Where would you all recommend to purchase a coticule? Please keep in mind that I am Canadian, if it makes a difference for your recommendation.
Thanks,
Robert
Thanks,
Robert
Best place to get a coti?
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If you were European, I'd say directly from the Ardennes mine webshop, where I got my Coti and BBW, but since you're not in the EU, go visit Howard at www.theperfectedge.com
Fendrihan
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as much as I stalk Fendrihans, you would think I would have seen that, lol
In the US, Jarrod at thesuperiorshave.com is great to do business with.
Check the prices at Ardennes they've got a flat rate postage, so even though it might take a bit longer it might work out cheaper (depending on the exchange rate).
Ardennes got my coticule to me from Belgium to Hawaii in four days. I wouldn't say it takes longer at all.
Ardennes is the source for all vendors, so for me they were the natural choice.
Routinely we take/send many pictures and emails, listening to what a customer's looking for and evaluating the various chunks of available inventory to see if they're a good fit, and spending two hours of total time for one customer to buy one coticule once is a common occurrence. They won't see just the stone they'll buy, but many others when available, and a seasoned appraisal of their feel, speed, refinement, etc.
Given how hard it is to get the inventory, I'd be shocked if the mine has time for this sort of thing.
Given how hard it is to get the inventory, I'd be shocked if the mine has time for this sort of thing.
Being a very recent customer of Jarrod, I can attest that. I hope I did not take two hours of his time but he was very informative and supportive in my quest for an ultra fast coti.
Bart lives in Belgium and borrows coticules from the mine to evaluate and then posts the results on his site in the Coticule Vault. They are then made available for purchase.
Currently, two of them are, that is not a large selection, is it? Even the mine does not have some of the layers in stock (I asked a few days ago, and they did not know when they would have them again). I am not saying one should not buy from the source (I did it in the past), I am saying sometimes the other vendors can do you better and faster service.
I've bought a number of hones from Rob at Ardennes Coticule over the past few years, and he has been great - lots of emails back and forth so he knew what I wanted each time, then he sent me pictures and stats on the stones I was interested in. Great person to do business with and the flat-rate postage was reasonable, shipping times were fast.
Regards,
Neil
Regards,
Neil
Coticules continue to be in short supply. The waiting list for Select grade and Kosher grade continues to grow longer. There is a lot of standard grade coticule out there but they are different from Select and it's not just cosmetic. As with most quality items, you pay for what you get ... and I feel it's true with coticules.
Ditto on the perfectedge! Love the way they describe the items in their own words rather than use manufacturers descriptions. They pretty much tell you if you're expectations from product X is one thing they may view it differently. Pretty much like a review.
I'm glad to see their product line growing.
I'm glad to see their product line growing.While select and kosher grade coticules may be harder to come buy, I have to disagree with your comment on standard grade coticules. My experience with my standard grade is that I prefer it to my one select coticule. But more importantly, Bart (who has tested literally hundreds of coticules), has me convinced that the difference in standard, select, etc. is really only cosmetic. In fact, one of the most sought out coticules of some modern users is Les Latneuses which was previously kept completely out of the market due to it's unusual appearance and was deemed unsellable because of it. It was only after testing and discovering its characteristics that it was in such demand.
In fact, testing of all the coticules sold is completely impractical. The only grading system is based on appearance. Bart, in conjunction with Ardennes, will help to develop a system based on performance testing, but even at that , it will be very limited due to the time consuming nature of it.
Ardennes, is indeed the supplier of all the vendors selling coticules now, but when they sell to the public, they do so at market rates to protect their vendors. My preference for buying directly from them is based on the working with Rob, even though it's a little more expensive after having to pay international shipping
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