Thread: Intro and a question on eBay Coticule Crapshoot

Hi All, long time listener, first time caller here (sorry couldn't help myself, had to say it)

First a huge thanks! This place has been invaluable in taking my knowledge from zero to..well...still barely able to hone a blade effectively - but I wouldn't even be capable of that if it weren't for the incredible depth of knowledge from the people here. I kinda got into straights on a lark and it's developed into an outta control obsession at this point. Im sure none of you can relate to that. Ahha...

Second a question followed by some photographic evidence for the expert "panelists" to review:

I've read through a bit here on both Coticule and the general merits of attempting to purchase any of the high end natural finishers on eBay (The clear concensus of which seems to be "don't do it unless you really know what you're doing and don't expect any bargains if it truly is what it claims to be) - so, of course, I have no idea what im doing and I went ahead and rolled the dice anyway.

BUT, I actually think I may have lucked out and scored a great piece of coticule. I REALLY wanted a Coticule. However, I also REALLY like paying my mortgage.

So....Long story short ..I found an interesting specimen from an eBay seller who had acquired an old barbers estate. She was unsure precisely what the stone was other than that it was found alongside a bunch of clearly labeled barber hones. The box on this particular stone was unlabeled (has a bottom that appears to be original but no top) It looked like coticule but so could a lot of things if you paste them to blue slate I guess.

Looking at the pictures though, something about the striation and the gradual curve of where the blue and tan layers met in one particular photo led me to believe that this just might be the real thing and was worth the gamble.

It's kinda hard to see in the photo but it curves in a way that only real sedimentary formations would. I actually gave it to my cousin who was a practicing geologist for a decade or so and he stated it was most definitely real ( ie its a singular piece of naturaly formed stone - definitely not glued or otherwise man made) He had no idea if it was coticule or what and barely remembered the word coticule from the deep recesses of some college class decades ago.

He stated also that while it was fairly common for sediment layers to change that abruptly it was relatively rarer to get a large piece like that from exactly the intersection where two very large layers met. Which got my hopes up even more that this is a rarer kind of coticule.

As for its honing properties: It definately hones finer than an 8k with just a little water. The slurry, if built up, is like talc-water but it seemed to cut pretty quickly and, I can't explain, more roughly? so I stopped (I was using it on an only slightly worn old Puma and didn't want to take the edge down any).

Coticule or not im 99% confident from my limited testing that its at least an 8 to 10K+ finishing stone, I like the "feel" of it a lot and for a grand total of $48 I'm extremely happy either way.

I'm just wondering how I could verify with any certainty that it's coticule, or are there other formations (Arkansas stuff?) that look and behave similarly? If it is coticule are pieces with the natural "two-layer" intersections of the sediment more valuable and if so, why? Just due to rarity or because of their properties? This is probably posted somewhere but I couldn't manage to find it.

Sorry for the really long intro post but I'm kinda amped and am hoping I can confirm that it is actual Coticule.

By all means please feel free to dash my hopes if someone knows better. I'd rather know what it is. I'll test it some more on other razors but any feedback would be hugely appreciated!

Really glad to have found this place. Seems like a great group of people.

Thanks so much!

Peace,
Chris

here's the stone: