Thread: Coticule, Hold on the em!

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the Coticule. Lately, it seems to be getting a bad rap, kicked around a little. I think it still has a place in anybody's collection of hones. Since these are naturally quarried, there is a finite number of them. Once they're gone, they're gone. I wouldn't be so quick to sell mine off, unless I had several or really needed the money. They are getting harder and harder to come by these days in the quarry. If you have one, you may want to hold on to it....Rich

No, coticules are junk. Sell them immediately....

How many would you consider to be several?



Oh, and by the way, I do agree with Rich about this.

Meh.

I'm holding on to my Nakayama Asagi, but I've long since sold my coticule and never missed it.

I have a couple and another one coming from Howard soon! I love the coticule, and I have no plan on selling them.


P.s. You can tell by my avatar how much I hate that stone.... :-P

When I grow up I want to be like Ron. That is a coticule lovers dream. I love all of my coticules. It is like having a family. Not all the members are the same though they may closely resemble their brothers and their sisters. I am going to steal that photo and use it as my desk top wallpaper.

Originally Posted by mparker762

Meh.

I'm holding on to my Nakayama Asagi, but I've long since sold my coticule and never missed it.

Likewise. I'm just interested in being able
to get my preferred edges -- not to have a
bunch of different hones for variety.

- Scott

I am a newbie honer (or whatever the word is, if there even is a word).

I have three hones

A DMT-D8C, used for lapping, not for honing (only 325 grit)
A Coticule, lapped on the DMT
A Swaty, lapped on the DMT

I can report that I was able to successfully bring a well (ab)used Dovo back to shave-readiness using just the Coticule (first with slurry, then without), a polish on the Swaty, and then some 0.5 and 0.25 paste. This was my second attempt to do this.

My point is that the Coticule worked for me although I have no other experience to compare it to. I'm thinking I need a 12K/13K hone as well.

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.

Originally Posted by sebell

Likewise. I'm just interested in being able
to get my preferred edges -- not to have a
bunch of different hones for variety.

- Scott

+1 I'm interested in the experience of a good shave and will take any road that gets me there. I have coticules and I like them. I don't have a Nakayama Asagi and don't have anything to say about them except that, at this moment in time, they are a somewhat outside my budget from a perceived benefit/cost point of view. That may change in the future (if I win the lottery).