Pouli's honing journal

[pouli]

Hello everyone,

I thought I would start this journal to document my adventures in learning how to hone using a coticule. I have been a hand tool woodworker for a number of years now, so I feel like I have a basic understanding of the process, but this will take it to an entirely new level. In the past, i have honed my tools using a norton 4/8k stone, along with a few others. When I started using straights, i wss able to get a serviceable edge from this, but I kept reading about how a finisher would make my shaves much more enjoyable. I ended up buying a Sigma 13k stone and noticed a huge difference, but i found the first couple of shaves a bit harsh. Not surr if that wad me or the stone. Probably me!

A couple of weeks ago I bought a standard grade coticule from Fendrihan. I read everything I could on coticule.be and tried it out. Here is my first real attempt at a full honing, rather than just finishing on water.

Hone attempt 1:

Razor: Vintage Boker "Diamond"? (Borrowed from my father)
Stone: standard grade coti - unknown vein
Method:
I dulled the razor on glass and then raised what I think of as milky slurry. I did 40 halfstrokes on each side, tested to see if it would pop armhairs (nope) and thn did 30 more. The slurry was gray with swarf at this point. Then i tried to dilute the slurry a little at a time using one fingerload. All seemed to be going well. After about 10 dilutions with 15 halfstrokes each time, I cleaned the stone, did 15 more halfstrokes on water and then 50 x sttokes.

Result - would not pass hht, but shaved armhair very nicely!

So....I applied a layer of tape and used the unicot method, which resulted in hht 3-4 before stropping. I was happy, so I left it there.

How could i have made my dilucot attempt work better? More dilutions? More time on water?

 

[AndroiDad75]

Hey pouli,

Glad to see you started a honing journal as well.

I am very interested to hear what you could have done differently. I am too new to try and offer any real advice, but I have found that the ellipticot method has been working ok for me so far. Also, as other have said over and over to me, and what seems to be the hardest for me, is making sure the bevel is set. I have to really dial in the TPT. Right now I am having a hard time telling when the bevel is completely set.

Rob

 

[buca3152]

First attempt with a coti? Yiu did great! If it shaves great as your hht test reveals, theres nothing else you need to do but that. Unicot is fine especially since it worked out nicely for you. How close the edge was to shaving before you started and how fast or slow your coti is is unknown. Butseems like you figured it out. I set on chosera, then i use the bbw side as mid range 2 dilutions and do 2 dilutions and then 50 laps on mineral oil on yellow side. Im not a big fan of cotis, i have three of them but prefer a keener edge.

 

[Gamma]

I love Cotis, I get wonderful shaving edges off them.
Way keen, way smooth.

Can't speak for the Unicot aspect, I don't use that technique.
I do a form of dulicot - my dilutions are less accurate than what a lot of other people do, but I generally keep each stage to one drop of water, not a full finger-load worth.

You can gauge your dilutions best once you figure out the stone.
I usually avoid half-strokes for anyting except what you're doing - they're fast and they help with geting the stone figured out.
Once you learn the stone's feedback, you'll get the dilutions down better. It's impossible to say now what it is you could do to make it 'better' without knowing the stone or any of the other variables.

Sounds like you had a good success, so the first step is to repeat it a few times and then start making adjustments.
That's how I'd approach it.

 

[Brooksie967]

Good on ya! I would have personally stayed on slurry until it was popping arm hairs and then gone through the dilutions. Sounds like you might have given up on resetting the bevel a little early.

 

[pouli]

Thank you everyone!

I did a test shave with the razor, and it was quite nice, not tugging or puling at all. So I guess unicot works! Lovely - or just lucky - not sure which...

Brooksie - should it be popping hairs at skin level or shaving them? Or do you mean when I hold the blade just above my arm (tree topping?) If it should be popping hairs right off, then yes, I absolutely should have spent more time on slurry I guess. Too impatient, I guess! Thanks for the tip.

Thanks again everyone. I hope to try and dull the same razor again tonight, and see if I can give it another shot. Hopefully better this time.

Take care,

Chris

 

[Brooksie967]

It's really hard to say as everyone has different hair on their body. For me, I look for it to be popping hairs above skin level. It should be, minimum, shaving the arm hair off easily when the bevel is back to being set.

 

[pouli]

Thanks Brooksie,

I definitely need to get the bevel set better then. It was shaving arm hairs, but not what I would think of as amazingly easily. I'll try spending more time with a thicker slurry and see how that works out. Thanks again!

Take care,

Chris

 

[Brooksie967]

To put it in perspective, after my 1k chosera I can shave arm hairs easily, dry or wet.

 

[pouli]

Hello Everyone,

Here is my second attempt with the coticule:

Hone #2
Razor: Boker Diamond

So I raised a slurry, again what I thought of as milky, and started with 40 halfstrokes on each side, checked for shaving arm hair, and did 20 more. The slurry was quite grey and thick at this point. So thick that I put a drop of water in it to soften it up a bit. It still wasn't shaving armhairs perfectly, so I went at it a few more times on slurry to really set the bevel. Finally, it was shaving armhairs nicely, but was not popping them off above skin level. I started dilutions and worked at it for at least 15 dilutions. I lost track - sorry! It was quite a number of dilutions, with 15 halfstrokes each time. Finally I rinsed the hone, di 30 halfstrokes on water, and then about 100 x strokes on water, rinsing the stone every so often.

Result - no HHT, no violin, no nothing!

It was a little late, so I went to the unicot method, did thirty halfstrokes on a light slurry, rinsed and did 15 on water, folowed by lots of xstrokes on water and got an amazing result. HHT 3 at least off the stone. An easy 4 after stropping. Not quite there at the point of the blade though, it rounds up a bit, so I need to concentrate more there.

Shave this morning was nice and smooth, but I only did a little of my face just to check it out. I just got a new Hart, and am loving it! Not willing to put it to the hone yet, though....

Take care,

Chris

 

[pouli]

Hone # 3

Not a lot of time last night, so I decided to just touch up my Wapi and my new Hart Steel razor on the coticule. I did about 30 laps on water, and then another 30 on oil. I taped the spine of the Hart, because I read somewhere that they tape the spines when honing, and I didn't want to mess with the geometry yet. Hopefully I haven't!

HHT 4 (maybe 5?) on both. Of course, they were both already very keen.

Shaved this morning with the Hart and it was very nice. Beautiful razor, but very large for me. I think it might take some getting used to. Love the weight, but I have more trouble with angles due to the sheer size of it. Oh well, I can't really ask for a nicer razor to practice with, now can I?

Take care,

Chris

 

[AndroiDad75]

Sounds like you are doing well.

I have a hard time when I am checking hair on my arm. My arm hair is pretty thin and I really have a hard time with any blade getting a tree-topping, even one honed by someone really well versed in honing.

Like you I keep trying. I have been playing with some razors that I don't want to destroy, so I may have to just keep dulling the cheap razor I found, and re-doing it.

 

[pouli]

I hear you! I've been thinking about ordering some Gold Dollars to practice on. From what I have been reading, they may turn out to be fantastic!

 

[pouli]

Didn't hone last night, but thought I would lap my coticule again. It was pretty far from flat. I was surprised! I haven't had it that long, is this normal? Now, when i got it, i lapped it, but i didn't lap the slurry stone. I guess I should have. Still, very surprising. How often do people usually lap their coticules? Does the action of making slurry cause it to go out of flat?

 

[pouli]

Hone attempt 4:
Razor: Boker diamond

I dulled the Boker on glass and then tried to use the ellipticot method to set the bevel. It seemed to work, but when i went to dilutions, it seemed to make the edge even more dull. Frustrated, i dulled the edge again and tried the dilucot method, with similiar results as in the past. Actually, that is not true. Results were worse! Again, I was able to set the bevel so that it would shave arm hairs, but after rinsing the stone and doing xstrokes, it seemed to get worse. I must not be doing them carefully tonight. Oh well. Another day.