Thread: Belgian Blue 8k

Get one & test it. It's relatively cheap compared to the coti. That could be the next big thing! 250mmx60mm (10"x2" 3/8) for 42 Euro's isn't bad.
But not cheap if it's a BBW

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

What about this - a grey stone from the Belgian Ardennes region which is rated the same as the yellow, except harder...

Regards,
Neil

Most likely a Belgian Blue. That store sells Coticules too.

A belgian blue was my first thought too, but I'd have expected them to respect the naming convention - calling it grey and saying that the grit size is similar to a coticule is what struck me as odd...

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by Bart

They say "identical sharpening properties", but at the same time they also say that the Coticule has a grit rating of 6 to 8K and the Blue of 4K.
I too have spoken to both Rob and his father Maurice Celis, the owner of Ardennes Coticule.
Allow me to quote an email of Maurice:
"Beste Bart,

De korrelgrootte van de BBW is groter: tss 10 en 20 micron voor BBW en tss 5 en 15 micron voor Coticule. De gele stenen slijpen inderdaad fijner maar dat is amper te merken. Ook met een BBW kun je een scheermes slijpen. (...)"

"Dear Bart,

The garnet size of the BBW is bigger: in between 10 and 20 micron for BBW and in between 5 and 15 micron for Coticule. De yellow stones indeed hone finer, but the difference is barely discernible. A BBW is apt to hone a razor. (...)"

I once asked Rob why they gave a grit rating to their stones, which is in my opinion more confusing than helpful. He said it would otherwise be hard to market the hones on the modern market that seems to expects quantifiable numbers.

I agree with Ben.mid that Blueprinciple's integrity is beyond suspicion. I just think the information on the Ardennes Coticules website tries to guide the proper audience to their outstanding products, with offering simplified information. In my posts I was merely trying to elaborate on the finer points about the Belgian tandem. If anyone got the idea that I was criticizing "the Invisible Edge", then I humbly apologize.

Bart.

There is nothing wrong with criticism -it is the hone on which we are all sharpened (cool, eh?!). Honestly - I learned at art college many years ago that criticism (as opposed to mere dismissive 'rubbishing') is a great thing - taken in spirit it can only improve your business. Seriously, I didn't think anyone was running me down - hell, I'm just an ordinary guy and I just say what my experience dictates. I do not pretend to be the oracle when it comes to honing - I'm just reasonably good at it. Put that down to a light touch, a lot of mistakes, a lot of practice and a 'feel for the steel' (always had that!). If someone says the garnets are X micron, that's fine, I have no problem with it - my main concern is that when a customer receives a razor from me he (or she!) shaves with it, looks in the mirror and says 'S**t! That is one hell of an edge!'

I really like the Belgian stones but I do not use them exclusively - I also use jap waterstones, DMT's, thuringians and turkey stones (ah, now there's a tale!).

At the end of the day, it's the shave that matters, yes?

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

What about this - a grey stone from the Belgian Ardennes region which is rated the same as the yellow, except harder...

Regards,
Neil

Neil, you have no idea how happy I was to see you post that. Some time ago I got this pink natural. I posted about the pink side on the forum but not the other side. I was surprised to see that what would ordinarily have been the purplish blue side was grey. Not as dark as the one you linked to but grey nonetheless. I haven't fooled with it enough to get an impression. I had planned on posting eventually (not enough time in the day) to ask if anyone had seen such a thing and then you posted. If anyone out there has any idea what I have here please advise.

That's a very cool stone Jimmy!

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Neil, you have no idea how happy I was to see you post that. Some time ago I got this pink natural. I posted about the pink side on the forum but not the other side. I was surprised to see that what would ordinarily have been the purplish blue side was grey. Not as dark as the one you linked to but grey nonetheless. I haven't fooled with it enough to get an impression. I had planned on posting eventually (not enough time in the day) to ask if anyone had seen such a thing and then you posted. If anyone out there has any idea what I have here please advise.

That's quite an amazing 'grain'! It looks a bit like a 'water of Ayr' stone I saw a while ago - quite a find in any event. I have seen 'greyish' BBW's and very dark blue ones - but nothing like that!

I bought the BBW as an inexperienced razor user (the razor as well in fact) and I bought it based on the info about it on the site and I just wanted to make it clear that imho,it does what it says on th tin.I got the results I wanted with very little effort so now all I need to do is practice and learn.Gosh this thread has turned out to be a great discussion!

Originally Posted by blueprinciple

That's quite an amazing 'grain'! It looks a bit like a 'water of Ayr' stone I saw a while ago - quite a find in any event. I have seen 'greyish' BBW's and very dark blue ones - but nothing like that!

I had never seen anything like it either. Hard to lap and seems to be a mix of sedimentary stuff. Some pinkish areas coming through but dominantly grey on that side and has that coticule look and feel. I have done a bit of honing on it but need to do more to come to any conclusion. Reading what Bart said about his pink cot I will have to see how the pink side cuts as well. If the pink is as fast as Bart's the grey may be a great finisher. I have high hopes for it. If I am disappointed in the performance I will still be happy with the stone as it is beautiful to look at. We HADdicts are a crazy bunch.

If you like the edge resulting from a Belgian blue, try the Belgian yellow. I use the blue when the razor is a bit dull to bring it back and then finish on the yellow.