Coticule honing help please..

[nathanb]

Well, I have been trying to hone a razor on my vintage coticule. I have the bevel set (the arm hairs just pop off as I shave them). But when I finish my dilutions and try to do a hanging hair test I cannot get past a HHT1, the violin as described on coticule.be.

From this little information can you guess what I am doing wrong? What do I need to do to get the razor ready to shave smoothly and comfortably?

Thanks for any advice,

 

[Wid]

Have you tried stropping yet? If not strop and see where that gets you. A coti edge really improves with 60 passes on linen.

 

[MajorBurnz]

It could be several things, really.

1) The bevel is not actually properly set.

When you're 'setting the bevel' on coarse stones, you sometimes get teeth that are able to catch and cut hairs.....giving a 'false' positive on the bevel setting.

That's why Bart suggests dulling the edge (gets rid of the teeth), and then correcting the bevel on the coticule (after which it should cut hair again).

2) You're experiencing slurry dulling on the coticule.

If the slurry gets too thick, or of it drys out (same thing), you'd actually regress in your edge refinement.

You need to make sure your slurry never gets thick, as you lose water while honing.

-------------------------

The easy way to get a sharp edge from the stage you're at (assuming that bevel is indeed properly set), is to do a Unicot.

Or you can use my favourite variation:

Tape the spine of the blade. Do a couple of strokes on the hone with your slurry stone, and then to 50 passes, wash the slurry off 1/4 of the hone, and do another 50 strokes, then wash off half the hone, do 50 strokes. Wash off the whole hone, do 50 strokes.

Then rinse off the hone again, rinse off the blade, lightly strop it, and go back to the hone for 100 very light strokes.

Then strop on linen and leather as usual.

That should work (works for me, anyway ).

 

[nathanb]

Thanks for the help guys! I did strop it after I honed but that did not seem to help.

I will try what you suggest MajorBurnz, right after I posted I went and looked at the unicot method and was thinking of trying that since it seemed a little more fool proof. So, after your suggestion I am definitely going to try it or your other suggestion.

Thanks!

 

[Munxcub]

I was stuck exactly where you are for about 2 weeks. What I did at first was go to some TI razor paste and CrOx to finish it up, as even trying the unicot didn't make it better.

After a few more tries I didn't need the pastes. I can't really tell you what changed... I would suggest stropping it up real good, and then doing 50 x-strokes on water. Strop and test. Repeat. My first really good HHT from coti only I would do 50 x-strokes under running water, strop 60/60 linen/leather before every shave for a week. By the end of the week it was scoring HHT4.

Just stay at it, it gets better and for apparently no reason. heh

 

[Munxcub]

Or... do a few set of half strokes on water now. Rinse it real good and then do 3 sets of 50 x-strokes, strop between each and test, use a lighter and lighter touch with each set.

 

[Pkrankow]

HHT1 before stropping will provide a nice shave. Sharper is better though. Practice practice practice is the only answer.

Phil

 

[danjared]

If you get HHT1 before stropping, it should just be a matter of working harder at finishing (unless you did something strange to the bevel)

 

[dnullify]

I think perhaps there's some debris on your edge or something, giving you an inaccurate HHT. try wiping the edge by stropping just one or two passes on leather or your forearm and then probe the edge.

are you HHT with the root over the edge?

Or... do a few set of half strokes on water now. Rinse it real good and then do 3 sets of 50 x-strokes, strop between each and test, use a lighter and lighter touch with each set.

+1
maybe start the first 50 with a little more than finishing level sharpness?

 

[Pkrankow]

Forgot to mention, when finishing on water, rinse the stone under running water and wipe it with your hand. When color starts showing in the water, repeat the rinsing and wiping. My coticule only goes 25 laps before showing color.

Phil

 

[nathanb]

Hey everyone, thanks so much for all the helpful responses. I went ahead and did the last part of the unicot process (maybe I should of stuck with dilucot but I wanted to get a shave ready edge ). After that the the edge was doing a HHT3 in some places and at least a HHT2 in all places.

I shaved with it this morning and it definitely shaved well, I will probably continue to do some laps on just water (like many of you suggested) until it gets at least a HHT3 across the whole edge.

Thanks everyone! Now, to just try a blade at the whole dilucot process.