Look at Coticule Belgium Whetstone - Natural Whetstones - https://naturalwhetstones.com/natural-whetstones/european-natural-stones-hone/belgium-coticule-stone/#bbw
And look for the part called "
And look for the part called "
Purchase of a Mystery Stone
- Thread starter Lyon Heart
- Start date
Well, I’m just not seeing enough wine red or mix of reds and purples to call it a RDS or Lorraine personally. But pictures are hard to ID from and the range of BBW and RDS/LL can be quite similar to my eyes at times. BBW can be quite purple and light and some can be kind of reddish while not being RDS too. Some BBW are plain weird and slurry brown and other things. In all his pics I lean towards BBW.
Full disclosure, my first RDS I thought was BBW before someone wised me up
I didn’t know much about RDS/LL at the time though.
Lyon heart - just use it a bit and see what you get as a result. If it doesn’t help you ID a name, it will tell you how THAT stone performs regardless of where it was mined. Nice rock
Full disclosure, my first RDS I thought was BBW before someone wised me up
I didn’t know much about RDS/LL at the time though. Lyon heart - just use it a bit and see what you get as a result. If it doesn’t help you ID a name, it will tell you how THAT stone performs regardless of where it was mined. Nice rock
I have a little coti with a RDS backing. No way I could confuse it with a BBW. It’s MUCH softer.
- Thread starter
- #64
Nice article. It explains a lot. I have to admit that I was under the assumption that the Belgian stones were blonde or blue and it was as simple as that. I think my step is to follow LJS's advice and just use them and get a sense of how they each work.
This all started with my interest in knowing more about vintage stones and my stumbling across a stash of them at a local antique/junk dealer. I've been cleaning the batch of 7 stones I picked up last weekend, a couple of which have gone back into the simple green (in my bacon tupperware).
Starting from left to right:
#1: Marble or Quartzite - It is more marbly/milky than quartz but readily translucent when a light is shined on the edge. It readily self slurries and quickly generates dark swarf. It is quite hard and has a grit around the same as a BBW. It readily flattened on a diamond plate in a couple minutes without much effort and the slurry is a bright milk white. I would have guessed marble, except that it creates a dark swarf so quickly.
#2: A chunk of grey Hindostan stone - It is softer & grittier than my 2 yellow ones. It's strange that this one and my other grey one leach oil endlessly and are much softer and lower grit than the yellow ones. The yellow ones both went into the simple green for 2 days and never leached any oil after that. The grey Canada Stone is even finer and harder but has also leached oil endlessly being in and out of simple green and hot water. I know there is a high variety of hardness in Hindostan stones but the porousness also variable.
#3: I'm thinking this is a Washita since under the dried slurry and swarf I found the label stating Lily White Washita. It's gone back into the simple green 'cause it is a long long way from Lily White.
#4: Looks Synthetic to me. Softer than Carborundum.
#5: Unknown. Dark and light grey lines. Reasonably fine grit and soft. Flattened one side in about 4 minutes on a diamond plate.
#6: Quite sure it's an Ark. Inside the crack it is white to light grey.
#7: Quite sure it's also an Ark. It is pinkish and crazy hard but within the range of Arks.
#1 and #5 are the ones that are new to me. The Arks and Hindostans are readily identifiable (especially when they are labelled)
@Lyon Heart Yeah, that LWW looks more rosey red in current condition 
That number 5 has the texture and fracture of a synthetic stone….but those lines are quite interesting. More soak on that one for sure.
The number 1 sounds weird. Marble isn’t much of a useful hone and not common to see it being used like one. Have you ever had a queer creek stone?
That last one is suspicious - could be pics or may need more degreasing, but almost looks like a broken India stone maybe.
That number 5 has the texture and fracture of a synthetic stone….but those lines are quite interesting. More soak on that one for sure.
The number 1 sounds weird. Marble isn’t much of a useful hone and not common to see it being used like one. Have you ever had a queer creek stone?
That last one is suspicious - could be pics or may need more degreasing, but almost looks like a broken India stone maybe.
Put a drop of white vinegar on the first stone and see if it bubbles.
- Thread starter
- #67
I put a small puddle of vinegar on #1 and it did nothing. The stone is also not porous. The vinegar as well as water, just tends to sit on it. I will plan on shaving with a razor coming off it tomorrow.
I compared #5 to my only Ohio Blue Stone, a Bear Creek. The light streaks look close. The stone is a lower grit but comparable. #5 and #7 have been back in the Simple Green all day. I'll pull them out again tomorrow morning and do some close-ups.
I compared #5 to my only Ohio Blue Stone, a Bear Creek. The light streaks look close. The stone is a lower grit but comparable. #5 and #7 have been back in the Simple Green all day. I'll pull them out again tomorrow morning and do some close-ups.
Ah ok. It’s probably not marble then. Marble and similar stones will get little bubbles (I think the stone in my pic is ocean jasper)
- Thread starter
- #69
I'm definitely getting my fun out of $40 worth of old stones.
I'm including a closer pic of #1. I honed a Filarmonica 12 on it endlessly trying to get the milky white slurry to turn to grey swarf. Although this clearly hones a cheaper end Henkle kitchen knife it really wasn't getting much off of the razor. It gave an excellent shave so it certainly polished the edge.
For #7 I took a clearer picture.
#5 keeps having clearer waves of grey. I've included wet, dry (under sunlight) and slurried pics of it beside a Bear Creek stone. If Blue Ohio stones tend to be a bit more blue/green then my Bear Creek and a wee bit grittier, than a Queer Creek might be right.
I'm including a closer pic of #1. I honed a Filarmonica 12 on it endlessly trying to get the milky white slurry to turn to grey swarf. Although this clearly hones a cheaper end Henkle kitchen knife it really wasn't getting much off of the razor. It gave an excellent shave so it certainly polished the edge.
For #7 I took a clearer picture.
#5 keeps having clearer waves of grey. I've included wet, dry (under sunlight) and slurried pics of it beside a Bear Creek stone. If Blue Ohio stones tend to be a bit more blue/green then my Bear Creek and a wee bit grittier, than a Queer Creek might be right.
OK, new guesses with these photos. I don't really slurry many stones myself, so I never get much from comparing slurries. But just looking at the stones, your 7 is looking more like a broken washita to me. #1 is weird and I am not sure. I brought up queer creek originally because I thought maybe 1 was just spotted with stains but not at all that stone.
The one with lines - I am starting to wonder if that is a Dalmore perhaps? They often get some swirl to the pattern but I don't think those lines are out of the norm either.
The one with lines - I am starting to wonder if that is a Dalmore perhaps? They often get some swirl to the pattern but I don't think those lines are out of the norm either.
- Thread starter
- #71
A Dalmore is a strong likelihood. It's around 14k and feeling less sandy after a bit more flattening on a 600 plate and dressing with a fine stone. For now, #7, #5 and the Canada Stone have joined the LWW for at least a week in the tupperware of Simple Green. I suspect the LWW will need a month or two. I will post a pic of the potential-Dalmore in its wet and dry state a week from now.
Thank you everyone for your input. Now I get to take out a bucket of old straights and play around with a variety of progressions.
Thank you everyone for your input. Now I get to take out a bucket of old straights and play around with a variety of progressions.
Man, I never find anything while antiquing. Went to 4 places in the last two weekends and didn't see any stones except maybe a man-made Carborundum or two, but nothing natural or interesting. Not even one straight razor to be had!
Just bought a mystery stone off eBay. Sold (for pretty cheap) as a hard black arkansas 8x2, but the stone in the pics was 6x3 and may or may not be a hard ark. Has a couple suspicious marks common to slates (which are denser and softer) but I'll find out when I get it. SG was labeled as 2.76, so it's in the right range although "wet weight" and "dry weight" don't mean anything to me, density of the stone isn't affected by being in water! It will weigh the same in water or dry if you subtract the weight of the water....
Anyway, I'm curious. Been buying too many stones lately, have a natural Aoto on the way from Japan simply because I've always wanted one an it was cheap for an Aoto, and a 12k Shapton Ceramic arrived today. Should be fun to play with anyway.
Anyway, I'm curious. Been buying too many stones lately, have a natural Aoto on the way from Japan simply because I've always wanted one an it was cheap for an Aoto, and a 12k Shapton Ceramic arrived today. Should be fun to play with anyway.
The last one might be a Deerlick oilstone, I think. if not, QC which is very similar.
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Saw that one too. That listing most of my ebay pet peeves. It hurt my brain. Hope it turns out to be something good.
It has possibilities since it didn't look much like a carborundum stone of some sort. I've been collecting those for use in the shop that goes unheated in the winter. Handy for lathe tools and maybe plane blades along with a nice Washita. No worries about freezing.
If it is an ark it's gonna need some serious flattening to get rid of the gouges.
If it is an ark it's gonna need some serious flattening to get rid of the gouges.
Surprise, surprise, it IS a hard black Arkansas stone! At least it looks, feels, and rings like one anyway. Will have to see what my 35 grit diamond plate does with it, there are a lot of deep scratches on it that need to go, and I'll have to decide how to finish it.
Nice stone, seems pretty flat and a very nice size for razors.
Nice stone, seems pretty flat and a very nice size for razors.
Sold as Hindostan, yes or no? Keeper or throw it back and keep casting.
Just finished 2 carbon steel kitchen knives on it, not slow, not real fine. No mater what it is I think it will work.
It
Just finished 2 carbon steel kitchen knives on it, not slow, not real fine. No mater what it is I think it will work.
Looks a lot like it with color and texture, but hard to see any sedimentary lines. In person, do you see any? If there are none then it could be a sandstone sharpening stone. But I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some lines there I can’t see
