Can anyone identify these?

[Joe Edson]

I took a gamble with a small bid on this lot from fleabay as I was pretty certain the hone on the right in the pictures is a coti (from item description and pics looks to be 6 inch long and probably 35-40mm wide). My question is does anyone recognize what the other 2 hones could be?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...162519&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_500wt_1154

I know it is a long shot from just looking at pictures, but thought it would be worth a check. Regardless, if the one hone ends up a coti I think I got a pretty good deal. I could use the other ones on my kitchen knives I guess to check them out.

 

[danjared]

Perhaps a translucent Arkansas stone and something else?

 

[SliceOfLife]

Left to right.

Hard/Translucent Arkansas
Soft Arkansas
Coticule

 

[Blue58]

Left to right.

Hard/Translucent Arkansas
Soft Arkansas
Coticule

I would have to agree that they are Arkansas stones

 

[Joe Edson]

Left to right.

Hard/Translucent Arkansas
Soft Arkansas
Coticule

The arkansas stones require oil right? How are they for an edge?

 

[ADRSPACH]

Hard arkie, Wa..ita, Coti

 

[Blue58]

The arkansas stones require oil right? How are they for an edge?

I have always used a very light oil on my Ark. hard stone. I have heard Norton makes a good hone oil and I am sure the makers of the Ark. stones do too. I am sure though you could use any good quality light machine oil such as 3 in 1 or something like that.

As for how they are for an edge, I can't really help much there... my stone is about 2.5 in. x 1.25 in too small for a straight I have only used it for small pocket knifes

 

[Joe Edson]

Ok, from my reading it appears like the arkansas stones are not much use for a straight. Bought the lot for the coti anyway. I'll give the arkansas' a try on my kitchen knives and then maybe back to the bay they go if not useful. Thanks to all those that were able to identify these.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Arkansas stones work fine for straights, but there are better options out there. I prefer oil with them, but some people use them with water.

 

[Blue58]

The hard stones would probably work as bevel setting stones because the grit is somewhere between 700 - to maybe 1000 but the swaty stones or velvet edge stones will give you a much smoother finish so you wont have to work as hard when you step up to the next finer grit and the less time you have to spend honing is more time you can spend shaving

 

[danjared]

The hard stones would probably work as bevel setting stones because the grit is somewhere between 700 - to maybe 1000 but the swaty stones or velvet edge stones will give you a much smoother finish so you wont have to work as hard when you step up to the next finer grit and the less time you have to spend honing is more time you can spend shaving

Note that those grit ratings are using the American system, not the much more common JIS one. The two systems are very different. But it's also extremely difficult to rate a natural stone, especially Arkansas stones, in terms of grit. Consider that the same Arkansas stone will behave very differently depending on how it is lapped.

By the way, I'll also say that you can get a very fine edge off an Arkansas stone. I recently honed up a Shumate using a DMT D8E followed by a Norton soft/translucent combo and was very pleased with the result. But it was definitely a very slow process.

 

[Joe Edson]

Well the stones arrived and the coti measures 6 1/4" x 1 1/4" so a little on the narrow side, but I think I did ok for the price. My other coti is slightly wider at 1 3/8". This will give me a good chance to see the differences between 2 coti's. Anyone know how to "date" a coti or know if it is a vintage stone or not? Not entirely interested in the arkansas stones, so I think those will head back on eBay and maybe I can end up with an even sweeter deal on the coti.

Thanks to all who identified the other 2 stones.

 

[Blue58]

Well the stones arrived and the coti measures 6 1/4" x 1 1/4" so a little on the narrow side, but I think I did ok for the price. My other coti is slightly wider at 1 3/8". This will give me a good chance to see the differences between 2 coti's. Anyone know how to "date" a coti or know if it is a vintage stone or not? Not entirely interested in the arkansas stones, so I think those will head back on eBay and maybe I can end up with an even sweeter deal on the coti.

Thanks to all who identified the other 2 stones.

My guess is that all coti are vintage since they are all about 2.5 million years old

 

[SliceOfLife]

Based on the size and condition I'd assume vintage. And yes you got a great deal. I paid in the neighborhood of $80 for my 7x1". Those narrow long coti's are precious and few.