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squeezyjohn

Well-Known Member
Hello again,

My coticules ordered from Ardennes arrived this morning :D I started with a tentative bit of doing the exercise suggested by Bart in one of the sticky threads in the Coticule Tavern - it's been fun learning the strokes.

I've got 2 very different little stones, both 125x30mm as I travel a lot and figured that if I was learning from scratch I should probably do it on ones which are the sort of size I might be able to travel with easily (it was cheaper too!) One of them is a natural combination with BBW on the reverse and it is much softer than the other (raises slurry very quickly and it seems to remove metal very quickly too) - the other is glued to slate, and is much harder and slower. I was asked if I would post pictures when they arrived and would love to know a bit more about them.

Exhibit A - the BBW combi:
BBWfront.jpg

The face
BBWside1.jpg

Side 1
BBWside2.jpg

Side 2

It definitely has a little loose bit in one corner next to the BBW interface and I think there is also a crack in it on the coticule side. I don't know if the images are good enough for you to see that, should I worry? It arrived like that.

Exhibit B - the harder one
SLATEfront.jpg

The face
SLATEside1.jpg

Side 1
SLATEside2.jpg

Side 2

I would appreciate any insight in to what these rocks are and how I should try to approach them - I hope the pictures are of sufficient quality to see.

Thanks a million in advance,

Squeezy
 
The first one is a La Petite Blanche. The second one I believe is a La Nouvelle Veine (not sure which side of the layer).
 
Very nice ones.:thumbup:

I agree with Jared on the determnations.
Without trying it's difficult to know if that's from the fast side of La Nouvelle Veine, or the slow side. My bet is the fast side. If you'll compare it with your La Petit Blanche, which will be fast without doubt, you'll know. A slow Nouvelle Veine will be considerably slower than the La Petite Blanche. A fast one might even be a bit faster or a bit slower, but not by much.

If there are any cracks you worry about, it's ok to drip in CA glue. Wipe off the excess immediately after application. That works obviuosly only in tight cracks.

Kind regards,
Bart.
 
I'm really curious about this La Nouvelle Veine and how it turns out. A couple of possible LNV's have shown up (including one that I have) that are fast on both slurry and water.

Regards,
The other rock geek
 
It's one of the layers that have released the least of its secrets to me. Lately, they seem to be emerging more, but in the past, I only occasionally could lay my hands on one.

Kind regards,
Bart.
 
Thank you so much for the identification and insights.

I'm afraid it might take quite a long time before you get any sensible assessments of the La Nouvelle Veine from me as all I have to compare it with is itself and the La Petite Blanche. When I know enough to tell you how it performs I will certainly let you know here.

Bart, thank you for the advice on cracks - the crack on top is so thin that I doubt I could get a single molecule of glue down there anyway, but I am more concerned about the loose piece on the La Petite Blanche. I can literally wobble it about and if it fell out it would leave an indentation 5x8x2mm in the corner - closer us it looks like this:
PBcrack1.jpg

PBcrack2.jpg


Should I try and glue all around this bit? - it looks many many years under the surface if I look after the stone properly.

Speaking of which, if I am to travel around with this/these - what is the best protection I can give it? I didn't order a box from Ardennes, but I figured I could make/lash together something that fitted and hold my lapping stone too.

These coticules look so small that they would fit nicely in to a harmonica case - I might see if I can get one.

Cheers

Squeezy
 
There are different thickness of CA glue. Some are thinner than water and some like honey. If you find a very thin one it will have no trouble seeping in the crack quickly. Rc hobby stores will have a range of thicknesses if you have one near.
 
Ah..La Petite Blanche. :love:

Beautiful stones, and as said from me on the CA glue, it works a treat, both of my present stones have had a little treatment with it, for the larger crack you could sprinkle in a little chalk dust as a filler before applying a few drops of glue.

Best regards
Ralfson (Dr)
 
If it were me making a case to hold them I would fancy a fitted foam to be cut for each stone, then layered with a denser foam on the outside, then I would make a wood box to hold the entire apparatus. You may be able to find a simple box like a jewelry box then stuff egg carton foam in there to protect and limit movement.

Very nice stones.
 
I travel with a hone all the time and just wrap it in a wash cloth and rubber band and put it in the middle of my clothes. For slurry, I have a pocket dmt. I have never had an issue, and promise my bag gets some rough, frequently very rough treatment. I think you guys just like boxes--like me.
 
Cool - I'll take all that advice! CA glue is superglue, right?

Yes I do like boxes! and I've found some cheap pencil boxes that I can pad out with musical instrument felt (or foam if felt sheds too much). I like the microphone box idea - I have a few of them lying around somewhere but they're full of mics.

I've been playing again this evening and I'm pretty sure the Nouvelle Veine is very much slower at everything than the Petite Blanche, would that be normal?

I have been skipping a bit of the advice I must say and tried a unicot finish on the Nouvelle Veine - it took a long time, but it's the sharpest my Dovo standard has ever been (that's not saying much though!)

Anyway - thanks for all the help.

Squeezy
 
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