coticule.be

[dmnc]

Am enjoying my coticule, am getting more than sharp enough, but bit harsh edges. Not sure is quite a finisher/smooth enough. Wondering if anyone has used coticule.be to order any and what they thought of the ratings? Will be a while before I order anything and still undecided whether to get a small thuringian to finish after coticule or find a better coticule. So this in mainly asked out of curiosity.

[TristanLudlow]

I've used ardennes-coticule.be to order stone(s), very good service IME, very secure packaging

I'm not an expert on all the different kind of Coticule veins, but some are better finishers than others. These are natural stones, I guess it's a hit or a miss.
My vintage Coticule I inhetited has amazing finishing properties, whereas other 'regular'/non-special veined coticules I've tried weren't as good as that one.

You probably want to look into veins known for their finishing properties.
Some searching will give you a list of veins, I believe they sell them under "special stones" on the website.
There is a database online somewhere that gives a very extensive summary of all the different characteristics of quite many different Coticule veins, like quickness and talking about finishing qualities, etc.
Ah, here it is: http://www.coticule.be/the-coticule-vault.html

I don't have experience with the Thuringian/Eschers, but I hear the vintage ones are very nice finishers.
But it's all about what you prefer in your edge, everyone's skin might like a different hone.

[s0litarys0ldier]

Someone correct me if I am wrong but you could never order anything from coticule.be. You could reserve a stone but in reality Bart would test the stones record his findings and send the stones back to Ardennes coticule to be sold directly from them. I don't believe the coticule vault has been updated in quite a long time.

On Coticule.be the forum (Cafeteria) has been closed for quite some time as well but the information on that site is immense. Quite a good read if you click on the sharpening academy. Loads on honing on coticules. Everything I've learned with coticules is from that site.

You could use the information on the different stones to sway the stone you do order, different veins, sizes etc or take a shot in the dark and order a generic coticule for less money and take a chance. No matter what coticule you get it's not guaranteed to be spectacular or even great. It's a game of luck and patience.

Long ago we lost a great source of information on SRP. Bart left the site because of some drama. I'm not digging up old bones, just saddened he isn't around to share his vast knowledge with us. In recent news I emailed him recently about a new coticule vein and asked him if he tried it. He said he hasn't been to the mine in months as he's been busy with work and school. Good to know he's doing well.

A little off topic at the end but I hope some of what I said answers your question. It's all up to you man. No one can tell you what's the best hone for you.

A perfect stone for me may be a drink saucer for you. The good thing is we're all grown men. We make the right choices based on the information we have.

Read up on the vault if you'd like but remember a natural that is cut from the same vein 1 ft apart can be completely different stones.

Scott

[dmnc]

Thanks Solitary. Hadn't looked deeply enough to see that it hadn't been updated in a while. Cheers for the info. Am going to keep enjoying HAD and get more when I've got the money.

[RobinK]

Coticule.be never had any affiliation with one particular vendor. That was just defamation, cf their recommended websites.

The whole Coticule testing thing was really very, very simple. Bart lives in Belgium, and Coticules are mined in Belgium, and so Bart offered free testing. Given that he had lots of experience with Coticules, it seemed a very sensible (and, by the way, very nice) thing to do.

Funnily enough, the guy who caused the aforementioned drama, a dyslexic hone fetishist and (not exactly thinly veiled) vendor from Russia with corresponding bedside manners, now runs a commercial forum where he sells hones and honing to other fetishists. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

[rolodave]

Hey Robin
Tell us what you really think about the guy in Russia.