Purely personal preference. The Coticule is a classic stone that is also very versatile. It produces nice results as do other choices. I normally do not use it for bevel setting particularly on heavily worn razors as it can take forever to get the bevel set with the heaviest of slurries.
Lynn, first off I love the SpongeBob mat you are honing on. Secondly I noticed your coticule is massive lol! I have a 5 1/2 by 1 1/2 coti. How would the stroke count differ? I use a water stone as a bevel setter but have been following another method with countless more strokes. Your method seems simple and effective. How do you get your slurry to stay on the stone? I find mine is always flying off when I do X strokes or even circles. Great video BTW.
Thanks Scott, I would try to use the same stroke count and see what happens. You can increase the stroke count a few at a time and see if you can get to something that will work consistently for you. With the smaller stone, you may be pushing the slurry off more. Try to shorten your strokes just a bit and see if that helps. Also, remember that I set my bevel usually on a 1K before using this method. Best of luck!
Hey Lynn. I just successfully honed a razor I bought from your store for the first time using a coticole stone. I was reading your forum prior to this and wanted to buy both a 4000 and 8000 Naniwa super stones but could only find the 8000 in stock. So i bought the 8000 and a coticole at another persons suggestion. Now I am just trying to figure out what the hell I an going to use the super stone for since the Coticole one stone method works so good.
thanks great video, im new to honing and bought a 5k naniwa thinking it would bring the razor up to an acceptable level. unfortunately it passes the arm hair test but not the hanging hair one. ordered one of these today for about 100 euro so looking forward to trying it out. god bless
Larry Narvaez I like a Naniwa Traditional 1K for setting bevels followed by Naniwa 5, 8 & 12K. For me this is the most reliable and consistent set up and affordable. Good luck.
Lynn, I was walking around an antique store and ran into a 1930's "Dry honing" Stone. I came with a rectangular stone and another rough round stone. could this be a coticule stone or is it something else they use to use back then? Thx
I had a great shave today with a Swedish vintage razor after refreshing the edge with a coticole, light slurry, then just water finished with o.5 um Crox, then stropped. I'm just beginning to learn refreshing using coticoles & 12K Naniwa. Thanks for all your videos.
Hi Lynn. Since I posted 6 months ago my stone collection has grown increasingly larger. I have stopped collecting and now am figuring them out. Just a couple questions here. If you've got a faster I dare say coarser coticule. What could you do differently with the coticule to obtain a shave ready edge of the above method isn't working? I've been making a secondary bevel with tape but I don't really like honing with tape unless doing heavy bevel work. The second question is about barber hones. I would like to see a video of using a barber hone to fully hone a razor after bevel set. Any tips on doing it? I just acquired a keen kutter combination and want to see if it will hone a razor bevel set up. Thanks Mr. Abrams The latter question came about after watching the section of your dvd on barber hones.
Scott Archi I have dozens of Coticules and they are all different. To me, the real key is weight of the blade pressure after going from medium slurry to finish. Another key is to really make sure on your bevels first. You might try experimenting on finishing with some of your other stones too, including your barber hone. The only barber hone I have tried this method on is a Swaty which is 7 inches long by 1 1/2 wide. From a consistency perspective, I can only get 6-7 razors out of 10 to hit on the first try. The rest need additional tinkering. I'll see what I can do on a barber hone video using this method. Keep at it and I'm sure your results will get better.
Lynn, let me get this straight... Slurry would be created by simply adding nothing but pure water?? without any added paste or any chemicals - just only water ? If i buy a Belgian Coticule is there anything i need other than the 2 stones for straight razor sharpening ?
When I use the one stone method, I use either another smaller coticule to make slurry or a generic nagura stone. I start off making slurry as thick as mud if possible and work to a thinner slurry and yet thinner and then water only. In my opinion, you can use a good 1K to set bevels and the coticule for the rest and be successful.
Nice video, and really well explained. Quick Question, I read that to put the black tape on the spine and honing until you reach the final stage where using only water. But every time I see a video, no one uses the tape. Not using the tape, will that create hone wear over time? Is there an advantage/disadvantage using the tape or does it boil down to personal preference?
Peter Koning Actually for me, the slurry stone would dish the Coticule periodically and then I would use a flattening stone to remove the dish. With just using the Coticule for personal honing, it would not have to be reflattened often in my opinion.
I like your pyramid video. I used that technique on my TI and love it. I think one of these stones is going to be next for me. Thanks for everything, Lynn.
you all probably dont give a shit but does any of you know of a tool to get back into an Instagram account..? I stupidly lost my password. I appreciate any assistance you can offer me
@Marshall Damon I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and I'm waiting for the hacking stuff atm. Takes a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
I think you can use either. 7-10 weight of blade strokes on the 12K or 10 weight of the blade strokes on the coticule with a light slurry followed by 10 on just water. Have fun.
Hi Lynn, what's your thoughts on one stone honing with a Belgian Blue? Have you ever tried razor honing with Arkansas stones? Specifically the translucents?
+Michael Justice For me, the Belgian Blue is a pretty slow stone and inconsistent on results. It will work and YMMV. The Arkansas Stones are similar when doing the one stone method. The Translucent for me is really inconsistent. If they are working for you though, I would encourage you to keep using them.
Wow! Thanks for the quick reply! I have all the Arkansas stones and that's what I'm familiar with...but I'm not getting an executable shaving edge off them. I've read some stuff about the Belgian Blue working just as well as the Yellow Coticule, it just takes longer. Have you tried the Zulu Grey? Sorry I'm a bit of a hone collector.
I normally set the bevels with a Naniwa Chosera 1k stone prior to using this method. You can set the bevel with the heavy slurry, but it can take a while to get it right. I usually start with the heavy slurry after the bevel is set and end up with very nice results. Not as consistent or reliable as some other stones, but still a good method of getting your razor shavable in my experience.
Hi Lynn, You are a expert in honing. What do you prefer, a natural or synthetic stone. Wich one give the best result and also the fastest result. Sorry for my English I live in Belgium and speak an other language.
+Jean-Pierre Wuestenberghs Although I like honing with my natural stones, in my opinion my synthetic stones provide more reliable and consistent results. I hone razors every day almost so the reliability and consistency with excellent results is very important to me.
+Lynn Abrams but may I ask which edge off the stone do you prefer? Naturals or synethics? Because I know that different stone produce different edge in both smoothness and sharpness
Will using this method damage the health of the stone? I'm new to the straight razor world, but not to the world of knives- yet certainly new to picking out stones myself! If not this particular one, any tips on finding a good cheap stone for use with one's personal straight razor? I was intent on getting an ILR but was heavily misinformed about the price. Everyone I spoke to told me the old price. Not the current one where it's 3x as much in price. Thanks for Reading & Any Advice!
Belgian Blue stones and Coticule stones are pretty expensive, but using a slurry doesn't damage them and they normally last years. A much cheaper alternative is slate - it puts a beautiful edge on a straight razor for a fraction of the cost of a coticule.
