Thread: Think you know the Belgian stones?

For all you Belgian stone lovers out there, let me pose a math problem, for which I do not have the answer:

If the belgian blue is roughly 4,000 grit with 20-30% garnet crystals, and the coti is roughly 8,000 grit with 30-40% garnet crystals, and garnet crystals are what cuts the metal in our razors, then if you had to choose one stone as the only stone you could own, which would it be?

Keep in mind that: the garnet crystals in the belgian blue are larger and fewer, and the crystals in the coti are smaller and more plentiful.

and

Keep in mind that: you may occasionally have to reset the bevel, and you may occasionally purchase old razors just for the pure joy of honing them.

The Coticule without even thinking hard...

You're a good person for this question. Care to explain?

Originally Posted by gssixgun

The Coticule without even thinking hard...

Exactly what I was thinking, whilst not thinking hard.

Not really, as it is going to start another huge argument

Simply put, the right Coticule is a good solid performer in the right hands...

You have to understand that when you discuss any natural stone there are variances between them.....

Cotis are generally faster on slurry, so they are faster than a BBW for any work. Cotis are generally thought to be finer stones too. I would choose a coti.

Get a combo stone with a combo slurry stone.

Lol best of both worlds and you don't have to choose one over the other!

In the 1980s I used to go to barber shops and try and buy razors and hones from the old guys working there. I bought three separate coticules from three separate barbers. All were the yellow coticule with bbw reinforcement. Two yellow/blue glued and one natural. Reinforcement is what the blue was for and that is what each individual barber told me, independently. The yellow is the hone, the darker part is only there to protect the softer and more fragile yellow. In later years the quarries in Belgium began using slate to reinforce the yellow.

Some enterprising souls discovered that the bbw was a viable hone in its own right but it does not compare to the yellow. Never did and never will. The distribution and size/shape of the garnets is inferior to that of the yellow for the purpose of honing straight razors and that is not even debatable. Below is a page out of The Barber Manual, by Moler, circa 1921. Note the second photo of the page, where he states,"The rock is not a hone, simply the strength of the cutting part." He is referencing the bbw. They had not begun to use slate as a backing for the yellow until years later. Maybe the 1960s. The blue is alright for coarser work, maybe even better than the yellow for tools or knives, but for razors the yellow is the better hone.

Speed, performance and smoothness of edge the Coti wins for me. I have one glued combo and one older slate back. I never use the BBW side of the one. If it was a slate back I would be fine with that.

That being said both my Coti's are different. One is very yellow and a great smooth finisher. The other has a ton of red in it and cuts very fast (when it has a heavy slurry it cut like my 1000k stone) The both finish good, but I prefer the edge off the more yellow one (if that makes any sense )

The reason I say this is because natural stones (even ones mined from the same quarry and material) will preform different, but overall the coti will perform and it's been proven over time.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

The Coticule without even thinking hard...

+1

Best Regards,
EL