Thread: Grit of a yellow coticule

Here's a question that came up:

Do different Belgian Yellow Coticules have different grits? I've read everything from them having 8k to 12k. Some people go from an 8k Norton to a coticule but if the coticule is 8k, why?

I have a coticule with ivory color and I feel that is 7000 (norton 8000 gives me better edge) and a mustard color that feel that is 11000 to12000

Couple possibilities:

There are competing grit rating systems. IIRC the Japanese system indicates the average particle size, while the American system (mesh system) measures the maximum particle size. Norton and Shapton use different systems, for example - the Norton 8k has 3 micron particles , while the Shapton 8k has 1.8 micron particles.

Secondly, many natural stones cut slower than the synthetic hones, and produce a finer edge than their grit rating would lead you to believe. Many guys on this forum think the yellow coticule produces an edge similar to what a 12k Norton would produce if such a thing existed.

Originally Posted by Yannis

I have a coticule with ivory color and I feel that is 7000 (norton 8000 gives me better edge) and a mustard color that feel that is 11000 to12000

Yannis, are you going on the basis of the edge it produces and how it shaves, or on the basis of what the stone feels like to the touch?

Are you using the same rubbing stone for each?

Originally Posted by dylandog

Yannis, are you going on the basis of the edge it produces and how it shaves, or on the basis of what the stone feels like to the touch?

Are you using the same rubbing stone for each?

I am going on the basis of of the edge it produces and how it shaves
I use the same rubbing stone

(the ivory colour has a surface with pores like leather, the mustards color surface is plain like the norton) the ivory is 7,5x20 cm the mustard is 4x20 cm)
with the ivory the razor fails to pass HHT and the shave is not good as with my older mustard color coticule

Originally Posted by Yannis

I am going on the basis of of the edge it produces and how it shaves
I use the same rubbing stone

(the ivory colour has a surface with pores like leather, the mustards color surface is plain like the norton) the ivory is 7,5x20 cm the mustard is 4x20 cm)
with the ivory the razor fails to pass HHT and the shave is not good as with my older mustard color coticule

Something is wrong. I *can* pass HHT off 4K without any problems, and once I was goofing around so I worked to pass HHT off 1K - which I did. The grit size 7K (or whatever it is) should not be an issue really

Cheers
Ivo

I agree with Ivo. Passing the hair test off a coarse grit is no problem, I've done it off a 1k hone as well. Shaved terrible at that grit, but it would pop hair like mad.

Originally Posted by Yannis

the ivory colour has a surface with pores like leather, the mustards color surface is plain like the norton) the ivory is 7,5x20 cm the mustard is 4x20 cm)
with the ivory the razor fails to pass HHT and the shave is not good as with my older mustard color coticule

This is interesting. I also have two coticules, one newly quarried and the other vintage. The new one is the color of butter and has faint, lacey white speckles and "scales" on it, like a chunk of true Italian parmesan; the vintage one is solid mustard. (Sounds like you might be using different metaphors for the same thing.) Next to each other, they look like totally different stones. But they both seem to cut the same; all the variation I can find seems to depend on what kind of slurry (thick, thin, watery vs. viscous) I raise before honing.

Yup - I have 3 Coticules, 2 guaranteed kosher naturals and one vintage man-bonded combo (which I thought was kosher but may be wrong). The two naturals are quite similar, and very different from the creamy / ivory colored vintage.

Having said this, the vintage works just as well (at least) as the other two, and actually feels a bit softer.

Cheers
Ivo

The Norton 8k is not equivalent to the coticule 8k. The coticule 8k is much finer and more like a 10k or 12k (that's just an estimate with no scientific proof) relative to the Norton. Different companies don't use an industry standard K rating as there is none. There is supposed to be a standard grit rating but I've found that to be somewhat subjective as well. To understand why someone would go from a Norton 8k to a coticule, you have to try it and then shave. You will definitely feel the difference and I know this not only from my own experience but from the excited phone calls I get from customers.