Thread: Coticule, Hold on the em!

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

IMO there are many hones that will get a razor shave ready and some are 'better' than others depending on user preference. Some may get a razor sharper and smoother than a coticule. OTOH, some of the coticules I have will get a razor as sharp and as smooth as I like to shave with for my particular mug.

The thing with coticules and me is the mystique. I have this romantic notion about them. Maybe it comes from knowing those old barbers in the Newark, NJ area twenty five years ago that all used the coticule as the primary hone. They called them soap stones and used lather from their hot lather machines as the honing vehicle. There is also the history behind them. I have a similar feeling about my Eshcers but not to the same extent.

My Nortons and Shaptons will darn sure get a razor sharp but there is no romance to them for me. They are to me like a hammer or a screwdriver. One is the same as the other. Look at the beautiful photo Utopian posted, the variations between those lovely hones. That is why I love them so much.

Jimmy, that summarizes how I feel about the coticule oh so well. Thank you.

Nope, I must interrupt here.
You are guys and determined not to have sentiments about loveliness.
I - on the other side - am allowed to.
So actually all those lovely coticules should be mine!
Especially all this silly stuff with spots, zebra patterns, different colors and the like - send it to me, LOL
I'll write you a receipt that you're rockwell hardness 10 in return.

Originally Posted by 0livia

I'll write you a receipt that you're rockwell hardness 10 in return.

Olivia,

I'm keeping mine, but could you send me one of those receipts anyway?

BTW -- I see your clever little title is now "Beard growth challenged". Congratulations!

Rockwell harness 10 on the C scale is pretty soft . . . How about a Rockwell 57 -59? Tough and keeps an edge!

Ooops, sorry was thinking in Mohs, LOL, of course I can modify the receipt
- for a nice hone

My philosophy to Coticules is try to get more of them not less.
Yesterday I bought a stone just by seeing the first picture (it was in a lot together with 2 razors and a strop and my main focus where the razors). I thought it might be a Belgium blue or some other high grit stone.

When I got it in my hands and turned it over I was very pleased. It’s a 20 cm x 4 cm Coticule, yes it has some scratches but nothing that sandpaper can’t handle. I already have 2 other Coticules a 12x4 cm and a smaller one whose not rectangle but I think this is going to be my number 1 Coticule.
Btw the puma is just to show the size, it wasn't the razor in the lot.

Nice rock, Skizzo!!

That looks like a natural combination as the blend from yellow to blue looks seemless. Nice find, and it's a great size too.

Very nice. Just getting a Blue in that size would have been a great bonus, but getting a natural combo is really special.

And your philosophy of acquiring more coticules is mine as well, I just love them. I've been lucky finding them over the past several months, sometimes cheaply. And the nice thing about finding a cheap coticule is that unlike most inexpensive old razors, it doesn't require a bunch of restoration work to see it's potential. They are beautiful and useful as they are.