Coticule Honing Made Easy - Demonstration (part 2 of 3) 

FINALLY !! after messing about with my new coticule for weeks and convincing myself that I’d never get a comfortable edge from it, I tried your method and within a few minutes there it was, sticking just as you said it would . Tried a shave and Voila ! It was great 👍 Thanks Dr Matt

WOW !! going to give this a try. Great job Dr.Matt

Great video. Added to my favorites.

I discover sometimes ago that I like sharpening, so of course, I bought about 30 whetstones. :) And of course, I bought a coticule. I am not a razor user, I only sharpen knives. So I took my pocket knife out and tried the coticule. I made slurry and the result was that I manage to dull my pocket knife. So I said to myself what the f word? Did I forget to sharpen? I took the knife back to my favorite stone (a 4000 sulfur-based stone) and sharpen it again. Perfect finish. Tried again on the coticule (this time without a slurry) and again it dulls it. So I said to myself: "this is a bad stone" and throw it in my drawer. Today I saw your movie and I run and found my coticule. Took the same pocket knife and put it under running (dripping) water. 60 seconds down the road and the knife starts to stick to the stone. I said to myself, wow, I am on to something. Took the knife and without stropping try to shave the back of my hand and to my surprise, it was super sharp. Now I can buy myself a straight razor and try it on that too. :) I have liked your movie and subscribed to your channel. :)

Absolutely wonderful, your part 1 explains all we need ! ...I just got lucky before watching your video....managed a good coticle shave out of blind luck ....yes , I finished on plain 💧water! From 5k, 8k synthetic on a 6/8 puma . I was lucky ....but your wonderful video confirmed my process 🎉.

I too was close to giving up on straight razors. I've spent a fortune on blade, stones etc but was still getting a better have from a mid-priced electric! I tried your non-slurry method and have noticed a huge improvement! This has motivated me to explore straight razor shaving once again. Thanks!

Thank you Dr matt.cheers! -cam-

I sure appreciate these videos. My Coticule just arrived the other day.

ive been using the Norton 4/8k and finishing on a coticule under a faucet for quite a few years. only do a wtg pass on my shave and my face is smooth. thanks for the confirmation.

This video caught me at the perfect time I was about to sell my coticule after watching this and giving it another chance I got a pretty good shave off the edge from my coti I only expect to get better results with some more time on the stone this method works well I went from a 6k Arashyama to the coticule great video and very helpful.

Awesome! XD XD You're the man, Matt!!

Amazing, I experienced that sticking effect on other hard natural hones (don't own a coti just yet) and had the completely wrong idea about what it was! That was thanks to some well known "gurus" out there, who have willingly, or unwillingly spread the misconception. You opened my eyes, hat's off to to you sir.

I just tried your sharpening technique under running water: IT WORKS!!! The shave I got is the best (I worked on coticole for about 5 minutes and then I did 60 strokes on rigid leather pad, without any compound); better of my Naniwa 12k and better of Crox 0.5 and 0.3 um. The most counterintuitive fact is that after the honing process on cuticole I can see tiny scrapes on the bevel, while the Naniwa 8k and 12k give a high luster. Nevertheless, the shave is much better with the cuticle (much more confortable and smooth). Thank you for sharing this awesome discovery, Dr. Matt . :)

such an awesome looking coti

Thank you for sharing this information.

Used the recipe again last night on a razor. Perfect technique to get that coticule edge. Love how smooth and comfortable the coticule edges are. Great work Dr. Matt

I have been using coticules for over a year now. This is the finishing technique I keep coming back to and always works for me without fail. HOWEVER - you don't need to use different stones prior to this. If you divide your honing into a sharpening progression (using slurry with a half stroke technique and diluting gradually down to water) then strop, and then follow this technique you can get just as good results.

Very NICE :) Dr.!

This is a fantastic coti technique. Gives great edges quickly. I finish on lather with a dozen very light passes, strop on linen and horse to achieve the best edges I've ever been able to produce even when I come off that pos Norton 8K. Thanks Dr Matt for all your research and for passing it on.

Wonderful!

Thank you very much Dr. Matt. This water running technique really really works. I had a couple of Coticules which I almost never use because I almost never got good results. After watching this video and honing a razor on one of my coticules with water running I got a very sharp edge. Thanks Dr. Matt, you are The Niels borg of Coticules since you like to analyze those edges almost at a molecular estructure.

Discovered what you did Dr. Matt but I found out via the video featuring the the Ellipiticot method on website Coticule.be. From there I added the trailing edge method and have gotten some very comfortable shave edges. Also like you I was impressed with how fast a blade can gain a keen edge. Vintage blades take a little more work but I have taken some older blades and gotten a great edge. But anyone who watches and learns from your video will cut down the learning curve and the frustration that comes with using coticules. I wouldn't use anything else for finishing my blades. Great job!

Excellent as always. Perhaps an additional variable being controlled is that the metal swarf is being removed as well. On a Japanese synthetic stone this gives a brighter finish, so perhaps minimizing the metal swarf content has a positive benefit as well. I gotta try this out!!

unbelievable! I just tried this technique with my new coticule and it took me about 5 minutes under the water to get the sticky feeling. ...which I've never achieved before. ..and then I looked under the scope and all I saw was black! very few scratches, and a dead straight edge. I'm amazed, I realy am! you sir, dr matt, are the MAN!!!!!

Holly cow Matt! This is a great method and easy. I apply this to coticule and even hard jnat after 4/8K. I think my nakayama works even better than my coticule here. Have you tryed jnat with same technique?

Hey Dr. Matt, great tutorial! I have been thinking of getting a coticule for maintaining the edge of my straight and was a little put off knowing there was such a learning curve. You gave me the confidence to give this a shot. Your first step in the process uses a 5000 Shapton, I happen to have a 4000 Shapton. There shouldn't be that much difference should there? Best regards- Mike

Hi Dr Matt. Really enjoyed your video's and, like you, I was struggling on the cotticule to get the edge to the point where I could get a comfortable shave and was ready to give up. I have carried out your process after setting the bevel on a Norton 4K, then moving to the 8K followed by your technique. I get the stick you describe and use blade only pressure from then on, but I can't get anywhere near your results on the hht. Any suggestions? Oh, I also have a small hand held microscope to monitor blade progression.

@DrMatt357 just honed my first razor. I looked at under a loupe and notice that the edge was rubbish in a couple of spots. So thought, crap 1K time. Then i remembered your advice, if it was sharp before, it doesn't need a bevel reset. So out came the 5K Naniwa, blunted the razor on the schist of my coticule (n08 bout) and set to work on the 5K with some circles and Xs. I didn't move from that until I could cut into a tomato with no pressure all along the blade. Moved to circles & x's on the coti, I didn't get much sticking but when I felt the blade was finished it was mirror-smooth under a loupe and was a pretty good comfortable shave! Might try and go for the sticky next time

Im tryiing the slurry technique, to form the bavel, but is not working. So, I meed a 5k stone and tryiing your technique. I hope the best results

Can you please tell us if the "stick" thing that shows you you're done, is that only on belgian coticule or is that a principle we can find on every finisher stones ???

what grit diamond did u lap the coticule with before u started this? iv done this many times and still no where near as dark and less lines as ur scope pics. on my ardennes coticule select. still many many white scratches and sometimes the white edge line appears again.. iv tried this and everything NEXT to this w no luck for finish stage. and mine starts sticking immediately after circles.i dunno if that matters.i did have it far up there on jnats just wanted to try out my coticule from ardennes.but i am NOT gettin ur results at all.

Why use the 5k stone when you have a Belgium blue on the other side of your Coticule???? Slurry it if you need a 1k fixing stone or sue the same technique to get a 4-6k finish on the brown side?

Hi Matt, great video could you please give me some more explanations.. You had a first coticule, but seems as a last step you used a second one... Or was it another coticule with another razor ?? I did not understand what was going on... Seems your last coticule had a lot of fractures on it.. Isn't it disturbing the process, doesn't it leave scratches on the blade ??? Could you give me the exact name if the "pink" 5k stone your using and the diamond plate reference you use to flaten the 5k...do you have so good places to get great coticules (belgian coticule or are they other type of coticule your using)... Thaks for your answer Matt.

Hi DrMatt, Thank you so much ..Your Coticule journey could be my own, I've bought and sold several without success but it"s not in my nature to give up. With this technique I have had my first smooth shave off a stone which has never yielded results, using slurry has always created edge chipping. One thing I do notice and it's not unique to Coticules is any sharpening technique that leaves a hazy bevel seems to reduce the "glide" of the blade on my skin, even cbn spray which leaves a wickedly sharp edge seems sticky compared to a shiny synthetic edge. Is this something you have encountered?

Good stuff. I'm about to buy my first set of stones so I can learn to hone. I like smooth comfortable edges rather than super sharp (don't like feather blades) because of this, somebody said a coti would be the best finisher. Do you agree?

Doc, at 5:05 you start to do X strokes. I think it's important for guys to learn proper flipping technique right off the bat, so I'm gonna have to take you to task a bit here. You are flipping with your edge going toward the hone. You (and new guys should learn this right the first time) should be flipping the blade by keeping the spine of the razor ON THE HONE, and flipping the razor so that the blade arcs over the stationary spine, AWAY FROM the hone. This completely eliminates the possibility of your edge coming into contact with the hone during the flip. It isn't possible to see in your videos, but there is the possibility that some of your past (and potentially some of your future) honing problems stem from the fact that you can, as you lift the blade from the hone, round the edges off by using your flipping technique. I know that you have muscle memory for doing it this way now, but it's time to teach an old dog a new trick and break yourself of that habit. You might be rounding off your edge without even knowing it... I'm sure the first thought that went through your head was "nah, I'm not doing that, it's just fine." Well, it isn't fine, and new guys should not be seeing this as their introduction to flipping. At 5:32, you start to do some back honing strokes (not sure why, but you are). The flipping technique that you do while back honing is PERFECT! Do that ALL THE TIME. New guys, please watch the flipping technique at 5:32, and do that always.

Is that a Shapton Pro?

Hello Dr. Matt! Im using a wedgey razor on a coticule: do wedge like razors stick less to the coticule when getting close to being done than do hollow razors? Thanks for your vids and tips on the topic!

Nice! Do you think the water technic will work with other finishing stones? According to the logic behind your technic i think it would... Have you tried in other stones?

Dr. Matt, Did i notice that you lead with the spine a couple times on the coticule? Is this helpful or necessary for the stone to bring the edge to a full cutting surface? I think this was the only time I have seen you do this.

I wish I could get an edge like that matt. I can get it to the point were it gets slightly sticky on the coticule but that is as far I can go. never sharp enough to shave with.

Thank’s for illustrative video. I have a Coticule no9 and don’t feel the stickiness you describe. Is the stone to hard maybe? Thx in advance for advise.

3:55 what brand of that beautiful razor is that?

Awesome drmatt where do you get the stones sir?

Hi Dr Matt, would you recommend coticule for sharpening / honing kitchen knifes?

How much does it have to stick? I came to the point where I feel slight resistance after almost 20 minutes of only X strokes (It started to stick a little bit after doing a few laps with soapy water). Bear in mind I honed it the day before using slurry (I only have a set of coticules) and wasn't satisfied with the shave. I'm honing a brand new DOVO Rassiermesser 25 (not shave ready I guess, I feel a bit of tug and pull during shaving).

I only have a Burger King Straw to measure the stream, is that OK?

under the running water, should i do circles and x strokes till i feel the razor drag, then increase the water till it drags again? i was wondering the steps because i have a nice size coticule and i would like to increase its lifespan, and i notice that i can make a nice swarf on it but i have trouble honing in on a great edge. i just need to know the key things to notice and see so i can achieve an edge like that.

What is the running water doing? Removing Coticule self slurry? I have to try this!

Hey I have a king 1k, 6k, a shapton 8k, and a SS 12k. Will that do for my razor I'm yet to sharpen it but I'm dying to! Thanks Matt!

Are those cracks in the coticle at 13:19 in the video?

Hello, this first stone you use, (pink) what is its brand and grit?

you can do the same thing on jnats, what's the appeal?

What microscope do you use?

Don't you think you can avoid the slurry because you're using the Shapton 5000 before?

Complete illusion !

Hi Doc, I can tell my Naniwa waterstones aren't flat. How can I flatten them? I used a Naniwa flattening stond but it doesn't appear to be flat itself. I could get a DMT Dia-flat but they're pricey. Any more affordable options that give good results?

I`me on a water meter ,Dam` ill have to sell my coticule

Don't put it away, eat it ! !