A Very Happy Find ( well made me a happy guy)

[Stewart]

I am new to the coticule world of hones but have worked with various Japanese stones for several years and I am just getting started. I am in process of "filling out" my startup collection with the help of Howard from the Perfect Edge here in the US. but was out the other day and saw this in one of our local Antique Shops for 12$. At the time I had no idea what it was until I got it home and started doing some research. Here are a few photos, any help with any further info such as the vein it may have come from or any other info would be of great help to me. I am not educated in these yet to figure out if it is a natural combo or made made. I have raised slurry on the BBW side and it is the prettiest purple you could ever want to look at.

Thanks to everyones posts by the way, I have learned much by just reading and soaking up the info provided!













I can provide more photos if needed. I was told that this was about 80 - 100 years old by the shop owner. I have no way to verify that but provide it here for information purposes.

Thank you again Bart! a true pleasure!
With my Best and Gratitude,
Stewart

 

[Paul]

What a great find. Congratulations. I don't know what vein it is, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say it is easily worth more than the $12 you paid for it :

Enjoy it!

 

[StraightRazorDave]

$12??!! Wow, you stole that coticule as far as I'm concerned. :thumbup:

It indeed does look like a combination stone (bbw/coti), but it looks more like a bonded combo than a natural one. Just as functional though.

I can't tell you anything about it either, but I do know that you definitely got a great deal on that stone as it would certainly go for a lot more than $12 if that was on ebay! :scared:

How large is it btw? It looks like a good size, but I really don't have anything the compare it to in the pics to have an idea of scale...so it might be deceptive.

Dave

 

[Stewart]

Hi Dave ,

many thanks for your comments. It's 6x2 inches and is 5/8 thick. I was sort of in shock when I realized what it was. It is very hard on the yellow side and the BBW side seems not quite as hard but not soft either. The thing that struck me was the color of the BBW side when it was wet, a very distinct purple and deep. The yellow side is almost creamy and the photos I posted were taken with a flash so the subtle grain shows more than it does to the eye. In reality it is almost one creamy light yellow with the slightest hint of green. I was wondering bout the ends, they seem to have some milky haze or wash as you can see in the photos. I have mo slurry stone to use , although Howard is sending me one next week so I have been using it with just water and it puts a beautiful finish on several of the razors I have tried with it. I can't wait to use it to it's full extent!
Thanks again Dave !

This site is a refreshing change!
Stew

 

[Stewart]

Thanks to you as well Paul! I consider myself very lucky. Hopefully in learning to fully use these stones I will be better able to pass the art on to others to keep it alive and at a high level of standard.
All my thanks for the comments

stew

 

[Smythe]

$12? Should be $120… You aught to be arrested!
(Not in any way attempting to set a price... in fact, I added zero)

Congrats, it’s a wonderful find.

Question: did it come in that box?

 

[Stewart]

Thanks Smyth,

like I said I was dumbfounded when I realized what it was. As for the box, no, I made that for it. I have ordered an offical box from Howard as well as a slurry stone. It did come in acardbiard box that had no top, just the bottom, it is quite old and yellow On the oneenf there looks like there was some sort of sticker that was shaped like a shield. There is a distinct outline sort of discoloration where it used to be.

The box was a one night project and made from bass wood. The finish is several layers of tung oil on the outside The interior is intentionaly left in finished to help absorb any left over moisture that might still be around.

Thanks for the comments ! Eventually I hope to nail down what vein it came from, just so I can have as complete history as I can get.

Again you have my thanks Smyth.
Stew

 

[torbenbp]

Congrats on the find...Looks great.
I`ve just paid 42 Euro`s - thats around 58 USD for a standard 150*40 mm coticule so you made a great deal!

 

[tat2Ralfy]

Amazing Score there dude
well done :thumbup:

 

[Bart]

Hello Stewart,

You indeed had a very happy find. $12, that's less than shipment of a new one!

About the exact layer, it will be next to impossible to tell. It could have come from any former quarry, and they not all had access to the same Coticule veins. Furthermore, it is glued to a BBW, that not necessarily was extracted for the adjacent BBW layer. On naturally bonded combination BBW/Coticule hones, the blue part is often helpful in making the determination. With a glued combination, that's not possible.

I wouldn't worry about layer determination, it's looks like a sweet one at any rate. Only that little black dot concerns me a bit. If it's a small speck of mangane, their's no problem, because these often present mangane deposits are very soft. But if it's something hard, you might have to deal with it, before you can hone razors on the stone.

Welcome to our nice little forum here,

Bart.

 

[Stewart]

Thanks so much Bart and everyone that sent their comments. My apologies for not responding a bit sooner but things here got kind of busy for a few days and my attention was needed. In any event, I have had some time now to use the stone and I must say that I am stunned at the versitility of the Coticule! Following the well written instructions in the learning section I was able to bring a nice J.R. Torrey that I had just finished restoring from scratch to shave ready using the Unicot method. As much as I wanted to go to another stone ( progression ) I resisted temtation and just kept on the Coticule per the guide and was, well as I said stunned at the end result. It did take me a couple of rounds to get the technique and even now I know with time and exerience that I will be abe to obtain an even finer result.

The new Natural Combo Bout from Howard at The Perfect Edge arrived two days ago and I am eager to give it a test run. I have lapped both sides and it is now ready for action. It's funny though, after getting used to the smaller width of the 1st stone, the area of the bout seems like a Aircraft Carrier in comparison. It measures just over 75mm ( 3") on the widest end and tapers down to 61mm (2 1/4"). I will post a photo a bit later as I am not at the computer.

Also, thanks to everyone for such a warm and friendly greeting and welcome. I am very thankful for the site and to Bart for making it available and to those that help in the running of the site.

Oh, the small black area in the photo seems to have gone. When I created a slurry for the 1st time on it, the almost microscopic dot was gone after I rinsed the stone off. I have no idea what it could have been.
Again, my thanks
To Smythe, my apologies for my mispelling of your name, I have it correct now.

 

[Bart]

Excellent, Stewart.
Glad to learn it worked out really well for you.:thumbup:
Much looking forward to pictures of the new stone.

Best regards,
Bart.

 

[Stewart]

As promised here are the photos of the new stone that Howard from The Perfect Edge sent me.











With Thanks,
stew

 

[tat2Ralfy]

Beautiful Stone There Stew :thumbup:

 

[Bart]

Looks a lot like a La Veinette. These are great Coticules, among the most coveted in the old days. Pretty fast and easy to deliver their best edges.

:thumbup:
Bart.

 

[garyhaywood]

Nice combo let us no how it works.

 

[malacoda]

Very sweet find indeed Stewart, congrats!