Thread: Found a Coti in the wild yesterday (pic heavy)

Originally Posted by Wolfpack34

The coloring looks like a 'La Dressant Au Bleu' that I have...my best and hardest Coticule finisher.

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I think you are correct Wolfpack!!

To the OP: congrats on a great find and price!! Amazing.

30-40? That's awesome. This one makes number 3 for me. Maybe I'll catch up to you one day I've got an old natural combo and a La Veinette and they both perform beautifully. I love them and the edges I get. I look forward to seeing how this one performs.

I always look for hones, razors, and knives at the antique stores my wife drags me to. I have scores some nice blades but no hones just yet! Nice find

Originally Posted by Ernie1980

I always look for hones, razors, and knives at the antique stores my wife drags me to. I have scores some nice blades but no hones just yet! Nice find

Thanks. I've had decent luck finding nice razors and brushes and such at antique shops but until now, the only hones I've found were a couple of beat up barber hones. Of all the cool things I've found in the wild so far, this coticule tops the list.

Originally Posted by notitfortat

30-40? That's awesome. This one makes number 3 for me. Maybe I'll catch up to you one day I've got an old natural combo and a La Veinette and they both perform beautifully. I love them and the edges I get. I look forward to seeing how this one performs.

And not one of them is identified as being from a particular vein. This vein ID stuff began just a few years ago and I have little faith in its benefit. I don't fault the interest--only the benefit. I realize others disagree and I not looking for an argument, but these are rocks that differ along more factors than just from which vein they came.

Originally Posted by Utopian

And not one of them is identified as being from a particular vein. This vein ID stuff began just a few years ago and I have little faith in its benefit. I don't fault the interest--only the benefit. I realize others disagree and I not looking for an argument, but these are rocks that differ along more factors than just from which vein they came.

I think naming the veins has been going on for quite a while, but up to a few years ago mainly so the people mining know what they are mining and where.

On the whole I tend to agree with you on its limited relevance for end users. According to Bart Torfs (who must have thoroughly tested more coticules than I will most likely ever see, let alone get my hands on), there are layers that seem to be relatively consistent (such as La Veinnette) yet others that have a great variation in appearance and performance (such as La Dressante).

In my limited experience it has indeed been the case that all coticules more or less work according to the same principles, and the vein is relatively inconsequential (again, there are ones that are more uniform, but on the whole there is plenty of more and less nuanced variation also within veins).

To put it into a personal perspective: unless I test a coticule thoroughly, I find it hard to determine speed and exact stone properties, as honing on a coticule is quite "organic" for me, if that makes any sense. I don't keep a strict stroke count (rough counts at the early bevel stage, mostly), don't look at scratch patterns and cannot remember the last time I used any form of magnification. I go very much by feel and immediate feedback, hardly ever look at the clock and tend to enjoy the process as much as the end result.

This also means I have no need for and really don't see the point of having a large number of hones, unless you like collecting them; even though of course there are differences, most coticules more or less feel the same to me. I found speed variations on the whole not to be very dramatic, by which I mean that 5-10 minutes here or there really makes no difference to me.

I have explained the limited relevance of vein names to a few new coticule users and the universal response I received was: 'I understand, but it would be fun to know what to call my newly acquired stone.'

The only reason I know the veins of two of my three coticules is because I got them directly from Ardennes-Coticule, and one of them had been thoroughly tested and documented. I have had a few unidentified ones, and the lacking vein classification made not an iota of difference in the end. It's like knowing the manufacturing background of a Solingen razor that says "Best Silver Steel, Solingen" and nothing else; fun to know, but if the razor is well-made and functional, quite inconsequential.

I was just curious about an ID for curiosities sake. I know it doesn't really matter but when I find something super interesting, I like to find out all I can regardless of how trivial. That's just me. I know the most important thing is how it performs. And I'll be finding that out later today. It certainly is aesthetically pleasing and I imagine the performance will be just as pleasing. Thanks for the input gentlemen

Originally Posted by notitfortat

I was just curious about an ID for curiosities sake. I know it doesn't really matter but when I find something super interesting, I like to find out all I can regardless of how trivial. That's just me. I know the most important thing is how it performs. And I'll be finding that out later today. It certainly is aesthetically pleasing and I imagine the performance will be just as pleasing. Thanks for the input gentlemen

I understand, there's nothing wrong with being curious; not in the slightest, and I was not criticising you for asking. I have asked the same question in the past for the same reason. The thing is: it is nearly impossible to know what layer an old coticule is from without first hand information (read: from the manufacturer). It may very well be a La Dressante au Bleu, but it may equally well not be.

And indeed, it is a looker of a coticule if I ever seen one. I personally feel that the more manganese lines, spots, swirling and whatnot the prettier. At any rate, a great score, and especially at $10. May it serve you well!

Originally Posted by Pithor

........................It may very well be a La Dressante au Bleu, but it may equally well not be....

I couldn't agree more with you Pithor. Which is why I didn't definitively I.D. it as a La Dressant. I simply stated that: "The coloring looks like a 'La Dressant Au Bleu' that I have..." THAT I HAVE.

It certainly is a Coticule (OBVIOUSLY), and it appears to be a nice one, and certainly a good value!

Just honed on it for the first time and it was very different than my other two cotis. It felt sort of gummy, (not exactly gummy but I can't think of a better descriptor.), with much more of a draw over the 3/4 of the stone where the inclusions are more pronounced. Even though it feels perfectly smooth to touch. I looked at the edge under a loupe after about 120 strokes and it looked fine with no micro chips despite the gummy/gritty feeling. So I continued on with dilucot checking the edge a few more times and still it looked good. Finished the dilucot, the gummy feeling wasn't as noticeable on plain water btw, then stropped 60 on linen and 80 on leather and had one hell of a smooth shave. I'll have to hone a few more razors on it to really see how good it is but I'm pretty pleased so far, and definitely intrigued. It also seems now that the blueish lines are much more reflective to light than I noticed before. Not sure what the inclusions might be. I took a few pics to try and show how reflective they are.