Cotis remain puzzling for me. Some of the afficianados claim any coti will work - you just have to learn it well. I think they tell the truth on this, but that the number of guys that can do this is very small. Of the very experienced coti users, I asked - how many did you buy and sell before you found the joy? The lower numbers were 20-30. I'm not in the tax bracket to do that - especially w/ the price hikes a year or so back. Other stones have been more consistently reliable for a larger number of blades - speaking only for myself. Now that said, I still use 2 of the 3 I have - quite frequently. One Petite Blanche is insanely fast cuting. A Veinette has been a fine all-arounder. I can get a good shaving edge from either, but only once or twice has the edge rivaled my preferred rocks. The romantic draw of the natural is undeniable. They're unique, often nice to look at. And for some razors they just do magic. But for the rest of the razors - not so much. No doubt the variation in stones means that some are incredible, the majority are just okay. Their finish *IS* quite face-friendly - and that's not a small thing. All the heartburn of learning the naturals gives me a very healthy respect for synthetics. The rock I lust after these days is synthetic.