Belgian blue, what did you do?

[thombrogan]

Sodak sent me a specimine of the Belgian Blue coticule stone. It is a sedimentary lock chock full of garnet, a silicate that's harder than glass. The stone is easy to flatten, requires very little water on its surface, and readily produces a slurry either through use or with a little rub from a diamond benchstone.

Here are my pics:

If you're sharpening an easy-to-sharpen steel such as Masahiro's MBS-26 or Kershaw's 13C26, it's smooth sailing across a sea of purple mud. If you're sharpening a burr-prone piece of Cold Steel's AUS-8A (some is; some ain't - mine was), well, it's not the stone, it's the sharpener and the steel. Both Sodak and I were of the opinion the Belgian blue was supposed to be a finishing/polishing stone, but it seems to be the stone before the polishing stone (or the one before that one).

Thanks, Sodak, for this rare and unique oppurtunity.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Coticule stones are commonly used as straight razor hones. They don't produce the finest available edge out of the hones available today, but they are traditional, give lots of feedback, and are a joy to use. They're also rare, since the mines where they originate are nearly dried up, so you get bragging rights too.

 

[sodak]

Always fun to play in the mud, isn't it?

 

[thombrogan]

Absolutely! My aoto is harder to use and gets even muddier. The Glasstones are quick and easy, but with no mud. Meh.

 

[sodak]

Coticule stones are commonly used as straight razor hones. They don't produce the finest available edge out of the hones available today, but they are traditional, give lots of feedback, and are a joy to use.

Exactly right. When I first got into shaving with a straight razor years ago, all I heard was "coticule". So I got one, thinking it was required. It probably was required, way back when, but I get just as good results with other stones, so I'm thinning the herd. But it's interesting to see what other people think about it!

 

[yuzuha]

Actually that is just a Belgian Blue (friend of mine who lives in Belgium has a back step made of the stuff... he sharpens his knives on his step ) From what I hear, they are about like a 4k artificial stone. The Yellow (champagne) coticule stones, which are becoming rare, are more like 8000-12000 grit depending on the stone.

 

[thombrogan]

Thanks, yuzuha!

As if Belgians didn't already live in the land of Bier und Chocolat, they rub it in our faces further by using waterstones as their steps.