Thread: Does $17 sound too cheap for a real coticule stone?

Hi,

I found a "coticule" ston eon ebay for about $17 plus $12 for shipping, and it just seems suspiscous because its much cheaper than other ones (see link at end).

Also, I can't seem to find any "barber hones" or "swaty hones" on ebay. Are these just other names for these? ie maybe does barber = swaty = coticule??

thanks for helping out a newb!

link: http://cgi.ebay.com/Belgian-sharpeni...item4a97726f79

Have you checked its size?
Maybe its just the rubber.

A coticule is not the same as a barber hone or a swaty and I can't seem to find those either.

ETA: well its very small and a BBW only (Blue Belgian Whetstone)
(3.9" x 1.2" x 0.05")

$17 sounds way too cheap, but it's hard to say. It could just be somebody who doesn't know what they're selling.

As for the barber hones, there's usually a ton of them, but they seem to be listed more frequently as "razor hone" than "barber hone"

To avoid getting 10,000 hits for zeepk hones, I always search for "razor hone -zeepk" There are several up right now.

it could be a gem but you wouldn't be able to tell if it needs extensive lapping to get it into shape.

I too am new so I don't have much to offer but it does sound cheap to me.

your link never showed up, might just be my browser.

edit: your link is showing fine now

Is this what you are referring to:
Belgian sharpening waterstone, natural stone, coticule - eBay (item 320368439161 end time May-13-09 01:45:37 PDT)

Thats a fairly small Belgian blue. It's not a coticule.

after checking out the ad it looks like it is pretty small
4 inch by 1.25 inch
this is more a tool sharpening stone like my dad has in his fishing box.
I wouldn't feel comfortable running a razor across it as you cannot keep a consistant angle. From what I've seen regarding honing the entire blade shold be on the surface for the motion
for this you would need a stone more like 4X6 inches

Edit:
looks like everyone is of the same mind

Originally Posted by Nakedave

it could be a gem but you wouldn't be able to tell if it needs extensive lapping to get it into shape.

I've just seen one of that vendor and it did.
It was finished with a belt sander and there has not been one single straight line on this hone.

If you guys don't know what you're doing, the best is to buy from somebody who knows and can ensure you will get what you need.
Trying to find the lowest possible price is fun, but you should probably try your luck in the casino first.

Of course there is nothing wrong with asking questions here, that's one way to learn, but I just want to point out that the fraction of the true deals among the too good to be true ones is really small and there are plenty of guys who know how to spot them so they don't last much at all.

Originally Posted by Nakedave

after checking out the ad it looks like it is pretty small
4 inch by 1.25 inch
this is more a tool sharpening stone like my dad has in his fishing box.
I wouldn't feel comfortable running a razor across it as you cannot keep a consistant angle. From what I've seen regarding honing the entire blade shold be on the surface for the motion
for this you would need a stone more like 4X6 inches

Edit:
looks like everyone is of the same mind

NOT everyone is of the same mind. See this video for an example of how honing can be done on a coticule bout. Wide razor hones are a recent trend. Nearly all older hones were significantly narrower than the width of the blade so it certainly is possible to hone on a smaller stone.

From my understanding, Swaty is only one brand of barber hone. There's also Keen Kutter, Pike, and several others. I just got myself a Keen Kutter on Ebay for cheap, so check that out. Also, if you can find a sale on the classifieds here, you are pretty much guaranteed!