Bart
Well-Known Member
Gentlemen,
Unless the weather or some other mishap prevents it, I have arranged to visit Ardennes Coticule on the 21th of januari.
Usually, I have about a dozen hones tested and add to the Vault everytime I travel to Ardennes. But last time I was there (during the Coticule weekend in September) I didn't bring new hones for the Vault with me, because I wanted to take a break from the fixed test routines dictated by that kind of assessment.
I had 4 Coticules left at home for testing, of which one of them is already sold to a dear friend, another one is a heavy 200X60 Les Latneuses that will be published in the Vault one of the next days, there's a triangular bout of La Dressante and finally one that I haven't even touched with a razor yet and don't recall the layer it is from.
For this reason, I have decided, this once only, out of appreciation for our little Coticule loving community here, that I will accept "orders" for Coticules.
I'll do my very best to select 15 Coticules from Ardennes's stock, according to the wishes of 15 members that post in this thread. Members with a "+1" sign at their moniker receive priority. After that, post count decides, should there be more than 15 requests.
I'll take my scope, razors, and HHT-hair with me, and use all my experience to make the best possible selection I can.
Some rules apply:
1. Please note that you are eventually buying the Coticule from Ardennes. I will write your name on yours and Ardennes will take it from there. I don't have any personal gain in this endeavor.
2. I won't take orders for Coticules larger than 50mm wide and longer than 175mm, since I know that Ardennes always has large orders they can't ship out, simply because they're short supplied of the large hones that still need to complete those orders. Hence I won't deprive them of their business, by selecting large hones. I'll have way more liberty of picking what you need, if I can choose from their smaller hones anyway, and for razor honing large Coticules are a of no advantage whatsoever.
But of course, you are free to state size preferences within said limits.
3. I don't bother with select/standard, as they have nothing to do with performance. If I find the hone that ideally suits your wishes, and it's a standard one, the price will be sweeter.
Please feel free to state a maximum price. I will not got over it, but may stay well below it.
4. I strongle advice you not to pin me on a layer name. If you insist, I will honor a layer request, if Ardennes has it on stock, but it would be a pity if I found the perfect hone for you and couldn't select is because the layer doesn't quite check out.
Of course, if there's a particular layer you don't want, because you already have one of it, feel free to exclude it.
5. Let me know as detailed as possibe what you are looking for. Maybe you like black lines, a thick Coticule slice, red stripes? A fast stone? A mellow finisher? One that easily yields good keenness? One that "autoslurries"? A combination stone?
Wathever, but do realize that some of these features are based on extremely small differences and that not all properties combine. I've never come accros a mellow finisher that didn't demand the proper skills to get enough keenness out of it.
6. After I made the selection, I'll line them all up and shoot pictures, that I'll post in this thread. At that point you can decide to back out, but I do beg you not to enlist unless you really intent buying a Coticule.
Kind regards,
Bart.
Unless the weather or some other mishap prevents it, I have arranged to visit Ardennes Coticule on the 21th of januari.
Usually, I have about a dozen hones tested and add to the Vault everytime I travel to Ardennes. But last time I was there (during the Coticule weekend in September) I didn't bring new hones for the Vault with me, because I wanted to take a break from the fixed test routines dictated by that kind of assessment.
I had 4 Coticules left at home for testing, of which one of them is already sold to a dear friend, another one is a heavy 200X60 Les Latneuses that will be published in the Vault one of the next days, there's a triangular bout of La Dressante and finally one that I haven't even touched with a razor yet and don't recall the layer it is from.
For this reason, I have decided, this once only, out of appreciation for our little Coticule loving community here, that I will accept "orders" for Coticules.
I'll do my very best to select 15 Coticules from Ardennes's stock, according to the wishes of 15 members that post in this thread. Members with a "+1" sign at their moniker receive priority. After that, post count decides, should there be more than 15 requests.
I'll take my scope, razors, and HHT-hair with me, and use all my experience to make the best possible selection I can.
Some rules apply:
1. Please note that you are eventually buying the Coticule from Ardennes. I will write your name on yours and Ardennes will take it from there. I don't have any personal gain in this endeavor.
2. I won't take orders for Coticules larger than 50mm wide and longer than 175mm, since I know that Ardennes always has large orders they can't ship out, simply because they're short supplied of the large hones that still need to complete those orders. Hence I won't deprive them of their business, by selecting large hones. I'll have way more liberty of picking what you need, if I can choose from their smaller hones anyway, and for razor honing large Coticules are a of no advantage whatsoever.
But of course, you are free to state size preferences within said limits.
3. I don't bother with select/standard, as they have nothing to do with performance. If I find the hone that ideally suits your wishes, and it's a standard one, the price will be sweeter.
Please feel free to state a maximum price. I will not got over it, but may stay well below it.
4. I strongle advice you not to pin me on a layer name. If you insist, I will honor a layer request, if Ardennes has it on stock, but it would be a pity if I found the perfect hone for you and couldn't select is because the layer doesn't quite check out.
Of course, if there's a particular layer you don't want, because you already have one of it, feel free to exclude it.
5. Let me know as detailed as possibe what you are looking for. Maybe you like black lines, a thick Coticule slice, red stripes? A fast stone? A mellow finisher? One that easily yields good keenness? One that "autoslurries"? A combination stone?
Wathever, but do realize that some of these features are based on extremely small differences and that not all properties combine. I've never come accros a mellow finisher that didn't demand the proper skills to get enough keenness out of it.
6. After I made the selection, I'll line them all up and shoot pictures, that I'll post in this thread. At that point you can decide to back out, but I do beg you not to enlist unless you really intent buying a Coticule.
Kind regards,
Bart.