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To all aspiring razor sharpeners

I like honing very much and consider your advises very useful. Thank you.:thumbup:
 
Bart,

Will it hurt to apply tape to the spine then begin to hone using x strokes until it shaves arm hairs and then apply a 2nd layer of tape?

Max
 
So the basic purpose of this exercise is to practice the x-stroke. What other information about my Coticule can I learn from it? How do I establish the different amounts of pressure I should be applying at the different stages? What does watching the bead of slurry/water tell me? What should I be paying attention to regarding resistance and feedback?
 
SlowRain said:
So the basic purpose of this exercise is to practice the x-stroke. What other information about my Coticule can I learn from it? How do I establish the different amounts of pressure I should be applying at the different stages? What does watching the bead of slurry/water tell me? What should I be paying attention to regarding resistance and feedback?
Click to expand...
First of, there is no need to apply different amounts of pressure at different stages. You need some pressure during the entire honing job. Except during the final 30 laps on water. There you the use only the weight of the razor.

When it comes to feedback, I know that some Coticule users depend on certain difficult to interpret markers, to know when to add water for the slurry dilution. I don't. I think you mustn't analyze this too much. A Coticule feels more abrasive on slurry than on water. They basically transgress from feeling like (fine) sandpaper to feeling like glass. This is not equally pronounced for all Coticule, but you definitely will feel the difference between slurry and water. The idea behind doing dilutions is to gradually, as gradually as possible, evolve between both sensations. That's my main reason for not being in favor of spray bottles. They don't allow enough control. Now. If you do 10 dilutions, which is more than I generally do, the 5th dilution should ideally coincide with being halfway in the change of feel. Rest assured that with slightly pressured halfstrokes, you are doing plenty of work at each level. No need for enigmatic signs that tell when you're supposed to add water.

The bead of water guides your stroke. It assures that your honing stroke covers the entire edge.

Finally, I recommend to (re)read this: http://www.coticule.be/dilucot-honing-method.html?file=tl_files/PDF articles/Dilucot-EN.pdf

Kind regards,
Bart.
 
So today was Day #1 with this method for me. This is my first real venture into using a cuticle. I purchased an inexpensive razor on ebay to practice on.

First issue was, the razor was shave ready so I dulled it on glass. It took three passes over a beer bottle to dull the edge. Hope that is okay.

I then went to work. Raised a slurry and then diluted to a milky consistency. Then did about 50 - 60 x strokes and tried to get in touch with the stone. I checked the edge after the 60 x strokes and it was almost shaving arm hair, so I could tell that i was making progress. I dulled it on a bottle and put it away for the night.

Tomorrow....back to work and then hopefully on Day 6 I will have a bevel and switch to unicot. Day 7, I hope to shave with this blade! Thanks for the structured practice lessons!
 
Go Frank, Go!

You're almost certain to do better than I. For me, cotis have been like golf. You get a killer shot just often enough to keep you going. I'm jealous of so many of the guys here that can bring the best out of each kind of rock.

'Hope it goes well. However it goes, if you get a finished edge - regardless of how much work it takes - it will be a very nice, smooth edge. Even if the keenness isn't quite all there, the smoothness will be. That one thing I've found very reliable about using these rocks.
 
:thumbup: Don't forget to enjoy the exercise.:)

We're all here to help you on the way, should you get stuck at some point.

Bart.
 
Day #2:

Last night I continued my adventures. I am trying to break the habit of honing with two hands so last night I practiced x-strokes with one hand only. Surprisingly, this transition was not too difficult.

So here is a slight issue I am having right now....

On my downstroke, I feel nice consistent gritty feedback and a nice suction. On my upstroke, I do not feel that same feedback and notice that I have to use slightly more pressure to get the same gritty feedback. This could be my technique, or it could be the unevenness of the razor. I don't want to do any examination with a microscope or loop because I want to get a full feel for the stone and I want to figure it out by feel. Any suggestions on the different sensations on the two strokes?

...and by the time I was done last night, the razor was already shaving arm hairs.
 
There is a difference in feel and sound for me as well, between moving the razor away from me and moving it towards myself. I.never found a good explanation for it. Turning the stone in reverse orientation does not seem to make a difference. I think the observation is mostly based on sound, and not so much on feel. The human ear is an exceptionally sensitive instrument. Things like the Doppler effect are definitely picked up by our hearing system, as we move the razor in a direction away from us and toward us. Furthermore, we are using different muscles for both directions in which we move the razor, and that will certainly translate into slightly difference of pressure and the torque we exert at the tang of the razor.
I wouldn't worry about it, as long as you make sure that the spine of the razor makes proper contact with the hone. Also that translates into a sound difference (a very noticeable one) and is something to be avoid at all cost, as it can set the edge back considerably.

Reaching "shaving arm hair" stage means that you are doing very well. :thumbup:

Kind regards,
Bart.
 
Bart do you talk on half strokes or x strokes ? Concerning half strokes is normal to hear different sound because the razor behaves as a metallic thing of sound production. When you fend off, the leader is the spine, contrary when you are coming the leader is the edge .(When you start with the edge looking at you) The spine has different frequency than edge due to thickness . When the blade is coming you hear more the sound of the the edge and when leaves you hear more the sound of the spine.Twisting the razor you will hear another sound because the touched surface of the spine and the edge is never exact same as the other side. The same applies to x strokes.
I will give a live example.
Playing a violin ,for example a note La (A) When the bow is going up the sound complexion is slightly different when it is going down,while the height (frequency) of the note stay same.That happens because of the bow weight which change ,changing the distance from the touched string to the human hand.
Best regards
Emmanuel
 
I get this too
its almost like when sawing wood, the saw makes a different sound when we push the blade, than it does when we pull
It is perfectly normal, so long as like Sir Bart said, it is never caused by a lifting of the spine

Thats very bad

Regards
Ralfson (Dr)
 
I noticed that too when I, for the first time ever, honed stone in hand. It seems to give less of a mess and thus requires less of a set up, I just have to remind myself I'm not lifting any weights so I can relax a bit more.

I tried to get used to hand held honing slowly, I did touch-ups on water only on two razors that IMO needed it (barely :p). No problem there, the transfer seems to be easy indeed. Have to see how it works for setting a bevel and putting extra pressure on toe/heel.

I assumed that the change in sound was more Doppler effect (although I had to look up the term after Bart mentioned it, you learn something new every day) than anything else when doing X-strokes.
 
Bart said:
Things like the Doppler effect are definitely picked up by our hearing system, as we move the razor in a direction away from us and toward us. Furthermore, we are using different muscles for both directions in which we move the razor, and that will certainly translate into slightly difference of pressure and the torque we exert at the tang of the razor.
Click to expand...
Gotta love coticule.be. :thumbup: I would never think of noticeable Doppler effect when honing a razor. The explanation about different muscles also seems very appropriate to me. In fact, when I am not paying attention, sometimes I notice slightly more wear on the "away-from-me" side.

cheers,
Matt
 
Day 3 and 4 were more of the same. Crazy x-stroking up and down the hone, however, I did switch to one handed and am holding the stone in the other hand. Surprisingly, this was not as much of a transition as I thought. I am used to honing two handed with the stone on the table, but this was an easy switch.

On day 4, I finished with 3 sets of 30 half strokes. I have never done half strokes before. I have only done circles and x-strokes, so this was new to me and was a little awkward. I had to keep reminding myself to slow down. I finished off with 30 or so x-strokes and the blade was cutting arm hair. Not popping it off, but cutting.

My question is on the slurry..... I notice that my slurry turns dark rather fast, so I'm thinking this stone is fast with slurry. Is there ever a point where slurry needs to be cleaned and refreshed? I'm going to start my dilutions tonight hopefully and unicot tomorrow if all goes to plan....then shave....
 
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