unmarked hone just found. HELP

hey guys. i was helping the neighbor clean out the garage and came across an old combo wetstone. i cant find anything out about on the web. all stones are normally 6-8 inches long, this one is 10 inches long x 2 inches wide and its brown on one side and beige on the other. i have a norton 4k/8k and its definetly as smooth as the 8k if not smoother. i did read that sometimes smoothness doesnt mean a thang so i dont want to have at it till i know what it is. im hoping its like a 10/12 or higher, but with my luck....
thanks guys.

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im obviously new here and i just realized i should have inserted pics. lol the last pic shows the unknown hone next to the norton 8k for color differentation. yes i did make that word up ( i think ). its very late and im shot right now. lol

Mate the pics of that stone alone are enough its a belgian coticule and a big very nice one at that, it looks like a natural combo stone great find its a beautiful natural stone.

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Originally Posted by thebigG

Mate the pics of that stone alone are enough its a belgian coticule and a big very nice one at that, it looks like a natural combo stone great find its a beautiful natural stone.

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any idea of the grit?

Well being a natural stone they all differ i may be wrong but i think the dark side is belgian blue stone and the light side is the coticule ,they are both used with slurry at the start and adding water as you hone you go to just water for your last set so the belgian blue side could be 4k-7-8k coticule 8k-10k. Look up on how to use these stones you wont be disapointed people do shave off the edge of the coticule as far as i know its a very nice feeling stone to use.

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Originally Posted by monsterware

any idea of the grit?

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There is no 'grit rating' for natural hones because the cutting particles in them have a wide rand of sizes, way wider than the range of the synthetic stones of a given grit, where the cutting particles are sorted to be pretty uniform.

If you insist on a 'grit' the proper rating will be probably around 6000 for the cotucule and may be 3000-4000 for the blue side, but the garnets cut much more shallower groves than say diamonds of the same grit.

You should try the hone and see how you like it. First try the yellow side after your norton. The reverse side is probably going to also give you a shave-worthy edge, but they tend to be trickier.

Anyone active in this subforum would like to have your Coticule :D They're not rare but being natural bonded to BBW makes it nicer and you don't see them this big often. Not all Coticules are finishers but because they're pretty fast for a natural hone they are very useful in a progression. You can even increase the speed with a slurry stone.

I personally never clean the sides and bottom of a vintage stone unless it's a combo to keep it look old and used, it's part of the charm of vintage hones imho.

Coticules are said to produce smooth edges so even if the equivalent grit of it is similar as the Norton 8k the shave may be better.

Are you guys sure its a coti? I thought there was another hone that looked simular to a coti but was courser?

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Originally Posted by nicknbleeding

Are you guys sure its a coti? I thought there was another hone that looked simular to a coti but was courser?

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There's a syntetich stone of some sorts that can look similar, but this sure looks like a natural combo Coti/BBW

10 inches, huh? Nice find! Gotta be worth at least twenty, maybe thirty dollars. I'll give you thirty-five for it shipped, if you act now!