Coticule pilgrimage - we are back!

[BlueDun]

Hello everybody,

well, I take the freedom to officially open the "Coticule Pilgrimage homecoming" thread.
First of all: Thank you Bart, thank you !!! It was an absolutely superb and wonderful weekend! Also thanks to everbody who joined in. You were wonderful company! The days were just a blast, my mind is at peace and as soon as the alcohol is completely metabolized my body will be so too
The most important news first: After massive pressure from all attendees and a couple of Bison Pee Wodka (thank you Marek) Bart finally revealed his well kept secret. The good news: YES, there is this famous rock, that one single piece that will put a stellar edge on any razor that is even put close to the hone. The bad news: Bart has stowed it away in his drawer and nobody will ever get to touch it. Other than that the weekend was mostly about one thing: Men who stare at rocks. MANY rocks. It's really funny how one's prespective changes with oversaturation of external stimuli. So far I always got extremely excited whenever I was lucky enough to get my hands on a coticule. Be it in an antique shop, a flea market or a piece from a friend. Now in Ardennes coticules there are cotis all over the place. There it's not about admiring one coticule, it's about working yourself through piles, boxes and shelves of coticules to find that special piece you were looking for. And when you think you found it you just see another one on the top shelf across the stockroom ...
Let me tell everybody who stayed home that you really don't have to hunt for pieces from the vault. I mean Bart is providing a very good service by picking some stones and evaluating them. But these pieces are only the tip of the iceberg. There are all good. Sure, they are different but not better or worse. If you want a hone just call Maurice from Ardennes and rest assured that he will pick one for you that's just fine.
Talking of picking stones. Of course I did not leave the place without adding new members to my hone family. The first one is a really nice little La Dressante. It is not that big and rather narrow. I actually wanted something bigger but after trying a lot of different stones I opted for this one and I believe I will not regret it.




The second one I bought for my kitchen knives. It is a massive Blue. There was some talk about the quality of Blues and and the evidence points in the direction that they are extremely underrated. So buy them now if you want one.
Apart from that piece which I bought I picked a smaller one from a wastepile outside the workshop for my razors. It is a little thinner than the standard and I will have to lap it but other than that it is a perfect blue and it was for free.



More pictutes of the weekend will follow soon.

Cheers
BlueDun

 

[Paul]

Thanks for the update. I'm sure that was a great trip. Originally, I was kind of disappointed that this weekend was chosen for the get together, but we had such a great time at the birthday party. I was on on picture detail, and I spent the day taking snapshots of a bunch of kids running and playing. I'm not sure I could have had a better day, but I'm looking forward to the next one so we can see :w00t:

 

[decraew]

And when you think you found it you just see another one on the top shelf across the stockroom ...

Hey! You forgot the boxes and boxes in the attic.
And the coticule dust !!!

 

[Bart]

A lovely write-up, Rico.
Of course, I will add a more long-winded slightly novelized report soon.
I have been walking on clouds for a day or two, because for me the Coticule.be weekend turned out into one experiences that will end up high on my list of most cherished memories. It seems wise to refrain from commenting too much before landing on solid ground. It's already weird enough as it is. Grown men searching for a small box with hanging hair test hairs, and all that. (By the way, they somehow ended up in one of the many pockets of my raincoat, I'll ship some along when returning your razors)

Hope we can do it again, some time,

Kind regards,
Bart.

 

[TM280]

Hello All,

Had a few busy days after getting back, and wanted a little distance before I posted on this last weekend.
What I find is that the short time in Belgium has left a very vivid impact on me.

You all know how it is, a weekend away, maybe a family birthday or something, and by Monday afternoon you have forgotten you were even gone for three days.

Not so with this trip. I find snippets of conversation and glimpses of events with strong tactile (?) memory popping up continuously. As I mentioned to some of you, I had no expectations for the trip at all, no idea what it would be like. As luck would have it, this was a shining opportunity to meet a truly engaging group of people. I am very thankful and a little puzzled that the coticule.be crowd appears to be just the type of people that I would choose as friends. (If anyone perhaps asked me what type of people I would choose as friends... ) I could say a lot more, but won't. "We had a nice time"

Needless to say, I look forward to future meetings.
One of the things I have been busy with is creating hones out of the raw coticule I took home from the mine (security at Schiphol was a real blast...). I will post a little later on that.

best regards,
Torolf

PS. Thanks for the moniker, Bart, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside:thumbup:

 

[TM280]

they somehow ended up in one of the many pockets of my raincoat

I knew that's where it was!

Seeing your picture of the La Dressante, Rico, reminds me of the few strokes I made on it. Beautiful feel to it, great size. I'd be jealous if I didn't know you were going to get such good use out of it.:thumbup:

(By the way, Bart, if you wanted to move my post on the weekend from the Pilgrimage announcement thread to this one, please do. Just for the sake of order... )

regards,
Torolf

 

[Bart]

(By the way, Bart, if you wanted to move my post on the weekend from the Pilgrimage announcement thread to this one, please do. Just for the sake of order... )

Look two posts up.

We had "a nice time" indeed.
I'm waiting on pictures to illustrate my novelized report, that tries to capture some of the atmosphere.

Kind regards,
Bart.