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After about two months I learned something

I cannot hone razors with a coti or jnat. I have yet to be able to get an edge that will even produce a Simi usable edge. I give up. I'm going to try with full synthetic stones once I can afford to get them. This is so discouraging and frustrating. I've watched hours and hours worth of vids. Tried everything and cannot get a freaking edge to save my life. And the sad thing is I can hone pocket knives and kitchen knives no problem. You have to hold the angle yourself. A razor you lay it flat. It shouldn't be this d@mn hard.
 
set the bevel on 1k, it must cut arm hair effortlessly on the skn. Only them move on. Thick slurry will keep hurting the edge. Do you use any pressure when setting the bevel?

Is the razor carbon or stainless.
 
I set it at 1k king. Very little pressure if any at all. Then to 6k. Till nice polish on edge then jnat no slurry. All I have right now is king 1k/6k combo and coti and jnat. That's all.
 
I would strongly suggest slurry on the jnat, that's where they shine. Do you have any slurry stones?
Also try to go coticule under running water after the 6k (no slurry on the coticule).
Edit: maybe you need abit more time on the 6k, it's quite a jump from the 1k. Just a thought.
 
Keep playing around with the hones, you'll get there. For those like yourself who are having troubles it might be a good idea to try the burr method.
 
I'm working on getting a 4k from a member. Was trying to trade a few things for like an 8k and or a 12k. I know I definitely need more stones.

I have tried slurry and no slurry. Seems I get a little better edge without slurry. I thought I had a great edge doing 1k 6k coti with slurry then without then jnat no slurry but when I tried shaving it felt like shaving with barbed wire.

I use the burr method since that's what I'm used to from honing knives. Once it feels like it will perform well I go to laps to help keep the edge in line. Then I finish with two laps with as light as I can get it. Just to make sure the edge is inline.
 
After the 6k go to the coti. Make a light slurry and dilute down to water. Finish on plain water for a bit and then do some laps under water or with soap. From there strop and shave, test this edge first before you go further no point in going to a jnat if your edge can’t shave well here.

If you have slurry stones for the jnat I would use them instead of going to plain water. The slurry really helps the stone shine.
 
With certain JNats you won't get great results using straight water unless you do very few strokes. Personally I find most harder JNats produce a more comfortable shaving edge when finishing with slurry. If you are already using the burr method then you should definitely have the bevel set. I would look at going to the 6k after bevel set then to the JNat with slurry. Some coticules can be challenging to master - and can take the edge backwards - I'd recommend not using that yet. Get one stone type down first, then branch out.
 
I cannot hone razors with a coti or jnat. I have yet to be able to get an edge that will even produce a Simi usable edge. I give up. I'm going to try with full synthetic stones once I can afford to get them. This is so discouraging and frustrating. I've watched hours and hours worth of vids. Tried everything and cannot get a freaking edge to save my life. And the sad thing is I can hone pocket knives and kitchen knives no problem. You have to hold the angle yourself. A razor you lay it flat. It shouldn't be this d@mn hard.

I got a reply this week here from someone that I had apparently suggested the use of a non adhesive 3M film progression. He had success on his first hone, just as I experienced myself. So, it's not that damn hard at all!

It's your choice and money, but for less than $35 you have the tools to properly hone and shave off an edge your made yourself.

Later you can add in stones. At some point get a piece of balsa and .25 diamond paste further improving the edge.

Total cost will be less than $50.

Add in a used Illinois two part strop and you can shave for life. These run $25-$40.
 
There are times that I have done more than 100 laps on the 6k to smooth the edge after the 1k . I know there are some who may do a few laps at each level . Some straight razors have hone quick and easy some have taken lots of time to get there. I do laps on the king then I do circles with the fallowing natural stones. Keep at it .
 
I too have a king 1k and 6k. It definitely takes some time on the 6k after setting the bevel. Also, I have to lap the 6k during honing coming off the 1k to keep it flat and swarf build up down. Don't leave the 6k until it is able to catch a couple hairs floating over your forearm or leg.

As for the jnat, yes to slurry like everyone else has said.
As for the coti. I didn't start getting REALLY keen edges off of mine until I went to baby oil after water only. That kicked it up MAJOR for me. I just wash the baby oil off with a drop of dish soap when I'm done.

I will also say that I've had 2 other coti's that I haven't gotten decent edges off of...ever. I've only gotten one to work for me. I think, contrary to what most will say, that some just aren't great finishers at all....but that only my opinion from my limited experience.

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Like the first reply said, I think your problem is you are polishing but never fully set the bevel and got a proper edge. All the polishing stones you have won't do much without a proper bevel set. Can you shave hair after the 1000 and you bevel set? If not, you have not set the bevel and need to keep at it.
 
This has nothing to do with cotis or jnats. You need to learn how to set the bevel. A king 1k is slow as heck, and it goes out of flat fast. You need pressure, a good amount, to set a bevel. And you’ll need to lap your king repeatedly while doing so. Get 1 razor, stick with it. Getting a better bevel setter won’t hurt. Practice bevel setting until you can shave with it. Make sure the stone is perfectly flat, get a quality straightedge to check. When you can shave off the 1k, you can look down the line to higher grits or naturals.
 
If he's gotten a burr on both sides, the bevel will have been set. After those burrs form, there need to be alternating strokes to remove/ minimize it as much as possible. If he's got that down, I don't think he has a bevel set issue.

@Suhrim21 does your uncomfortable edge cleanly sever hairs when you first start the shave? If so, it seems to me like you have some remaining wire edge.
 
No it's rough all over. But it is always so smooth on arm. Will even cut alittle bit lifted from the skin. Not much lifted just slightly.

With the burr method I go till there is a burr across the whole edge then flip and repeat. On the 1k I do this 3 times on both sides then use the light strokes to make sure the edge is clean. But I have never been able to cut arm hair off the 1k
 
Are you checking every single spot of the edge when you say it's smooth on the arm? It's easy to get the middle (or toe, or heel... depending on the razors geometry) shaving well, but have no edge at all on the rest of the blade.
 
This has nothing to do with cotis or jnats. You need to learn how to set the bevel. A king 1k is slow as heck, and it goes out of flat fast. You need pressure, a good amount, to set a bevel. And you’ll need to lap your king repeatedly while doing so. Get 1 razor, stick with it. Getting a better bevel setter won’t hurt. Practice bevel setting until you can shave with it. Make sure the stone is perfectly flat, get a quality straightedge to check. When you can shave off the 1k, you can look down the line to higher grits or naturals.

Yep. What he said here. Relative pressure may be the trick in the early stages. I find the thumb-nail test works well here, rather than chasing after a burr with hollow-ground straight razors or leaving arm-hair patches.

Beyond this, I find the trick to using a King 1k is to re-lap it often. Then shave off the 6k as best as you can. Then give the Jnat a whirl to see if it improves things. If the Jnat is up to the task, you should need nothing more. The coticule off the 6k seems a bit redundant to me. Bear in mind that I am seeking to suggest making the best of the stones you already have, rather than send you off in another direction.
 
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I have a razor with a less than hairline crack running verticle on edge. I doubt I will ever try actually shaving with it because of that but I am going to use it and put the suggestions into practice. But the first thing I need to do is get a laping plate to make sure my king stone is level. So it's going to take a bit to be able to try the suggestions here.
 
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