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Coticule love... show off your rock

Ah yes if you had said Le Boulanger I would’ve known right away. This is indeed one of his, it’s definitely a les lat hybrid piece but a bit softer than my other old chunk. He seems like a decent seller, but he does that typical Coticule seller thing of trying to pass off every backing as “rouge de Salm” or whatever was popular in 2014.

Have you guys here bought any other stones from him?
 
I haven't, but I was interested in a couple a few weeks ago, so I did some research. He's mentioned a time or two on Russian forums, and according to the translation... he goes to Belgium, buys junk stones for pennies on the dollar and sells them as coticules. They basically said that the stuff he sells that is clearly old are probably just flea market finds and often really good stones... but to avoid anything he's selling that looks new, as he does no testing on the stone and is known to sell random rocks that look vaguely like a coticule but aren't by gluing them to slate to make them more convincing and listing them as coticules. There was a guy here a few weeks back with a "La Verte" that was just a random green rock. La Verte coticule
 
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Wow thanks for the warning, I feel especially lucky for getting what I got now. I generally stick to the <$50 almost used up stones, because I find like old tools the one that was clearly someone’s favorite is often the best used option available. I’ve gambled on two pretty interesting Cotis so far because both visibly seemed to be Les lat hybrids, and both times I’ve gotten exactly what I hoped for.

This one has a few quirks for sure, little cracks that aren’t all the way through the hybrid layer... clearly recently glued and I’d rate it no better than an average home brew job would be (this man clearly doesn’t have enough clamps). I could definitely see this being a thin crumbling hybrid layer bought used for nothing and then glued up to “rouge du Salm”(lol!) for resale. Even with all that against it though, the edges are out of this world and the feedback on water might be the clearest magnetic effect I’ve seen. I’m definitely happy for the money I paid.

Sounds like he’s bad but has he stooped as low as schill bidding like the Comrade JNAT (kossy something on eBay)?
 
That I can't say. I've generally steered clear since I found that info, so I don't watch the bidding that happens in his listings. Glad you got a good stone, and don't worry too much about the veins. Les Lat often has faults through it, both my Ardennes LesLats did... I suspect that's why it doesn't seem to have been used much historically; as long as they don't impact honing, you're good.

The way you describe it in action sounds like my vintage Les Latneuses, which is an absolutely top tier stone, so you may have gotten super lucky and gotten a gem.
 
Yeah this is only Coticule #7 I’ve ever purchased, but it is definitely a winner. I’ve only gotten this lucky one other time with the smaller stone pictured here, which was $34 with shipping because the coti layer is almost gone. I’d bet it was once a premium boxed and stamped stone for some special purpose. The new Les lat is much slower and finer on water.
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Almost gone? Pshaw. I just sold a Pike stone that still had the original STAMP on it with less coticule than that. You just got a good deal. Lots of old coticules only had a few mm of coticule on them. Heck, one of the stones I collect are Torrey Old rocks that are specifically cut about 3mm thick to fit on a paddle.
 
Hmmm I’ve never seen one of the Torrey stones that I know of, but everything else they made is pretty great so I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled. This stone is probably ~2.5mm plus, but I know it was originally thicker because it had the typical saddle shape through the middle about .7-1mm deep.
 
I've got 5 now. I had one more that I sold because it was hyper aggressive. They actually were sold with the coticule as the coarse hone to be followed by pasted strops, so that was probably the "best" from their perspective... but for me it was borderline unsuitable for razors. The others I've kept are all great hones with one being really top notch. They resemble La Rose/Rose Rock coticules much more than boxed Old rocks, to be honest.
 

David

B&B’s Champion Corn Shucker
I have a natural combo stamped super fine that’s ~ 2mm. A lot of the old Pike coticules were thin like that. Thick stones are neat to have but are just for bragging rights. Most people will never go through 5mm in a lifetime honing razors.
 
I have a natural combo stamped super fine that’s ~ 2mm. A lot of the old Pike coticules were thin like that. Thick stones are neat to have but are just for bragging rights. Most people will never go through 5mm in a lifetime honing razors.

Now that one surprises me a bit. I agree with you it doesn’t take much to last forever, I think I could live out my days with a 5+mm Coticule anything bigger than 30x125mm and a DMT1200. The Les lats seem even harder and more wear resistant than normal too.
 
This one is very smooth and creamy, there is almost no noise while honing, a very hard and dense stone. There is no crack, only a manganese line. It has a nice size for razors (200x42). It was sold 30 to 60 years ago to a company, that produce microtomes. Even today, they use the finest natural stones for honing. It is really fine, finer than most of my Jnats.

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That thing could be the header image on the old Coticule forum.

I know it’s weird but I feel like this is a safe space... can you get us some more arrousing pics with angles and lighting?
 
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Sure, some more pics. It is really fun honing on this one. It is fast, I mean really fast. Even after the Atoma 1200 and some polishing with a Les Lat bout there is
black swarf after the first touch with my single beveled knife. But it is almost as smooth as a very fine Jnat. The edge gets super sharp and has a nice mirror polish.
Maybe it will slow down after more use, but it is my fastest finishing stone I think.
 
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Just lapped this one a bit (250x55). It is softer than the last two stones, but harder than any La Grise I ever had. After the Atoma 400 it is smooth like a typical La Grise and is not very fast, but the slurry gets gray after some honing. There is a bit grainy look, but is is super smooth. There is a "magnetic" suction with water. I am pretty sure it is a La Grosse Jaune. It's great, I've been looking for ages after such a stone.
 
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You are welcome. Another stone with such manganese spots and a great size (250x55). It is super hard, it will take some time lapping it completely flat.
Besides the black lines, it is as homogeneous as a Gouda. It is glued, there is a little left from the BBW at the yellow side, thats why it looks like a natural combo from the side.


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