Thread: Yellow & Blue Coticule Combo. Rare, but...

I was VERY excited about this one since I have HAD much more than RAD (go figure): http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEBTOX:IT&i tem=130198847319&_trksid=p3984.cTODAY.m238.lVI

Clearly the seller doesn't know this, but it's a vintage Belgian 80+ years old. This is not a natural yellow coticule/belgian blue but it's a yellow and Belgian blue bonded together just like the yellows of today are bonded to the black slate. Two awesome stones in one! I asked Howard about this one and he said a Belgian company bonded the two stones together about 80+ years ago but no one has done it since. Vintage yellow and blue. Nice. Except.........

I found out from the seller that the yellow side aside from the corner chips is in great condition, but the blue side is significantly cracked all the way through and looks as though it was glued back together.

Here's some additional pics the seller sent me:
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m178/filinxxx/2.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m178/filinxxx/4.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m178/filinxxx/3.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m178/filinxxx/1.jpg

The current bid is only like $13. I posted this stuff here not because I'm going to bid on it, but I think for the right price, this would still make a great stone for someone since the yellow side is really great (corners don't matter for honing) and there may even be enough of an area on the blue side, even though this hone is a bit on the small side, to use that side as well. If this stone goes for like $20-$30 IMO, it would still be a great deal. The yellow side and its small size would make it an ultimate bathroom barber hone upgrade to keep handy.

If I had the money and if both sides of this stone were in great shape, I would probably have bid up to $100 for this stone.

Chris L

I've been watching that item, but I've already got a few so I'll stand down if you want it!

I figured I wasn't the only one watching it. I have a natural yellow/blue combo 8"x3" already and another blue. I won't be bidding on this one but I figured this would really make a great stone, even in its current condition for a newer person who would want to graduate into their first coticule. It's smaller size would make for a perfect hand held, keep in the bathroom, refresh an edge on the yellow side in a few passes kind of a stone.

Chris L

Oh, and I'm psyched that I'm now at 100 posts again and have gained back my senior member status I had before the crash!

No,you're not the only one watching it.

Because of the color and the crisp, straight line between the sides, that looks more like a one-sided yellow coticule with a slate back, to me. What do others think?

Yupp, looks like your basic slate backing to me.... I'd take Howard's word that it was a yellow/blue if he were selling it, but based on the additional pictures I see nothing to indicate that it is anything other than a yellow on slate. Note the flaw in the joint, there's chip out of the slate side but the coticule is perfectly flat along that part.

Kaptain "Suspicious" Zero

Originally Posted by SteveS

Because of the color and the crisp, straight line between the sides, that looks more like a one-sided yellow coticule with a slate back, to me. What do others think?

The line only tells you that it's not a natural combo, just because it isn't natural doesn't mean it's not a combo. I have several coticule/belgian blue combos which are glued, I had no idea they were 80+ years old though... anyway, they come up on ebay (and other places) every now and again. And the non-coticule side isn't uniformly black/dark, as slate tends to be, it has the normal speckling of a belgian blue.

I'm not sure how usable the blue side would be though, with the crack and whatever it is (some sort of impurity, or glue?).

I'd lay a $20 down that the stone is NOT a yellow with slate back. It's a glued yellow and blue. It looks like it went for $78 and I hope it went to an SRper, I think $78 is a fair price for that stone. Howard thoughts were that it would be worth $60.

Chris L