Originally Posted by
Marshal
Yes, its a newly mined standard 175 x 50 coticule from Ardennes. I think gravel road is probably close to what it felt like to draw a blade across it. Or perhaps more accurately, like drawing a blade over sand paper, or a coarse carborundum type hone. Not very glassy at all, and it seemed to grip a blade like no other stone I've used before.
When I first got it I could hone an edge up on my Norton 8k, test shave it, then take it to the coticule and notice a sharp drop in shave quality. Now that it's been meticulously burnished it puts a pretty solid 8K-is edge on a blade that's more comfortable to shave from than my Norton hone. Provided using less than weight of the blade, I lift up a slight bit to keep the stone from sucking the blade down to it. It's still got that coarse feeling and I suspect might wreck an edge if it were allowed to.