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?

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.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

The Coticule without even thinking hard...

correctamundo

Originally Posted by daflorc

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

Your numbers are extremely insufficient to answer the question. You are forgetting that those garnets live in a matrix and its properties are just as important as anything else.

However the answer 'coticule' that you're getting is based on experience with these hones (multiples of them) and that final test how the hone sharpens the razor, not only takes into account every variable, but also is the only one that matters.

So, yes, if you've used these hones there is no need to think, they perform very differently and the coticule is much more versatile (on average, of course, the variations among both types are fairly big).

I have both and I like the coticule as a finisher and it gives me a good result. The Blue I mostly look at. It's too slow and I have other stones that work much faster. Yes it has potential but in the scheme of things there are just better choices out there.

Coticule. You can set a bevel and go all the way to a polished finish on one stone.