I have had the HAD and ended up with a dozen coticules. Ain't a bad one in the bunch. Some are better then others. What I have found out, tentatively anyway, is that there is not necessarily any difference between a vintage or a recently mined coticule.

I say not necessarily meaning that there may be a difference in color, grade and of course performance but they will both be sedimentary rock formed eons ago regardless of when they were dug out of the ground and processed.

My best one is an 8X3 natural that came from Howard at the Perfect Edge and he got it from Rob at Ardennes. Rob grades them kosher, select and standard. The kosher is only graded as such for cosmetic reasons. It is a pure light yellow in color with no imperfections. The performance potential doesn't enter into the grading. They are significantly more expensive especially if it is a larger rock. My 8x2 is a good hard finisher.

I will stick my neck out and say that for one purpose or another a standard may outperform a select depending on what the end user needs it for. Rob will tell you that some coticules are more suited to razors while others are a better bet for woodworking tools and such. At least that is the way I understand it from reading about them. If you order directly from him you can request a coticule to suit your specific needs.

I used to think that a vintage coticule would be better then the currently mined stuff and individually you may find one that is but it could easily be the other way around like my 8x3. Since Rob has the only mine currently operating that is harvesting coticules if you find a seller on ebay or elsewhere carrying coticules unless it is a vintage piece it originated from Rob's mine. At least that is my best guess.