Thread: blue or yellow coticule?

Actually Ardennes rates the yellow at 8000 grit and the blue 4000.

Originally Posted by desol

You know...the yellow has a bit more garnet so it is a little faster 35-40 percent vs the blue which is ~30 percent garnet.

So...like it says on the ardennes site...the yellow is a little faster. Doesn't say anything about the grit being any finer on the yellow. Honestly, i think the only REAL advantage to the yellow...is that you can see the metal residue easier.

That's the price difference( which is alot)...yellow is a bit faster, and you can see the metal residue easier.

Not sure where you got your information from...if you actually go to Ardennes website it doesn't say that at all. The "yellow" or Coticule is a much finer stone and is more of a finisher than a BBW which is more of a pre polisher. So the actual price difference is in the quality and fineness of the stone.

Originally Posted by desol

You know...the yellow has a bit more garnet so it is a little faster 35-40 percent vs the blue which is ~30 percent garnet.

So...like it says on the ardennes site...the yellow is a little faster. Doesn't say anything about the grit being any finer on the yellow. Honestly, i think the only REAL advantage to the yellow...is that you can see the metal residue easier.

That's the price difference( which is alot)...yellow is a bit faster, and you can see the metal residue easier.

Have you actually used any of these stones to form an opinion ? There are coarse & fine stones in both colours as well as slow or fast.

I recently got a blue/yellow coticule from Bruno. It was in new condition, never lapped. I read everything I could find on this site about coticules & how to use them. I lapped her, then I honed four different razors, working the blue, then the yellow. The result put my Shapton 16K to shame. Either I got better honing or I got a really great coticule. The yellow was much smoother than the blue side. The coticule is now my finisher of choice.


...Sorry , if off topic, I just wanted to say that my yellow is smoother than my blue & show off my coticule.....

Originally Posted by onimaru55

There are coarse & fine stones in both colours as well as slow or fast.

+1. This thread is 5 years old. A lot of slurry down the drain since this was an active thread. A lot more hands on knowledge. For instance, what I posted in this thread 5 years ago, when I was honing 5 months or so, was soon no longer applicable. I haven't touched a BBW (Belgian blue) in years and I've got natural coticules. A norton 4k is so much better than a BBW, IME, that it isn't even a contest. The yellow coticule and variants is the better of the two (BBW) by far. Even at that there are better choices for finishing a razor than the coticule unless you particularly like the edges characteristic of the coticule. YMMV.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

I recently got a blue/yellow coticule from Bruno. It was in new condition, never lapped. I read everything I could find on this site about coticules & how to use them. I lapped her, then I honed four different razors, working the blue, then the yellow. The result put my Shapton 16K to shame. Either I got better honing or I got a really great coticule. The yellow was much smoother than the blue side. The coticule is now my finisher of choice.


...Sorry , if off topic, I just wanted to say that my yellow is smoother than my blue & show off my coticule.....

Well I was gonna reply to this, but you pretty much covered everything I wanted to say so thanks! You made my life a little easier lol. I totally agree with everyone on coticules being one of the most top notch finishing hones out there. I have tried many many hones from jnats to nortons, nani's and others but to be honest. I can pretty much hone a razor to a perfect shave ready state just using the coticule/bbw combo hone. as long as there is no chips or dings in the blade that is. but usually 70-80% of the vintage razors I buy get honed with just my coticule/bbw combo to where it is perfectly "shave ready", for me at least that is. anyways +10,000 for the coticules...they are worth the price and then some

Really...........

Well I'm glad it works for you, but it would not be the hone I would recommend most. Coticules are decent stones, but others you have mentioned are certainly more consistent and reliable in my opinion.

Have fun.

Originally Posted by sleekandsmooth

Well I was gonna reply to this, but you pretty much covered everything I wanted to say so thanks! You made my life a little easier lol. I totally agree with everyone on coticules being one of the most top notch finishing hones out there. I have tried many many hones from jnats to nortons, nani's and others but to be honest. I can pretty much hone a razor to a perfect shave ready state just using the coticule/bbw combo hone. as long as there is no chips or dings in the blade that is. but usually 70-80% of the vintage razors I buy get honed with just my coticule/bbw combo to where it is perfectly "shave ready", for me at least that is. anyways +10,000 for the coticules...they are worth the price and then some

I think Coticules suck. I've only had a couple, but they haven't come remotely close to the edges from a thuri. YMMV and such...

Originally Posted by robellison01

I think Coticules suck. I've only had a couple, but they haven't come remotely close to the edges from a thuri. YMMV and such...

I have a couple and they surpass the edges I get from my Thuringian. My vintage thuringian so far hasn't improved any of my coticule edges, therefore 'Thuringians suck'.

I've finished on and otherwise used BBW's with great results. They are, in my experience, more uniform in performance than the yellow sides.

Opening up 5 year old threads sucks an is probably trolling.

Enjoy whatever hone you like, works for you and always remember......YMMV