Honing my 7/8 Bleckmann's Magnetic

[bernie01]

After a quick strop, bevel as razor was received.

After Suehiro 1K

After Suehiro 3K

After Shapton 8K

After Naniwa SS 12K (under running water)

After Coticule (under running water)

I have only put one other razor through a full progression before this one, and as this is so nice was a little nervous. The shave was smooth and efficient, but now wish I had shaved on the 12K Naniwa edge first for comparison with the coticule. As has been commented on 'another forum' re coticule edges, what may look a bit rough or worse than a synthetic edge may be as good if not better. Certainly the Naniwa edge looks OK to my eyes. Any tips appreciated! (Photos around x250 magnification)

 

[Hos]

You can always take it back to the 12K and compare the result, or leave it as is if you're happy with the edge til starts to dull and it's time for a touch up, then try the 12k. I don't have a microscope at home , only have a loupe, so I've never looked at my edges under such magnification; I'm not sure how strong the correlation is between smooth appearance of the edge and the quality of the shave. One could argue you do need a bit of serration for efficient cutting.

Mind you, I do like the Naniwa 12K finish a lot; better than many of the naturals I have tried so far,

 

[Holiday]

I originally invested in a Coti thinking it would be a smart investment using the one stone method.
Unfortunately I only ever achieved one good edge off the Coti whereas Jnats just come naturally
I reckon the 12K Naniwa probably would have been a better edge

 

[bernie01]

Yeah, the 'naturals' scene is not so much a deep hole as a chasm it seems...
I used the same progression (less Coticule) on my beat up old 'Invicta', the 12K edge was sharp but seemed a bit harsh.
A few laps on the Coti seemed to retain the sharpness but smooth it up a little.
The tribal elders say not to learn to hone and learn to shave at the same time; I'm beginning to see their point!

 

[Gargravarr]

By way of a completely OT aside, when I was a boy there was an old man who used to go around trimming back vegetation such as grass, blackberry vines or gorse with a scythe. I remember seeing him shaving with it (in the middle of the day, and without lather, or even a mirror - a real man ). He once told me that the trick was to leave the edge a little rough, it saved a lot of time and pain in his back. It was amazing to watch him work, it was like everything just effortlessly sheared away before the blade even touched it. I'm pretty sure he would have whupped my butt with my petrol-powered brushcutter.

I remember him when I sharpen my pocket knives; I don't attempt to put anything close to a real razor edge on them (though they will shave arm hair), they get their real job done much better with a coarser stone, with occasional use of strop or steel.

Reminds me of an old nursery rhyme/song:

One man went to mow, went to mow a meadow.
One man and a dog named Spot, went to mow a meadow.

Two men went to mow, went to mow a meadow.
One man, two men and a dog named Spot, went to mow a meadow...
...

 

[Nanook]

I remember him when I sharpen my pocket knives; I don't attempt to put anything close to a real razor edge on them (though they will shave arm hair), they get their real job done much better with a coarser stone, with occasional use of strop or steel.

My father is the same. We used to go hunting together, I've never known anyone that could get a skinning knife as sharp as he could on just an old 2 sided sharpen stone.

Although I can get my SRs in a passable state, I couldn't sharpen a knife to save myself.

 

[Holiday]

I like to think my knife honing skills have improved because I am now at the stage where the daily kitchen knife used for bread and tomatoes stays sharp for up to 3 months just requiring a leather strop every now and again when a burr starts forming.

 

[CarbonEdge]

After a quick strop, bevel as razor was received.

After Suehiro 1K

After Suehiro 3K

After Shapton 8K

After Naniwa SS 12K (under running water)

After Coticule (under running water)

I have only put one other razor through a full progression before this one, and as this is so nice was a little nervous. The shave was smooth and efficient, but now wish I had shaved on the 12K Naniwa edge first for comparison with the coticule. As has been commented on 'another forum' re coticule edges, what may look a bit rough or worse than a synthetic edge may be as good if not better. Certainly the Naniwa edge looks OK to my eyes. Any tips appreciated! (Photos around x250 magnification)

You should definitely try a shave off the 12k to compare, just looking at the scratch pattern from those photos, that would be interesting to compare. Some do say that a edge off a synth can be a bit harsh, but I’ve never tried a 12k edge.
Personally I’ve never been able to get an edge that I was really happy with from a coti no matter what method I try.

I’ve gone down the path of jnats and been able to achieve some very comfortable edges. Definitely takes some time and a lot of experimenting - so maybe some more experimentation with your coti could produce some better results also as you refine your technique. If it’s only your second go then you’ll find that with practice, your skills will get better and better each time you hone.
Watch lots of YouTube, there’s heaps of info info to take in.

Btw what did you use to take those photos of your edge?

Cheers

 

[bernie01]

@Markyv This is the microscope I used: https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B09FSLD92N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is only the second time I've tried honing a razor that I really care about, but I've had quite a bit of practice on some junk razors, and also touching up edges on razors honed by experts. Yes, I'll certainly try shaving with the 12K edge soon. I'm sure that I can improve as I go further, at least, I hope so. However I've had several nice shaves off this Coti edge and it is probably the best I've done, despite looking pretty rough under 250x magnification.
Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Holiday]

Hi @bernie01 I have a similar model. How do you determine what magnification?
I just zoom in and out until focused ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Looking online I can calibrate to measure but this seems to be at a set magnification

 

[bernie01]

@Holiday It's been a while and I'm away from home but I recall it involves the little calibration card that came with it, then a procedure which eventually displays the magnification factor in a field at top right. It's finicky and tedious to do for every focus point so I did it only once or twice to get a ball park figure around 250x which is close to the claimed 300x. Did you receive a manual? It's all in there. Zooming in our out only changes the focus, not the magnification AFAIK. Anyway, yeah, now I just zoom in or out too!

 

[Holiday]

Cheers @bernie01 from what I could determine when you calibrate using the card it determines the set magnification at that time and you can then use the measuring tool. Thought there may be something else I am missing