Thread: BBW colors

Has this topic been covered before? I'm curious about why all the "vintage" BBWs are a dark brownish color while all the new BBWs that are being sold nowadays are a very blue color, as their name implies. Does anyone know why this is the case?

Do you have photos of brownish ones? I've not seen too many BBW's, but they all look the same to me.

Maybe dark purple(ish)/brown is also a way to describe them. I have two bbw/coticule combo stones, both very old and both with bbw sides that are dark brownish in color. I also have a large newly mined one that is a much lighter blue/purple(ish) in color. This is the same color of all the newer bbw that I see being sold now.

Have you lapped the ever lovin out of the BBW side of your old stones? For a non-porous stone, I'm amazed at how the crud of age almost soaks into those stones. After a thorough lapping of many BBW and coticule combos the BBW sides on the old ones have always come out to look like the "new" ones. I have some BBW old stones that are lighter in color, but that's about it.

Chris L

Four of the five vintage BBWs I have are of a dark purple color and one naturally combined with a Coticule is more blue.

The coticule quarry has many layers and that changes the look of a stone. Yellow coticules come in many different layer types and they all can cut differently.

I've never seen any brown BBW's myself, not to say that they don't exist. I'm sure you could contact Rob at Ardennes. He may have an answer, or like Chris said, it could be covered with crud from age and a good lapping may bring out it's true colors...

Originally Posted by ChrisL

Have you lapped the ever lovin out of the BBW side of your old stones? For a non-porous stone, I'm amazed at how the crud of age almost soaks into those stones. After a thorough lapping of many BBW and coticule combos the BBW sides on the old ones have always come out to look like the "new" ones.

I think Chris is on the money here. I have a bunch of old natural and glued Coticule combos, and many of the old ones get a brownish tinge from age to the BBW side, and even the Coticule side. I don't know how or why. I lap the stones to make them usable rather than for cosmetics, but lapping definitely makes a cosmetic difference. All of my lapped BBWs vary from deep purple to deep blue, like the newly mined ones.

My best Coticules actually tend to be the newly mined ones, most of my vintage Coticules are fast cutters but not-so-great polishers. But I just love the unusual sizes and fat thickness of the old ones. So, I try to find rough old ones for cheap, and rescue/restore them to their rightful place of razor honing glory. Vintage purists, please don't look at the photos below, it'll just break your heart....

Here's an old 2.5 X 5 X 1" "Barber Coticule" before and after (intense) restoration lapping. You can see the brownish tinge before lapping, and the plucked-fresh-from-the-mine purple appearance after lapping. I love this stone, it's actually a natural combo with a long-ago-repaired gap, but it looks like a glued one at this angle:

I agree with Tim. Here are some vintage coticules that HAD made me get. With some of them the contrast between the yellow and the bbw does look like chocolate.

Originally Posted by FatboySlim

I think Chris is on the money here. I have a bunch of old natural and glued Coticule combos, and many of the old ones get a brownish tinge from age to the BBW side, and even the Coticule side. I don't know how or why. I lap the stones to make them usable rather than for cosmetics, but lapping definitely makes a cosmetic difference. All of my lapped BBWs vary from deep purple to deep blue, like the newly mined ones.

My best Coticules actually tend to be the newly mined ones, most of my vintage Coticules are fast cutters but not-so-great polishers. But I just love the unusual sizes and fat thickness of the old ones. So, I try to find rough old ones for cheap, and rescue/restore them to their rightful place of razor honing glory. Vintage purists, please don't look at the photos below, it'll just break your heart....

Here's an old 2.5 X 5 X 1" "Barber Coticule" before and after (intense) restoration lapping. You can see the brownish tinge before lapping, and the plucked-fresh-from-the-mine purple appearance after lapping. I love this stone, it's actually a natural combo with a long-ago-repaired gap, but it looks like a glued one at this angle:

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I agree with Tim. Here are some vintage coticules that HAD made me get. With some of them the contrast between the yellow and the bbw does look like chocolate.

Nice stones, guys.

Chris L