Thread: What coticule to buy for a smooth edge?

Thanks Gary, I think I have one myself. I'll check with Maruice.

You need to test natural stones as an independent stone to see if you like how they react to the razor. Coticules aren't synthetic, so they aren't the same stone to stone, like a chosera is or a Norton is. Veins don't matter much either, that's mostly marketing.

Basically you have to try coticules over and over until you find one that works for you, or keep the single one you have and use it for like a year, hone on it every day and keep honing and honing and you may learn that stone over time and get the results you want.

With that being said, I 've asked Maurice personally what veine was best for razors and he said La Vienette was. When I asked why, he didn't give me much of an answer other than it's best for razors...not sure what to get from that.

La Grosse Blanche is called skin-friendly here:
http://www.coticule.be/the-cafeteria/topic/1727.html
A good source of information for those of you who want more information on the various coticule layers.

It sounds like you have come upon the conundrum facing every one who hones razors. How do you make a razor that is very keen without becoming harsh?

The answer depends upon several factors: the quality of the hone, the quality of your honing technique and also upon the quality of the steel in your razor. As you hone on ever finer stones, you make the edge thinner and keener, but at some point the steel becomes so thin that it begins to crumble. Also larger carbides in the steel may pop out leaving behind a jagged edge which feels harsh on the face. Some steels are better than others in this aspect. However, it is not enough to define the type of steel as the tempering process also plays a significant role.

I have a tough beard and very sensitive skin, so I am always trying to achieve a very keen, yet very smooth blade. Using the right finishing hone certainly helps as long as you have the proper technique for that specific stone.

Like many others with tough beards, I have found that
edges off a Coticule are smooth, but not keen enough for my beard. If you have a lighter beard, you may love a Coticule edge.

I find that I get the best edges by stropping on pasted strops with super fine abrasives: 0.50, 0.25 and 0.10 micron. I use CBN, but others use diamond pastes and sprays. Some claim that CBN edges are smoother than diamond edges, but I have not tried diamond, so I cannot confirm one way or the other. Diamond sprays are available in both monocrystaline and polycrystaline form. I do not know which is better.

If you can get a keen edge on your stones, then stropping helps smooth out unevenness in the edge that leads to a harsh shave.

It may not work with every razor. I have one that I can get keen, or I can get smooth, but I have never been able to achieve keen and smooth at the same time. I do not believe the steel was tempered properly.

For those saying that a coticule lacks the keenness found in other stones, that may be the case if you finish only on water. If you try soapy water, running water from a tap, talcum powder, oil, you'll find that you can get the edge keener beyond the natural capabilities of the stones themselves. It just takes a few of these tricks to do so, rendering additional stones beyond it, pointless.

@Ray: I have shaved off a coticule in the past. Looking for the holy grail I moved on to Eschers and Jnats. Egdes were getting sharper but now I have arrived at the point that I get a skinrash below the jaw line. So now I am sort of back to square one.

Pink coticules are going to be fast cutters that produce a keen and sometimes mellow edge, wood-grained coticules from the la grise vein are going to be slow, but produce mellow results. I'd avoid anything with a green or brown hue or coloration to it. Anything with black dots and lines are going to indicate a good, fast hone.

Originally Posted by TheCoticuleWhisperer

I'd avoid anything with a green or brown hue or coloration to it. Anything with black dots and lines are going to indicate a good, fast hone.

It's still all quite relative. I have a green/brownish vintage (with manganese dots) that is on the slower side both on slurry and water but leaves a really smooth edge.

It's the only coticule edge I might be able to identify correctly in a blind test out of my four coticule surfaces (three stones, one is a Les Latneuses combination).

I've seen and handled quite a few coticules, and imo there is so much variation even with stones from within a vein that it's really not useful to generalize any of the honing properties.

imo vein doesn't guarantee a good stone but might it might increase the chances? I think if you look at the coticule surface that can help determine how fine it is as well as the side. I think if surface looks smooth and solid should be solid finisher. This just from my experience though I will add 2 photos of different coticules I have had. The first is one of my favorite finishers and the other coticule I was not personally a fan of. Although some coticules can have weird looking surfaces and be great finishers while others can have plain surfaces and not be great finishers. I would say magnese is usually a good sign but again it depends. Natural stones can be hit or miss, I wish coticule vendors would have some sort of grit rating for coticules. Like having extra extra fine/ extra fine/ fine instead of just "its a coticule they are all 6k-8k range and they all are great finishers." I could shave with 6k or 8k synth stone edge but I don't want to go buy from a synth stone vendor that says "yea my synth stones are 6k-8k with some being 10k+ but they are all good stones for whatever you are using it for. Trust me satisfaction GUARANTEED...but no returns accepted." sort of bad example but w/e, I suggest buying coticule from someone that offers return. GL