Thread: Considering Coticule purchase....

I have been using my Norton set for quit a while now along with a few Shapton hones, Chinese water stone and various barbers hones. With very pleasing results. But I have never worked with a Coticule. And I have an itch to get one. But from my understanding due to it being a natural stone, they vary from stone to stone and have various names which I believe are the names for which the region their mined from. But that is the extent of my knowlege of Coticules.
I see a couple listed in the classifieds and some on ebay, the ones on ebay make me hesitant to purchase, due to the lack of info about them.
I did find the Ardennes Coticule website that seems reasonably priced for a new Coticule would this be a good quality Coticule?
I just dont know enough to make an educated decision on this, can anyone point me in the right direction on what to look for in a coticule or what type of Coticule I should look for or where I my look to find one. Any help would be greatly appreciated
-Tony

Originally Posted by Brando

I see a couple listed in the classifieds and some on ebay, the ones on ebay make me hesitant to purchase, due to the lack of info about them.

So, when you can't tell anything about a product you have to rely on the seller. Go with a seller you trust who can tell you about the hone you're considering.

When I was selling some of my coticules I usually ended up writing long PMs with my impressions on them. I found that there were a couple of different types of buyers, some wanted to just get the lowest price no matter what the actual stone does, some wanted to have a magic stone that does everything, and others wanted to get as good of an idea as possible what the particular stone does.
If you just want to try a coticule most of them would do just fine. You probably don't want something that's extremely slow and certainly not a poor quality that would damage the edge.

[
If you just want to try a coticule most of them would do just fine. You probably don't want something that's extremely slow and certainly not a poor quality that would damage the edge.[/QUOTE]

Thanks that helped put some perspective, I am looking more so for a good finisher, and something new to play with

superior shave sells some nice ones and gives good advice. i would say he is nearer.

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!

The Superior Shave sells coticules but will also help you in finding a coticule that suits your needs. Most other places will just send you one randomly, without a layer consideration, and what you get is what you get, whereas purchasing from there you can ask about layers and speed variations of the layers.

Hope this helps.

IME a good coticule will leave a smooth and comfortable shaving edge. Also IME, while they may differ in being fast, slow, in between, they are not that far apart. Of my 16 examples I've gotten mostly vintage coticules + two recently quarried stones and I don't find the vintage versus current production to be an issue. The stones were in the ground for millions of years and whether harvested in the 1800s, 1900s or yesterday are all coticule.

For me there is something cool about honing a shaving implement that my forefather's used with a stone that they also used. Speaking generally I mean, not the specific razor or stone. I happen to prefer an 8x2 or 3 but a 6x2, 5x2 or 2 1/2 is plenty good too. I also prefer natural combos but find myself using the bbw less and less. That could change though and I'd rather have it than not have it. Get one, they are fun and if you decide it ain't for you, sell it and you'll get your money out of it.

Brandon,

Shoot me a PM and I'll be happy to loan you one of mine.

I've done a couple thousand razors on the Coticules and used them for years. Although I am not in the field of worshipers, I'll be happy to help you all I can. They are fun stones to use and produce credible results.

Have fun,

Lynn

Brando..., I LOVE my yellow coti and I am sure you will too. I have a 7 X 2 and use a kiita slurry stone with it. Last night I honed on my coti then a chi12k. That's it. And got the best shave of my life from it. You can get a stone for like $65. Buy it. Great investment. Face fun with it.