Thread: BBW Coticule Hone problem

It's a DEEP ROCK hone, vintage, but it still has the sticker on the blue rock side. I'm very new with vintage hones and wanted to know the best way to get the sticker off of the hone. I was told to soak it in hot water and that it would just float right off. That didn't happen. I'm hesitant to scrape at it... any suggestions? I bought it here a while back. thanks

The Deep Rock hone I sold had a label that was like a metal foil and was attached very well. I would leave it and live without the bbw. If you must have a bbw get one separate. The label on that hone makes it more collectible and I think it would be very hard to remove without ruining it. Hope someone who knows a way chimes in if there is a way.

As Jimmy said, for collectiblity sake, save the sticker and get another bbw.

No way does that foil label come off without damage. Soaking the label off works fine for really OLD paper labels, like on Eschers, and only if they are being held on by the original, water-based glue. The foil label you have is held on by a glue with a different chemistry, and I think you could soak that stone in water for the next year and the label still would not loosen up. Now if you're willing to try some acetone or benzene or some other organic solvent, you might stand a chance of dissolving or loosening the glue, but you might end up destroying the label AND the stone in the process.

I agree with Jimmy -- keep the label, and don't hone with the BBW side, cause you don't need the BBW anyway. Good luck!

I agree, BBW's are cheap...Just buy a separate one.., I'd leave the other stone "as is"...

you have been given great advices.
In my world bbw is useless as it was before.
that is why stick on bbw side .
Recently just Some people find out BBW is useful.
gl

Just got a Deep Rock combo on ebay. Haven't tried to lose the sticker, and probably won't. What you have is rare, a the sticker authenticates it.

BBWs can be used with a light slurry to "bridge" between a coticule with slurry and a coti with just water. I've done this before with good results.

Ardennes sells BBWs pretty cheap. Fortunately, I've got one as well as several natural combos.

Thanks everyone for the comments. You're right, it's an older and rare combo and it wasn't cheap. I bought it for its collectibility but I sold a vintage Thuri that I'd been using as a finisher. This is my last quality stone for finishing. My others are Nortons. I'm still learning but would prefer to be able to finish my own straights without paying to send them off (although I'm far from that point). Would you all say the Coti is a nice finisher before using a pasted strop?

It depends upon the character of the individual rock. Each can be different. In general, coticules produce perfectly good edges but not everyone prefers them. If it's your only finisher, I'll predict that you will like it.

Just get a big 8x3 one for cheap, they are easy to find. I use my a lot and I love it between coticule slurry and coticule water. I then finish on my Escher with slurry into water.