La Grise help

[DG109]

I’ve been honing myself for 15 years or so but have realised that whilst functional my efforts haven’t been as productive as I’d like so I am attempting to improve and master my stone.

I have a large La Grise and I was hoping some experts could please give me some pointers.

I find the stone seems to autoslurry quite quickly on water only and produces a much hazier finish on the edge than the stone I use before (Superstone 8k).

I follow that up with running water. I strop on linen before moving to the coti and double my stropping efforts when finished ready for the first shave.

I’m still only able to get a very comfortable but not particularly close shave.

For comparison I have (for the first time in a loooong time) had a couple of my razors professionally honed on synths and these produce a much keener (yet as expected slightly crisper and to me less comfortable) shave.

I would love to understand my stone better so would appreciate advice.

Dai

 

[Pedigree]

Have you tried honing on soapy water for the hydroplaning effect? Might even try oil.

 

[Pedigree]

Also, have you considered turning up the flow of the water from the faucet? That might help to neutralize the auto slurrying.

 

[DG109]

Also, have you considered turning up the flow of the water from the faucet? That might help to neutralize the auto slurrying.

Thank you. Yes I normally do 3 stages of increasing flow.

I’ve avoided using soap recently but did try it in the past (over a year ago).

I’ve recently been exclusively following a tip from Gary Haywood to add a layer of tape which I gather interferes with the feedback.

 

[*stefan*]

If you are getting an edge from 8k that shaves ok (perhaps not the most skin friendly) without paste, only the last refinement is needed with the finisher.

When moving to the coti I would test with enough running water flow directly that will
remove the loose particle effect totally.

Perhaps 1/4" diameter waterflow 2" under the crane?
Only do very light X-strokes.

This is what I would test if I suspected that the slurry only had a bad effect.

 

[DG109]

If you are getting an edge from 8k that shaves ok (perhaps not the most skin friendly) without paste, only the last refinement is needed with the finisher.

When moving to the coti I would test with enough running water flow directly that will
remove the loose particle effect totally.

Perhaps 1/4" diameter waterflow 2" under the crane?
Only do very light X-strokes.

This is what I would test if I suspected that the slurry only had a bad effect.

Thank you. I will give that a go and definitely been absent in my approach so far.

Should I expect a decent performance in the HHT after?

I’ve only recently had this option (I shave my head but given spare extensions from my wife ) but never bothered as I believe it is unreliable, particularly with the coti.

 

[*stefan*]

The tip seems to be the first thing to test as you are going from 8k and suspect the slurry has a bad effect.

Have no idea what your stone is capable of regarding HHT, you have to test.
I'm not a coti honer myself so others have to chime in.

 

[Wid]

I have a couple of La Grise and all I do is set the bevel with a 1K then use slurry and a set of dilutions to plain water. Normally I go with 3 sets of 30 with plain water and test. I hate the running water method. If I feel the stone will auto slurry I fill the sink with water an submerge the stone and razor to rid it of any slurry when needed. Rinse and repeat

 

[Gamma]

Typically, if I am honing under running water I do it going 'uphill' so any auto-slurry washes away behind the blade. I would usually go for a low 'steady drip' so I don't have to fight any 'flow'.
First though... the beginning...

Start with flat stones, lap and prove flatness with a known straightedge.
Then - set a bevel and do a test shave, if you can manage a shave off the 1k then you're there or close.
The bevel is the edge - no bevel=no edge. Marginal bevel=marginal edge. And so on.
Coti bevels are always hazier than anything left by synth stones. Haze is not an indicator of sharp, bevel quality, or shave-ability.
Honestly, Coti edges have the ugliest bevels going.
Controlling and using pressure to one's advantage is the name of the game when using a Coticule. Practice improving the 1k edge via test shaves. Learn to judge edge progress via visual, audible and tactile 'tells' - aka feedback.
Takes some time, sometimes, with some stones. Cotis can be like a puzzle - simplifying the puzzle is always the way to go. Complicating it makes things more difficult most of the time. Make small changes in the approach, one at a time - that way you know what thing does what and when. Pay attention to all details and take notes.
Start with a 100% on-point bevel though.

 

[JPO]

I’ve been honing myself for 15 years or so but have realised that whilst functional my efforts haven’t been as productive as I’d like so I am attempting to improve and master my stone.

I have a large La Grise and I was hoping some experts could please give me some pointers.

I find the stone seems to autoslurry quite quickly on water only and produces a much hazier finish on the edge than the stone I use before (Superstone 8k).

I follow that up with running water. I strop on linen before moving to the coti and double my stropping efforts when finished ready for the first shave.

I’m still only able to get a very comfortable but not particularly close shave.

For comparison I have (for the first time in a loooong time) had a couple of my razors professionally honed on synths and these produce a much keener (yet as expected slightly crisper and to me less comfortable) shave.

I would love to understand my stone better so would appreciate advice.

Dai

I have what i think is a La Grise. I gave up on that stone as a finisher. It did cut fast, but i was never able to get a good edge from that stone. I have four other coticules that give me grate edges. I ended up using it as a prefinisher before my finer coticules or before a jnat. To me this stone was not worth loosing any sleep over. Yours might be different. In the right hands it might be a really nice stone, or it might be more suited for other tasks. Maybe i could get my stone to work for me, but the other stones works so much better.

 

[DG109]

I’ve gone to town on the bevel set to make sure it’s absolutely singing.

I can get a pretty good edge off the Naniwa 8k.

I’ve moved to the coti again tonight and followed all the above advice and it’s treetopping arm hair but only half decent on the HHT.

I’ll shave tomorrow and see where it’s at.

Must admit I’m close to throwing the towel in with the stone but will persevere for a few weeks.

I have a 12k NSS on order which should help rule out my honing strokes at least.

 

[cotedupy]

Can't offer any advice on the coticule. But don't compare the polish level against SS... most of the superstone series will mirror polish even soft steel. A 3k SS will put a mirror polish on non-hardened steel. They're the only synths I know to do this - it's weird, and don't ask me why! But it's something to do with the binder rather than the grit I imagine.

 

[DG109]

Shaved today and the edge wasn’t great. Left me with a 12 hour stubble look after 2 passes even though it was a very smooth shave. Probably because it’s not sharp.

Do I need to go back to the 5 or 8k or can I just try something different with my finishing strokes on the coti?

 

[Wid]

Go back to the 8K until you can shave from it, you should be able to get a good shave from that stone. Then try the coti once you know what you have on the 8K.

 

[DG109]

Thank you, Wid

 

[Alum of Potash]

I use a coticule with water only, running if it auto-slurries. A coticule edge is never close or "sharp" enough for my beard. I find using a Welsh purple slate with machine oil afterwards ups the edge a bit and leaves me with the shave I want.

 

[DG109]

As an update, I’d purchased a Naniwa ss 12k which arrived yesterday.

I killed the edge and ran it through 5, 8, 12 progression yesterday. Had a much better shave off it today. Not perfect but much better than the coti edge. I’m going to go back to the bevel set as think the edge needs tidying up. It’s a bit uneven on each side.

Mixed emotions that I couldn’t get a decent edge off the coti. I will master a satisfactory edge off the synths then experiment with the coti once I have grasped the basic skill to hone respectably.