ShavingUniverse.com

Register a free account now!

If you are registered, you get access to the members only section, can participate in the buy & sell second hand forum and last but not least you can reserve your preferred username before someone else takes it.

An old Coti??

Matt

Well-Known Member
Dear Sirs,

Check out these pics. Is this what I think (and hope) it is? :w00t: :w00t: :w00t:

most excited regards,
Matt

--------------

1_f.jpg


2_f.jpg


3_f.jpg


5_f.jpg


7_f.jpg


8_f.jpg
 
That's indeed a coticule and it seems to be glued to a BBW. Nice find. How does it perform?

One way to find out for sure if the other side is BBW is to rub it with some sandpaper. If the slurry is a deep purple/blue it's a BBW.
 
Indeed, that's a vintage Coticule, glued to a BBW.
It looks like the "La Grosse Blanche" layer, which is very easy to recognize throughout all former mining sites, because it's the only one that oxidizes to a darker color. If you rub the stone a bit with a slurry stone, and fresh pale Coticule emerges, you can be sure it's a La Grosse Blanche. Fast and fine. Offers among the mellowest edges.
The crack may be a bit of a problem, but it runs in a good direction, so the razor won't catch it. If it shows any sign of separation, impregnate it with CA-glue. wipe the excess off before it cures. Lap the surface afterwards.
There's a traditional way to fix this issue as well, but it's a lot more hassle. You need to melt hide glue and beeswax (50/50). Than heat the hone in a skillet and till the filler starts running into the crack. Don't touch the hone while you do it, because the glue used to bond the BBW to the Coticule is the same.

Kind regards,
Bart.
 
Do you submerge the coticule in the hide glue/beeswax solution? Is there need to protect the coticule from the skillet with something?
 
Bart said:
Indeed, that's a vintage Coticule, glued to a BBW.
It looks like the "La Grosse Blanche" layer, which is very easy to recognize throughout all former mining sites, because it's the only one that oxidizes to a darker color. If you rub the stone a bit with a slurry stone, and fresh pale Coticule emerges, you can be sure it's a La Grosse Blanche. Fast and fine. Offers among the mellowest edges.
The crack may be a bit of a problem, but it runs in a good direction, so the razor won't catch it. If it shows any sign of separation, impregnate it with CA-glue. wipe the excess off before it cures. Lap the surface afterwards.
There's a traditional way to fix this issue as well, but it's a lot more hassle. You need to melt hide glue and beeswax (50/50). Than heat the hone in a skillet and till the filler starts running into the crack. Don't touch the hone while you do it, because the glue used to bond the BBW to the Coticule is the same.

Kind regards,
Bart.

you see! you see! and heres you just the other day saying how did I manage a thousand posts about Coticules eh ...hahaha
I believe Sir Bart, we have only seen one edge of large iceberg when it comes to your information filled mind...lol

Very kind regards
Ralfson (Dr)
 
No submerging. The Coticule goes dry in an old skillet. Heat it on a slow burner. (It's also possible to do it in the oven). Put a bit of hardened Colle (that's French for glue, and the term they used for the beeswax/hide glue mixture) on top of the crack. When the Coticule is sufficiently heated, the glue will melt in the crack. In the old day they poured melted Colle into paper tubes and allowed it to set. They used the hardened tubes of Colle to rub over the cracks of heated Coticules.

Kind regards,
Bart.
 
>Deep sigh...<

Now I just have to patiently wait 2 weeks until the auction ends... Bollocks, it drives me nuts!!! :scared: :lol:

BTW, Bart, I guess you wouldn't lap it, would you? It would take off something between 1 or 2 mm on the very ends of the coti, seems like a waste. A good X stroke should make for it, huh?

kind regards,
Matt
 
Hmm... I would probably lap it. If you aim to rub slurry mainly on the corners of a Coticule, you can keep it flat for a long time. But if the previous owner didn't do that... You could try to use it as is, but every time your result is a bit off, you'll wonder whether it's due to the curve. You'll end up lapping it after all. Here's a tip for consolation: lap it dry. It's a bit of extra work and my cost you an additional sheet of sandpaper. But you can collect the powder and do amazing things with it. You could even use it on the Coticule, so that you wouldn't have to abrade it with a slurry stone.

Kind regards,
Bart.
 
Amazing tip, thank you very much, Bart.

... :) No idea about Coti? Ask Bart. Got an idea about Coti? Ask Bart. You are sure about something related to Coti? Better ask Bart. Hey, amigo, 2000 is well on its way! :thumbup:

best regards,
Matt
 
Hello there,

Finally it got safely to my place, it has already been lapped and I have a healthy, perfectly flat 5mm of yellow and 9mm of blue layer - it's really a nice pocket hone, measuring 30 x 125 mm. Also, a full nickel bag of pure, fresh, white powder! :lol:

dealing...withCoti.jpg


This is how it all looked in progress, sorry for this pitiful quality, I left my DSLR at my girlfriend's home. I will post better pictures later, maybe then it will be possible to determine layer from which it was cut.

BTW, I found out that I hate lapping. It felt like I was scratching my favourite CD, or scratching my camera lens, or I don't know... Although I knew it was necessary, it still felt bad... And the worst was the very ending! when almost entire surface is lapped, apart from the last places that fall below surface and you just imagine how many razor strokes you lose with each move against the sanding paper... :scared:

<edit> Oh yes, near the bottom hand edge you can see a pile of blue powder, I don't know if it will be of use, but I collected it anyway.

Luckily, it's over. :thumbup:

kind regards,
Matt
 
Ok, so as promised - these are neater shots of this tiny vintage find. I've filled the top crack with CA, the cavity between BBW and Coti layer is still left to deal with.

regards,
Matt

------------

coti_2.jpg


coti_1.jpg
 
That looks like a great job, Matt.
At Ardennes, I've seen them mix Coticule powder with CA-glue to fill voids at the glue like. The more traditional solution is to mix 50% of hide glue with 50% of beeswax, heat the stone and pour it in. Personally I would opt for the modern solution. Better and easier, I think. [edit: I see I already shared that information in this thread]

matis said:
<edit> Oh yes, near the bottom hand edge you can see a pile of blue powder, I don't know if it will be of use, but I collected it anyway.
Get you ass to the Researchers' Mess and check out the "More Blue Stuff" -thread. :)

Please let us know how the stone performs?

Kind regards,
Bart.
 
Beautiful job and a beautiful hone, well done Matt :thumbup:
I look forward to hearing how it performs, the vintage one I recently posted is proving a queer fish, slower than my others and maybe the finish is not quite as smooth, its a little early to tell.

"A Nickel Bag of White Powder" now where have I seen something like that before?........ Sobriety sobriety sobriety hahaha

Best wishes
Ralfson (Dr)
 
Back
Top