# Coticule



## maxim (Aug 1, 2011)

So i got my self huge Coticule Natural combo for knifes 

I have 4 of small Cticules for razors and i think they are fantastik stones.
They are not cheap and in that size with Natural combo they are Rare.

So why i think that they are so fantastik ?

Its because they are made of garnish that is as hard as diamonds if not harder. And you can get them in all different hardnes like Jnats.

They are super super fast for they fines. They do not brake in grits like synthetic or Jnats do ! The more mud they make the faster they cut.
they dont care what steel it is PM, SS, Carbon it dose not mader for them they just eat steel like crazy :hungry3:
That makes them perfect for pro users !

Razor users clames that these stones do not make burr at all, I have tested it on knifes and i can say burr is very very minimum in these stones. The mud in front of the edge supost to eat steel so aggressive that burr shod not be formed at all.

They are splash and go stones what i like very much !

Blue side or purple is slower then yellow side and bit coarser, so approx. 4k for purple and 8 k for yellow 
Yellow side contains more garnish thats why its faster.

But like i sad they are super expensive and maybe you can be lucky and get one to super price on ebay.

There are many many Vains and brands of Coticule the only one mine that still exist and sells them is Ardennes, but there was many more in old times. 

They are very interesting stones !

Here i made little video with Coticule and Kasumi finish

[video=youtube;lgPWejfLUQY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgPWejfLUQY[/video]

Here is one of my razor Coticules 

[video=youtube;Z8ZVeYNPwwE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8ZVeYNPwwE&feature=related[/video]

And here is my colection of them :happymug:

They are all from different vains


----------



## Lefty (Aug 1, 2011)

These have been catching my eye lately...Must. Hide. Visa!


----------



## mainaman (Aug 1, 2011)

Lefty said:


> These have been catching my eye lately...Must. Hide. Visa!


 
Coticules are very cool stones.


----------



## tk59 (Aug 1, 2011)

mainaman said:


> Coticules are very cool stones.


 +1. I try not to use mine too much so I don't "waste" it, haha.


----------



## DwarvenChef (Aug 1, 2011)

My only coticule is from my grandfather and I love it. I need another so I can reduce the wear on the heirloom.


----------



## Eamon Burke (Aug 1, 2011)

These stones seem to resist loading pretty well. Can you comment on that, Maksim?


----------



## mainaman (Aug 1, 2011)

johndoughy said:


> These stones seem to resist loading pretty well. Can you comment on that, Maksim?


 
They are naturals they do not lad what soever.


----------



## tk59 (Aug 1, 2011)

mainaman said:


> They are naturals they do not lad what soever.


+1 Coticule is a fairly hard stone, as well. It is easy to get faceting if it matters to you.


----------



## maxim (Aug 2, 2011)

johndoughy said:


> These stones seem to resist loading pretty well. Can you comment on that, Maksim?



Yep they are Naturals so the dose not load !

Maurice form Ardennes told me that coticules can be in every hardnes he have some that is so soft so he can scratch surface out with a nail.

BBW (blue coticule) that what he recommends for knifes, but the one i got is to hard for knifes and need to use nagura every time.

Maybe next time i ask for soft BBW it will be very good replacement for Aoto.

And they are cheaper too !


----------



## heirkb (Aug 2, 2011)

Maksim, can you post some pictures of the finish? It looked pretty good from what I could tell in the video. Maybe I'll have to give coticules another try.


----------



## maxim (Aug 2, 2011)

BBW 











Coticule


----------



## ptolemy (Aug 2, 2011)

Oh that is very nice. Eventually I'd love to have one of these or JNat as fishing stones. Until then I just look at nice pics.


----------



## Chef Niloc (Aug 3, 2011)

I picked up this B-nat combo stone a few years ago, easily one of my favorite stones.


----------



## Eamon Burke (Aug 3, 2011)

How long do Coticules last? I hear they are very hard, but how do they compare to a very hard synthetic?

I have heard you can use coticules with slurry for aggressive sharpening and then with clear water to refine the edge. Does this work well?

The more I read about coticules they seem like miracle stones.


----------



## mainaman (Aug 3, 2011)

johndoughy said:


> How long do Coticules last? I hear they are very hard, but how do they compare to a very hard synthetic?
> 
> I have heard you can use coticules with slurry for aggressive sharpening and then with clear water to refine the edge. Does this work well?
> 
> The more I read about coticules they seem like miracle stones.


Hard to say they will last longer than synthetic because they are thinner stones.
As far as sharpening yes you start with slurry and dilute with water to finish on water only. With thick slurry they cut very fast at ~4k level, finish with water is 8-10k level depending on the coticule.


----------



## maxim (Aug 3, 2011)

> I picked up this B-nat combo stone a few years ago, easily one of my favorite stones.



Very nice size you got the big one too :flame:

But i try to ask for some soft BBW from Ardennes next time.
it is pretty hard, harder then coticule i use mine BBW for tools and its perfect for that !
But for knifes i need to use nagura to make it faster.


----------



## Chef Niloc (Aug 3, 2011)

I start a slurry with a 1200 diamond plate, both sides cut very fast. Can go from a 800 king right to the B-nat combo.


----------



## Eamon Burke (Aug 3, 2011)

See what I mean? From a bevel-setting 800jis grit stone, and the next step takes you all the way to strop-ready 10k refinement. That is astonishing.


----------



## Eamon Burke (Aug 4, 2011)

It just occurred to me that perhaps it is possible to do the same thing with Jnats? I heard that the muddy-aggresive and clean-polish effect is because of the rounded shape of garnets occurring in Coticules, and can't be done with BBWs or Jnats. Is that so?

I am just too poor to buy all of these fantastic stones and try them out, and I would just be hunting for an elegant solution anyways. Having a single stone that(with good technique and practice) can do the job of 3, work fast and last long sounds right up my alley.


----------



## maxim (Aug 4, 2011)

BBWs have same garnish as coticule 

From Maurice at Ardennes: We have also a blue stone called BBW (Belgian Blue Stone). This stone has the same composition as the yellow but only +/-25% of garnets (they are a little bit bigger 15&#8212;>20 micron instead 10&#8212;>15 micron and it is a little bit harder.

For Jnats they have flat partikels and they work in hole another lavel, they brake into thiner flakes not in size , so they shaving metal away not digging in it like Coticule or synthetics. 
Coticules garnish do not brake in size like synthetic stone do , so it is like Natural Diamond stone 


Coticules is much more agresive and more of a steel removal stone for me, where Jnats is the best Polishers and finest stones


----------



## heirkb (Aug 4, 2011)

Thanks for the pictures Maksim. I should look into a BBW. Any recommendations for where to buy one so that I can specifically ask for a softer stone?


----------



## maxim (Aug 4, 2011)

Yes just buy one at http://www.ardennes-coticule.com/index.asp?intro
And write to Maurice ! He will guid you from there 
But ask specifik for softer one !


----------

