Coticule supplier?
- Thread starter Greg24
- Start date
You won’t pay VAT. that’s EU internal only.
as Doc said, you’ll get the best customer Service and good shaves at SS.
as Doc said, you’ll get the best customer Service and good shaves at SS.
SS is a good option, Id say also we have two decent Etsy stores, and one newer seller on eBay who’s good so far. Bottom line is you want to see and select YOUR SPECIFIC STONE.
If the seller has a generic stock photo and no specifics on the actual stone that will ship to you, they don’t meet the modern top seller standard. This level of stone seller service arguably started with Jarrod at SS so take that as you will.
Most Coticules seem to max out with edges that fall in a similar quality range. They all require slightly different approaches to reach the peak for that specific stone, but the modern layers seem every bit as capable as vintages IME. I’m partial to la Grise out of the common moderns, but not enough preference to go chasing a special provenance stone at any price increase.
The Les lat hybrids are their own animal IMO, but you said yellow so...
If the seller has a generic stock photo and no specifics on the actual stone that will ship to you, they don’t meet the modern top seller standard. This level of stone seller service arguably started with Jarrod at SS so take that as you will.
Most Coticules seem to max out with edges that fall in a similar quality range. They all require slightly different approaches to reach the peak for that specific stone, but the modern layers seem every bit as capable as vintages IME. I’m partial to la Grise out of the common moderns, but not enough preference to go chasing a special provenance stone at any price increase.
The Les lat hybrids are their own animal IMO, but you said yellow so...
- Thread starter
- #5
So this time I think I’m in it for the long haul. Right now I have a Chinese hone, then I do a progression of pastes: red, black, and chromium oxide. It gets me a serviceable edge. Since I am going to keep shaving with my straight I am looking to improve that edge. I really need something for weekly or monthly touch ups, no volume work.
If anyone has any other suggestions on stones I am open to them.
I am trying to hold off until Christmas for purchases, trying being the key word.
If anyone has any other suggestions on stones I am open to them.
I am trying to hold off until Christmas for purchases, trying being the key word.
- Thread starter
- #6
Thanks! This is exactly what I am looking for. Would you recommend a yellow coticule as a finisher? I am open to alternate suggestions.
Griffith Shaving carries a variety of Coticules as well:
www.griffithshavinggoods.com
Sharpening Stones
Explore the art of sharpening with our rare & historic natural sharpening stones and synthetic sharpening stones. We offer the finest stones for honing your edge to perfection!
I’ve got a few of every type of hone and I use Coticules most of the time because they’re the most convenient IMO for touch up honing. I keep a few Coticules in my bathroom drawer right next to the razors, so it’s just splash with water and do a few sets of half strokes with light pressure, then a big set of x strokes with whatever the best finishing method is on the specific stone in hand. No thought required, nothing other than coticule and water required, and it’s only a 5-15minute commitment with stropping and all. Sometimes I might get really wild and use one Coticule for the initial touch up and a different one to finish off. One of my finest finishing Cotis is only about 2x2”, so gotta get creative to keep lap count practical.
If you get a nice stone from a reputable seller, I think you’ll find a 150mm x 35mm or 100mm x 50mm is actually plenty of real estate for x strokes and dirt cheap for what you’re really getting.
If you get a nice stone from a reputable seller, I think you’ll find a 150mm x 35mm or 100mm x 50mm is actually plenty of real estate for x strokes and dirt cheap for what you’re really getting.
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I have a no-name-vein from TSS and its a great rock. Fast and fine, if you want it to be. I finish it off with super light strokes on oil and it comes out quite keen. Blades honed this way will do a fools pass on my upper lip w/o difficulty. I love coticules so count me as biased. I wish I had more
I bought a different stone from Griffith and their service and product is top notch; I would trust them with coticule too.
I bought a different stone from Griffith and their service and product is top notch; I would trust them with coticule too.
I picked up a travel bout and a razor from Griffin as well. They have first class, responsive service as well.
I’ve purchased from Griffith too, amazing service.
My sense is that TSS is phasing out their supply of coticules; and if that is the case, then Griffith is the way to go. Personally, I don't find a coticule useful as a finisher; I like to up the ante with Welsh purple slate afterwards.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
I like the coticule I acquired from Jarrod at Superior Shave; I picked it entirely by size. The edge doesn't seem so very sharp. It seems comfortable and smooth. It is, however, sharper than it seems.
That said, I can get a sharper edge with my Zulu Grey or with my Arkansas finishing stones. My favorite is the DCA (Double Convex Ark) from Jarrod.
Happy shaves,
Jim
That said, I can get a sharper edge with my Zulu Grey or with my Arkansas finishing stones. My favorite is the DCA (Double Convex Ark) from Jarrod.
Happy shaves,
Jim
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I have a Coticule that I purchased from a forum member. It is wonderful prefinisher, but I have never gotten a good shave from a Coticule alone. There may be some Coticules with just the right technique that could produce such an edge, but many folks want a keener edge that most Coticules can deliver. For me, the Greek Vermio, a Zulu Gray, and a high quality Imperia La Roccia deliver that edge.
I have a Coticule that I purchased from a forum member. It is wonderful prefinisher, but I have never gotten a good shave from a Coticule alone. There may be some Coticules with just the right technique that could produce such an edge, but many folks want a keener edge that most Coticules can deliver. For me, the Greek Vermio, a Zulu Gray, and a high quality Imperia La Roccia deliver that type of edge.
I’m not trying to be a snob here, but I side with the old guard saying the vast majority of Coticules can produce a great shaving edge if you take the time to figure the stone out. I’ve got quite a few right now and have had more pass through my hands, and all have gotten to a similar edge quality using different techniques and tricks to get there. All the ones I have currently can improve a Naniwa 12k edge IMO, and actually I got a genuine thuringian and I’d pick Some of my Cotis over the thuringian without any hesitation.
When I first got into Cotis I relegated them to midrange use because I thought I needed something keener than Cotis could give me. I had tested most of my blades with 2 Cotis, and never experienced the shaving magic Coti addicts raved about so the Cotis got demoted and I lived in the “Cotis aren’t keen enough for my beard” camp for a long time. After about 3 years of mostly Ark and JNAT edges, I decided to try shaving off a coti with a new-to-me wide hollow grind and the shave blew my mind. I thought “my gosh if this razor can do THAT off a mid-range coti, I gotta find a REAL finisher for it!” After much dabbling, I settled on a Coti edge being my best shave for that blade and I went back to testing my other blades on the Cotis and to my amazement they all wound up shaving great! All I could come up with to explain why my Coticules suddenly jumped in performance is that I went a year doing almost ALL of my midrange/prefinisher honing on Cotis and I’d accidentally perfected my coti finishing technique.
Now I’ve at least quadrupled my Coticule collection and sold a few extras off, and I can grab a new stone and have it pretty well figured out in 2-4 honing sessions but this is 10+ stones into the Coti game and lord knows how many hours at the sink with stone in hand. It’ll take time to learn a Coticule from scratch, and if you’re trying to just pick up a new stone and do a full slurry dilution to finish... you’ll be underwhelmed and results will be inconsistent. Use one as a water only finisher. Try it with zero pressure and a bajillion Laps under running water. Try it with some pressure finishing. Try it with varying water management, try it with slurry to finish, try it with some linen stropping or edge jointing mixed in, try it with oil or a drop of dawn, try it with lather... it’s not for everyone and there are plenty of easier to learn finisher options out there. Finishing Arks are stupid cheap for what they can do and give a forgiving edge very consistently, just oil and rub steel around on them and good things happen.
There are differences between individual stones in Coticules for sure, but not to a big degree when looking at how keen/shave worthy is the edge after maxing that stones potential out. The differences that jump out at me now are all hardness, slurry release, feedback, abrasive speed... if I had to pick my standouts they’d a fast soft one that autoslurries but leaves a very keen edge under running water, a narrow fast hard one that doesn’t autoslurry and leaves a very gentle edge, and some Les lat hybrids because I feel their edges in use feel halfway between a normal Coticule and an ark and I love it.
When I first got into Cotis I relegated them to midrange use because I thought I needed something keener than Cotis could give me. I had tested most of my blades with 2 Cotis, and never experienced the shaving magic Coti addicts raved about so the Cotis got demoted and I lived in the “Cotis aren’t keen enough for my beard” camp for a long time. After about 3 years of mostly Ark and JNAT edges, I decided to try shaving off a coti with a new-to-me wide hollow grind and the shave blew my mind. I thought “my gosh if this razor can do THAT off a mid-range coti, I gotta find a REAL finisher for it!” After much dabbling, I settled on a Coti edge being my best shave for that blade and I went back to testing my other blades on the Cotis and to my amazement they all wound up shaving great! All I could come up with to explain why my Coticules suddenly jumped in performance is that I went a year doing almost ALL of my midrange/prefinisher honing on Cotis and I’d accidentally perfected my coti finishing technique.
Now I’ve at least quadrupled my Coticule collection and sold a few extras off, and I can grab a new stone and have it pretty well figured out in 2-4 honing sessions but this is 10+ stones into the Coti game and lord knows how many hours at the sink with stone in hand. It’ll take time to learn a Coticule from scratch, and if you’re trying to just pick up a new stone and do a full slurry dilution to finish... you’ll be underwhelmed and results will be inconsistent. Use one as a water only finisher. Try it with zero pressure and a bajillion Laps under running water. Try it with some pressure finishing. Try it with varying water management, try it with slurry to finish, try it with some linen stropping or edge jointing mixed in, try it with oil or a drop of dawn, try it with lather... it’s not for everyone and there are plenty of easier to learn finisher options out there. Finishing Arks are stupid cheap for what they can do and give a forgiving edge very consistently, just oil and rub steel around on them and good things happen.
There are differences between individual stones in Coticules for sure, but not to a big degree when looking at how keen/shave worthy is the edge after maxing that stones potential out. The differences that jump out at me now are all hardness, slurry release, feedback, abrasive speed... if I had to pick my standouts they’d a fast soft one that autoslurries but leaves a very keen edge under running water, a narrow fast hard one that doesn’t autoslurry and leaves a very gentle edge, and some Les lat hybrids because I feel their edges in use feel halfway between a normal Coticule and an ark and I love it.
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Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
I believe what you're saying. Although I've gotten perfectly fine edges off the coticule it's not my favorite edge. That said, I would not say I totally maxed out or mastered the coticule nor did I try several of them. In other words, I don't have the experience (or the interest) to argue the point.
One counterpoint to your point of view would be Jarrod's. I've read on his Superior Shave website that he's transitioned from the coticule to the convex Arks to give his customers the keener or sharper edges they wanted. I'm sure he had access to all the coticules he might have wanted to try out or test or experiment with. I know he had far more experience with stones, edges, honing and all that stuff than I'll have in several lifetimes.
I'm not saying you're wrong of course. I may very well use my coticule again. I like the edges. I think highly of the coticule but I seem to use only the convexed Arks now. Again, I don't have your experience, but at least some of my edges are stellar.
Happy shaves,
Jim
I can see how a coticule used with water could help, say, an edge that has been honed pretty high on synths (e.g., 12k). I suppose it would work there in the same way that a black hard Arkansas would, to temper or smooth the edge a little. But in either case, I don't think that this is the stone's true character, it seems more of an amalgamation with the synth that went before.
If anyone wants to try the ultimate coticule edge get one from @garyhayward, you won’t be disappointed
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- Thread starter
- #20
Thanks everyone, I ended up getting a yellow coticule from TSS, it should be here Monday. It does appear from their website that they may be scaling back on selling those stones. I found a nice little stone in my price range and a shape I am comfortable working on.
I had looked at Griffith before as well, as they are located in RI where I grew up. Maybe someday if they Get more of those Cumberlandite stones in I will pick one up, so I can carry a little piece of home around with me.
I had looked at Griffith before as well, as they are located in RI where I grew up. Maybe someday if they Get more of those Cumberlandite stones in I will pick one up, so I can carry a little piece of home around with me.
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