Thread: Considering Coticule purchase....

My name is Mark, and I'm a Coticule user.

Look: purchasing a Coticule is easy. Simply contact a vendor you trust and ask for the size you want. Many people like the 6x2.

It's clear that there are many opinions about picking and using a Coti, and each of these opinions has a great deal of merit. There certainly are differences in speed, color, and the manner in which they finish a razor or set a bevel. There are also different ways to use them. Again, all of the opinions surrounding these topics have merit.

But what is often overlooked is what these opinions have in common, and by understanding their common elements, you can perhaps be more comfortable in your decision to purchase one without asking questions unrelated to price and size.

1) The various speed differences do not render any particular stone unsuitable for razor honing. They only impact the speed at which you work. All Cotis can set a bevel, sharpen, polish and finish a razor. They simply do it at a different pace. None of these various paces are bad. They are simply different.

2) The differences between Select and Standard grade are cosmetic only. Functionally they differ only in the manner described above.

3) The debate over whether a Coti can be used alone, with no other supporting stone, typically fails to question why anyone would want to do it! If I were in a lazy mood, I might find that changing stones is entirely too exhausting, and decide to use only my Coti. If I were given a Coti and couldn't afford to buy another stone, then I would learn to use it in a one-stone method. If I was curious as to whether it could be done, or how my stone would do it if tasked to do so, then I might decide to try it. In any of these cases, any of the Cotis, in any of their sizes, would do fine. All Cotis are suitable for razor honing.

Confession: My first hone was a Coti that I bought with the romantic notion that I would never need or want another stone. I learned to do a Dilucot (the one-stone method), and was very happy for a long time. I didn't know anything about progressive honing or pyramid honing, or the grits required to sharpen or polish or finish or set a bevel and I didn't care. I had my one hone and I took care of the three razors in my possession. Then HAD kicked in, and I wanted to expand my options. While I often use the progression listed in my signature, it's not the only progression I use. I get curious and start sliding steel on different rocks, at different paces, with differing pressure, and varying success. I love this hobby.

Do yourself a favor: if you want a Coti, then that's the only justification you require. Find a vendor and buy a rock. You'll be happy. Trust me. When you've become proficient with that rock, you may want another (I did). Only then will the debates make full sense.

This is just my humble opinion, but discussions about Cotis can get weird and brutal.

I think they're great little stones, I love mine and my thoughts on them were only strengthened by using a couple at the London RazorCon.

As Mark says, the best thing to do is find a trustworthy vendor and order one in the size you want. Mine is 6"x2" and thats fine for pretty regular use.

Let us know how you get on!