Thread: Yeloow Slurry Stone for Yellow/Blue Stones?

Hey, English, give us a link for a nice piece then

When I first read Bart's wonderful Coticule Chronicles I was amazed that the cobbles that Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck fought on in the Paris-Roubaix were the Belgian Blues we hone razors on.

That said, I have a 3"X8" natural coticule that I got from a forum member. The blue side is wonderful for sharpening and the yellow for finishing. It may be garbage to some but it works for me.

I use a slurry stone on a coticle sometimes. I start with a slurry and when the blade is ready I move on and rinse the coticule and finish without slurry.

Originally Posted by English

I'm old enough and wise enough to know. The blue coticule is the biggest con out there in the shaving world.

You should buy a German Thuringien and not get involved in the Belgian hype machine, Thuringiens start were coticules finish and then just get better. The best is still inexpensive in Germany and is better than anything the Chinese or the Japanese have manufactured and sees off anything out of a Belgian mine. Today, even the younger German's don't know this.

You are comparing stones that are sought after for different qualities. Thuringians are nice, but are not the answer to every question about honing, they polish very well but cut slower than the Coticule and many Japanese stones, and I haven't found a thuringian yet that will beat the polishing capabilities of a Nakayama.

Besides, all that matters is that the Belgian Blue is a perfectly fine sharpening stone. The fact that it wasn't recognized as such in the past is of no consequence.

It sharpens steel and is a stone, therefore it is a sharpening stone.

Iv'e done that twice before. But you really need to speak German to get what you want.

I will bring a coticule and rubbing stone, a grey Thuringien and rubbing stone and a green yellow Thuringien (Escher) and rubbing stone and a low grade Japanese natural hone with a rubbing stone to Birmingham. You can feel the differences and decide there which one is "worthy". Seeing is believing.

Originally Posted by English

If you buy a coticule it should come with a rubbing stone.

Only in America would you buy/accept one without the other.

But if you won't pay the European price and really think they are so fantastic and cheap in the USA.

To be honest, it's a bit like buying a beefburger and having to pay extra for the burger bun to put it on.

Honestly, I'm reading this and trying to stop the tears from laughter.

Let me tell you all, a fact of life.

As a general rule, you get what you pay for.

The final little observation which you may listen to or put in the trash is about the BLUE BELGIAN STONE. This stone is actually the waste that they use for filling paths and making walls. Twenty years ago, nobody, I repeat, nobody would ever contemplate using the blue coticule to sharpen a razor.

But hey, we got no yellow stuff left so lets promote the blue stuff.

I'm old enough and wise enough to know. The blue coticule is the biggest con out there in the shaving world.

You should buy a German Thuringien and not get involved in the Belgian hype machine, Thuringiens start were coticules finish and then just get better. The best is still inexpensive in Germany and is better than anything the Chinese or the Japanese have manufactured and sees off anything out of a Belgian mine. Today, even the younger German's don't know this.

How do I know, Europe is my back garden that's how I know. Hype just doesn't cut it when you know better.

I hope this helps.

If anyone DOES listen to English in this particular post, then I'll be the first to ask that you send all of your Belgian Blue stones to me for disposal. I'll take them all off your hands.

I have at least three Belgian combo stones both naturals and the older "bonded" yellow to blue. Prior to lapping, I can say that I have seen dishing on BOTH SIDES of these stones. That tells me that the blue WAS used in conjunction with the honing process! One of my natural combos has the mining date at between 100-150 years as estimated by Rob Cellis and other old time miners that marveled at the stone I make reference to.

I think we can separate our arguments not between the blue and yellow stone but instead between CUTTING and POLISHING. Yellow coticules are excellent polishing stones and in my experience, slow and even ineffective CUTTING stones. I have one vintage coticule that cuts so quickly, that steel swarf appears across its soft creamy surface in 5-10 passes. This is far from being the norm. That stone is exceptionally unique. Frankly, most yellows get the yawn from me as cutters even with slurry. They don't remove steel fast enough. Enter the Belgian Blue; with blue slurry, I put it in the same realm as a 4000K stone. Just because it wasn't regarded as a superior stone "back then" doesn't mean it's crap. It is what it is. It cuts. It removes steel well and it's a truly beautiful stone.

Chris L

Russel was posting while I was writing this. We share the same sentiment.

Originally Posted by English

I will bring a coticule and rubbing stone, a grey Thuringien and rubbing stone and a green yellow Thuringien (Escher) and rubbing stone and a low grade Japanese natural hone with a rubbing stone to Birmingham. You can feel the differences and decide there which one is "worthy". Seeing is believing.

Why would you compare a low grade Japanese stone to an Escher? No one claims that every japanese stone is a great finishing stone. There are more varieties of japanese stones than there are thuringians, belgians and scottish stones combined and only a small percentage are supreme polishers, the best of which are better than Thuringians.

I have all of those stones (and many more, and multiples of nearly all of them) and stand by my previous observation.

This is not meant to be insulting or challenging in any way, just a statement of the facts as I (and others) have experienced them.

I'm not, and that' why I said it's a low grade.

Originally Posted by Chris L

I know Howard charged like $18 for a "cotigura" slurry stone. What does he charge for a combo bout?

Chris L

Chris, I think that I paid around $30 for the natural blue/yellow. The bonded ones may be a little less.

Originally Posted by SteveS

I have two vintage (glued, rather than natural) blue/yellow combination coticules, one of which came with a box that is clearly more than 20 years old. Apparently, someone contemplated using a blue to sharpen a razor more than 20 years ago.

Steve, I think Belgian Blues are effective stones that do what they're supposed to. So the next statement may seem to support English's argument here.

Unless you're saying like I've said for a few of my vintage stones, that your blue side exhibits signs of honing wear, then simply because the yellow was bonded to the blue can simply mean that the blue stone at that time, since it was a byproduct of the yellow mining, was used as the reinforcement substrate whereas now slate is used. So I don't know if you were saying that whoever owned your vintage bonded coticule before you did DID hone on the Blue side, or that you're thinking since your yellow is bonded to blue that it must have been for the intent of the original purchasers of those types of stones to use the blue for sharpening purposes.

Chris L

Look, I'm not going to win any argument against you guys because you bought the stuff. I mean let's face it, it's been available for purchase for at least two years now. It's been available for wall building for hundreds of years.

What is it that you know that your for fathers didn't. I mean lets face it, they only invented razors. I also think they could sharpen a razor to perfection.
They chose to use yellow coticule, not blue. They also used newspaper.

Still if I ever find any blue, I'll send to you Chris, you can use it for your footpath.