You can get bike degreaser . I use that.
first coticule, need some advice please
- Thread starter Kooldecker
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- #22
Well i used the simple green last night (the good purple stuff) and i couldnt believe how well it just made the swarf fall off with a toothbrush! amazing! i thought that stuff was driven into the surface. So i cleaned and rinsed, then i squared the sides using a 325 diamond from harbor freight , and used the same to initially flatten the blue side ( it had some real deep gouges and i wanted them gone, i mean if im doin it i may as well do it right ....right? ) just with that i started to see that rock in a whole new light! not only could i see the red i had NEVER noticed before, but the blue side? its unlike any other stone ive ever seen before, it had almost irridescant blue 'feathers" with red flecks all throughout! its mesmorizing almost, im going to post some pics but i dont know if that effect will show up. its intense!
After that i used 500 W/D and flattened it it up quickly ( it wasnt that bad) and dressed up the sides and the little chips and whatnot, and BAM! ive got me a coticle! now i just need sombody to tell me any special instructions i need for ownership, use , maintenance lol. posting pics soon , id really appreciate any sort of dating or (history?) anybody may know anout it, as i am reletively clueless on the matter.
PS, Is the blue side good as a hone as well? and if so does anybody have ANY idea on the grit it would be?
After that i used 500 W/D and flattened it it up quickly ( it wasnt that bad) and dressed up the sides and the little chips and whatnot, and BAM! ive got me a coticle! now i just need sombody to tell me any special instructions i need for ownership, use , maintenance lol. posting pics soon , id really appreciate any sort of dating or (history?) anybody may know anout it, as i am reletively clueless on the matter.
PS, Is the blue side good as a hone as well? and if so does anybody have ANY idea on the grit it would be?
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- #23
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- #24
so there she is in all her glory at the moment. cant wait to try it out to be honest lol
V Nice.
Wow, great job lapping and cleaning her up! I am not a coti expert, so I'll leave that to other more educated than I. You do have one beautiful stone though, congrats!
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- #27
well im happy i guess thats all that counts, lol. i just hope it makes my shaving experience a little better. i have to make a cool wooden case for it though. i think it needs it and i have some super cool real teak or old growth walnut from grandpop as well .....it would be fitting
She’s a looker! Very nice stone, and excellent work on the cleanup.
Very nice job, and a beautiful stone! Congratulations.
As for how to use it, there are a number of different ways and what follows is just my personal take. I usually use the yellow side of a coticule with water only followed by a Welsh purple slate from AJ on the 'bay. For now, if you have a shave-ready razor, you could use the yellow side for touch-ups as needed. I find that I get a closer shave from using a pasted strop (red Solingen and black Solingen crayon paste on leather in my case) or the Welsh slate afterwards, but others find a coticule edge to their liking. The edge is normally quite smooth in any case. As a full sequence to set a bevel, I often use a 1k/3k Suehiro combo synth before the yellow side. The blue side? Yes it can be used, but I usually skip both it and slurries as the 3k synth side of the combo functions well for me in this way. Some people go from a 1k synth straight to the yellow side of the coti using a thick slurry that is gradually diluted. But as your stone is fairly small, I'm not so sure I would to do that with yours. Better to economize by using it later in the progression IMO. Conversely, a very small minority of folks think that the blue side leaves a nice shaving edge. Often the blues are nominally rated at around 4k by way of a starting point; if it is the redder variety, perhaps this is a little finer, but still not as fine as the yellow side. As for maintenance, I would recommend picking up a small coticule "slurry stone," a no.1 or a no.2 bout. Jarrod at The Superior Shave sells these and has photos of the stones in question, allowing you to choose one to match. As I don't use slurries, I would advocate just using it to remove swarf from the yellow surface on occasion, rubbing lightly and mostly on the perimeter rather than the center. That keeps the stone going for some time without needing to relap it. In this, what one is also seeking to do is to keep the stone flat or convex, and to avoid allowing it to "dish," or becoming concave.
If you become comfortable honing with the 2" x 4" surface, then you might look into a smaller Suehiro combo and a smaller Welsh purple slate, these being around 40mm x 130 mm and 35mm x 130mm respectively. Keeping to small sizes like these, as well as with the small coticule bout, also helps keeps costs down. ;-) 320x wet/dry sandpaper used wet on a thick sheet of glass is really all you need for starters in lapping these too.
As for how to use it, there are a number of different ways and what follows is just my personal take. I usually use the yellow side of a coticule with water only followed by a Welsh purple slate from AJ on the 'bay. For now, if you have a shave-ready razor, you could use the yellow side for touch-ups as needed. I find that I get a closer shave from using a pasted strop (red Solingen and black Solingen crayon paste on leather in my case) or the Welsh slate afterwards, but others find a coticule edge to their liking. The edge is normally quite smooth in any case. As a full sequence to set a bevel, I often use a 1k/3k Suehiro combo synth before the yellow side. The blue side? Yes it can be used, but I usually skip both it and slurries as the 3k synth side of the combo functions well for me in this way. Some people go from a 1k synth straight to the yellow side of the coti using a thick slurry that is gradually diluted. But as your stone is fairly small, I'm not so sure I would to do that with yours. Better to economize by using it later in the progression IMO. Conversely, a very small minority of folks think that the blue side leaves a nice shaving edge. Often the blues are nominally rated at around 4k by way of a starting point; if it is the redder variety, perhaps this is a little finer, but still not as fine as the yellow side. As for maintenance, I would recommend picking up a small coticule "slurry stone," a no.1 or a no.2 bout. Jarrod at The Superior Shave sells these and has photos of the stones in question, allowing you to choose one to match. As I don't use slurries, I would advocate just using it to remove swarf from the yellow surface on occasion, rubbing lightly and mostly on the perimeter rather than the center. That keeps the stone going for some time without needing to relap it. In this, what one is also seeking to do is to keep the stone flat or convex, and to avoid allowing it to "dish," or becoming concave.
If you become comfortable honing with the 2" x 4" surface, then you might look into a smaller Suehiro combo and a smaller Welsh purple slate, these being around 40mm x 130 mm and 35mm x 130mm respectively. Keeping to small sizes like these, as well as with the small coticule bout, also helps keeps costs down. ;-) 320x wet/dry sandpaper used wet on a thick sheet of glass is really all you need for starters in lapping these too.
Great post, Alan.
Thanks David.
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- #32
thanks alot. as always so much response to anybody's need its truley amazing. as a side, purely out of impatience i gave my blade about 10 laps on the yellow with just water. i can say i honestly felt a difference. it smoothed it right out. i thought it would be quite a while before i was able to feel hese subtle things you guys are always talking about but there it was. it was rediculous actually. it felt like i was running the spine along my face, i kept having to check my sponge to see that i actually was indeed cutting hair lol
Congratulation, very nice stone.
I have a 2x4 coti that is used for finishing, I only use with water.
The smaller stone is nice sometimes and often the smaller stones are a sign of quality.
I have a 2x4 coti that is used for finishing, I only use with water.
The smaller stone is nice sometimes and often the smaller stones are a sign of quality.
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- #34
im really green to all this but from what i read it looks like its a honey for sure! how many strokes do you usually use to finish your blades on yours? just trying to get ideas .
It varies but start at about 80. general 80-100 after a well honed 8k edge. Every stone being different.
Mine is dressed to 600 w/d
When testing a new to me stone and if you have some magnification do 20 stroke intervals checking along the way. It will give you an idea of how fast it is working. Palm strop before viewing as cotis seem to leave more on an edge than other stones.
Its always a good idea to palm strop before viewing anyway.
https://i.imgur.com/GK4tDZP.jpg
Mine is dressed to 600 w/d
When testing a new to me stone and if you have some magnification do 20 stroke intervals checking along the way. It will give you an idea of how fast it is working. Palm strop before viewing as cotis seem to leave more on an edge than other stones.
Its always a good idea to palm strop before viewing anyway.
https://i.imgur.com/GK4tDZP.jpg
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