fools Pass" everyday!
I believe the razor has got to be spot on :thumbup: my hotspots are the sides of my neck where I need up to 6 passes!
 
agtg is down to technique .try keeping your razor flat when going agtg. raize only slight if you feel the need. Your razor has to be sharp .
 
And if that same razor is coti honed properly you can go ATG with a 30 degree angle on the blade and still not scream out loud when you put the splash on after, hahaha
 
D'oh!! :scared: :cry: That definitely means my edges have still a long way before them...

regards,
Matt
 
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