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My new Coti

rattlerviper

Active Member
I received my 125x30 Coti and #1bout in the post today. They have some QUICK shipping. The 125x30mm is BBW backed the bout has a slate backing, with both of them in front of you at the same time the difference is pretty easy to see. They are beautiful.
The stone appeared flat enough to me so I immediately tried to sharpen my Dubl Duck dwarf using the dilucot method. It went from unable to shave arm hair to able to shave arm hair easily. Hanging hair test...0. Hanging hair test after using my linen strop...0. Hanging hair test after leather stop was a 1. I am not sure my linen strop is any good, it has much more noise and vibration in the toward you stroke than the away (Illinois 206), but the leather has great draw and has never failed me.
I'm not one to let a silly test get in the way of the true test. I ran to the bathroom and proceeded to shave with it. It wasn't super sharp. It felt like it was tugging it's way through the hairs rather than popping them off. It wasn't the smart edge of the Coti that the shave ready had on it, this one was eager to slice my flesh. I would gladly shave with a razor like this daily over a Mach 3 though as I had zero irritation.
With some practice and finding that post by Bart with the different steps to learn how to hone I know I will be successful soon enough.
I asked for a La Veinette, La Petite Blanche,or Les Latneuses but I have no clue which they sent. I also have no idea what the bout is, though I love the coloring on it.
Some pics of my Coti.
The Coti side of the 125x30mm
[img=900]http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/1500/20101101144719.jpg[/img]
BBW side of the same
[img=900]http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/8679/20101101144822.jpg[/img]
The bout
[img=900]http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/5028/20101101144731.jpg[/img]
 
Congratulations! I am looking for my first coticule as well. I assume you bought yours directly from Ardennes. How fast was the shipping and how much did the shipping cost you? I am also a US citizen. Thanks in advance.
 
altshaver said:
Congratulations! I am looking for my first coticule as well. I assume you bought yours directly from Ardennes. How fast was the shipping and how much did the shipping cost you? I am also a US citizen. Thanks in advance.
Yes I ordered it direct. The cost of the 125x30mm and the bout1 and shipping was 58 and change (though it changes according to the exchange rate). Ordered it on Thursday afternoon here in Arizona and received it today (the next Monday) so shipping was very quick though it said it could take up to 4 weeks.
 
Sincerely, thanks. The shipping does not seem to be too bad. Maybe $15-$20 dollars? I was really put off by the 4 weeks quote as well. Now, I think I will have to consider ordering from Ardennes.
 
My first Coticule was ordered straight from Ardennes, and it took the full four weeks to get here in the midwest, so I guess it depends on a number of factors.
 
I have ordered several cotis from Maurice at Ardennes and shipping is somewhere around 25 bucks. Time frame is strictly up to Maurice. He is a very busy man and from what I understand has a very messy desk. Most of my stones took several weeks to arrive. If you e-mail Maurice through the Ardennes web site, you can nail down which stone you want and is available. He is most kind, but not great with English. I ordered a les latneuses and it took several e-mails to be sure I was getting the one I wanted. It was definitely worth the wait. In addition, shipping is the same for several stones as it is for one. Good luck, Denny
 
My most recent order from Ardennes took 10 days to get out here in the West. I didn't make a specific request or anything like that, though. I just mentioned it was for straight razors.
 
steve at invisable edge has some realy nice bouts in boxes with slurry stone he delivers to usa.i'll bet it would take 7 days directly from him.

gary
 
Rattlerviper,

your camera focused on the gravel underneath the webbing, instead of on the Coticule.
If you can show me clear focused picture of the side of the stone, I can probably make a positive identification.
It could be a La Veinette, but based on the current pictures, I can't be sure.

Dilucot takes a bit of practice to figure out. Whenever it doesn't turn out as well as hope for, my advice is to add a layer of tape to the spine and perform steps 6 to 7 of the Unicot method.

Kind regards,
Bart.
 
Sometimes US customs just sits on things. Chris sent me a razor before the coticule.be vacation, and it arrived after the vacation ended. And I know that it doesn't take that long to move a package that distance. On the other hand, I ordered something from Ardennes recently, and the shipping time was almost exactly a week (two days in NYC in customs). The total time from ordering was a few days longer, but I imagine that Maurice Celis is a bit overwhelmed with everyone making special requests lately (not that I'm innocent). I would consider the fact that Maurice takes the time to respond to requests for hones from specific veins and with specific characteristics above and beyond exceptional customer service, even if the waiting time increases.
 
+1 on Maurice getting you the layer you ask for. To me it was worth waiting whatever period of time necessary to get a recommended layer.


Is there a secret to getting your camera to focus on the stone? I've tried several different shots and I am not quite getting it.

And Bart thanks for recommending throwing a piece of tape on the spine and getting a unicot edge. I am getting great shaves off of razors I have sharpened myself now. Going to keep working on the Dilicot method though. I'll get it one of these days. I don't however understand why I can't get my razors to pass the HHT and yet I am getting truly great shaves. They whack the whiskers as good as any pro sharpened razor I have ever tried.

I've also come to the conclusion that sharpening on a coti using the methods promoted here is not rocket science and literally anyone with half steady hand and the willingness to learn could sharpen a razor. It was like a light bulb going on when I realized this.
 
R.V.--HHTs can be a stumbling block at first. My advice is to get the thickest, cleanest hair you can for your test. There is probably some somewhere on your frame or in a brush in the house. Also, if you try a hht right off the stone you will probably fail due to honing debris on the edge. Give it a light five or six laps on just about anything from a linen strop, your jeans or even your palm and your chances of getting an accurate test skyrocket. I don't recommend plain leather because the debris will load it up after time. Pretty neat stuff, isn't it? Denny
 
DJKELLY said:
R.V.--HHTs can be a stumbling block at first. My advice is to get the thickest, cleanest hair you can for your test. There is probably some somewhere on your frame or in a brush in the house. Also, if you try a hht right off the stone you will probably fail due to honing debris on the edge. Give it a light five or six laps on just about anything from a linen strop, your jeans or even your palm and your chances of getting an accurate test skyrocket. I don't recommend plain leather because the debris will load it up after time. Pretty neat stuff, isn't it? Denny
Really neat stuff! I think I may have HAD now:| But only over Coticules. It's great taking one stone and progressing from bevel setting to finishing.

I hope this photo is in better focus. I placed it against the screen of my laptop hoping to at worst focus only inches behind. This photo is of the side of the hone wet.
20101110201205.jpg

Any idea what layer it is? It cuts very fast. Even with just water about 5 laps and the water starts turning gray from the metal. Thanks guys.
 
And this is the side of the #1 bout. I think I might like to get a larger stone of this layer as it is quite pretty. I actually sharpened a small pocket knife on it and it seems to cut much slower than the hone, and does not seem to gray much with just water.
[img=800]http://img573.imageshack.us/img573/8160/20101110202413.jpg[/img]
 
rattlerviper said:
I've also come to the conclusion that sharpening on a coti using the methods promoted here is not rocket science and literally anyone with half steady hand and the willingness to learn could sharpen a razor. It was like a light bulb going on when I realized this.

Exactly :thumbup:
Wonderfully Put

And thats the best part, despite what you may read elsewhere, honing razors is not rocket science.

Regards
Ralfson (Dr)
 
tat2Ralfy said:
rattlerviper said:
I've also come to the conclusion that sharpening on a coti using the methods promoted here is not rocket science and literally anyone with half steady hand and the willingness to learn could sharpen a razor. It was like a light bulb going on when I realized this.

Exactly :thumbup:
Wonderfully Put

And thats the best part, despite what you may read elsewhere, honing razors is not rocket science.

Regards
Ralfson (Dr)
EXACTLY:thumbup: Those other forums had me believing to get started I would need 3 stones one of which was double sided, expanding rapidly to 6+ hones when I decided to do it right, a handful of razors I wouldn't mind destroying and years of mucking around. At which point I should be able to get a passable edge...nowhere near what a honemeister can do but a shavable edge. That is the impression the other places left me with, and for years I was content sending out my razors to be honed.
It was a search on ebay that returned Belgian coticule and being born in Belgium I did a google search and here I ended up. I read that one stone could do it. I was intrigued. A post here speaking of financial limitation and I was recommend a small hone. I bit and bought one and after my first attempt to sharpen (dilucot) I was thinking it was gonna take awhile to get a shaving edge. Bart came along and posted about the unicot edge...less than 3 minutes after starting back at the stone it I was stropping this "wonder edge"...And you know what? I got a great shave!
I personally believe the recommendation to buy a smaller hone to save some money worked to my advantage, any time I rock the razor a tiny bit I know right away. I think I will be working towards a dilucot edge for awhile (I am dulling and sharpening a razor everyday and trying), but I will get there. In the meantime getting a good unicot edge is very easy to me.

Sorry for carrying on. I am preaching to the choir making this post here. And perhaps I have had one drink to may tonight:lol: however I really want the world to know it can be simple and easy to sharpen a razor. I'm not about to go out and try to gain converts, but if someone is curious I am more than willing to lead them here. And as for here...This forum is filled with the finest group of people in a online community I have had the chance to be part of!

I guess all that was a way of saying thanks for helping me down the fun road guys! I promise I won't make another post till the one to many beers is gone;)
 
The Coticule appears to me line a "La Nouvelle Veine", the slurry stone is most likely a La Dressante.

Thank you for that wonderful post, never mind the beer too much.:D
It's good to read about positive honing experiences. It's only normal that most threads on this forum are about guys struggling with their learning curve, because that's when people go hunting for information and tips. Reading all those threads may lead to the impressions that honing on Coticules is very difficult. Nonetheless, a lot of guys catch on with it quite rapidly, certainly with Unicot. That's why we don't see many threads about that procedure. It's too easy.:D

Kind regards,
Bart.
 
Wonderful, Sir , just wonderful!
Not too long ago I was just where you are now. And you know what? It got even better after that!!

Cheers
BlueDun
 
Bart said:
The Coticule appears to me line a "La Nouvelle Veine", the slurry stone is most likely a La Dressante.

Thank you for that wonderful post, never mind the beer too much.:D
It's good to read about positive honing experiences. It's only normal that most threads on this forum are about guys struggling with their learning curve, because that's when people go hunting for information and tips. Reading all those threads may lead to the impressions that honing on Coticules is very difficult. Nonetheless, a lot of guys catch on with it quite rapidly, certainly with Unicot. That's why we don't see many threads about that procedure. It's too easy.:D

Kind regards,
Bart.
WHAT???? I wasn't sent one of the layers I asked for????...Thank goodness I payed with Paypal (Just kidding of course!) . Actually the only reason I care what layer it is so I can begin to understand the qualities of the different layers and by comparing specimens in the vault to what my experiences are with this one perhaps gain a better understanding of the different stones.

Might be easier to just go work for them for a few months though :w00t:

Whatever it is it's a great stone and cuts fast. I am a pleased customer of Maurice for sure.
 
BlueDun said:
Wonderful, Sir , just wonderful!
Not too long ago I was just where you are now. And you know what? It got even better after that!!

Cheers
BlueDun
Wait it gets better? Right now I come home from work stressed out, spend a few minutes honing a razor to try to further my skills and enjoy it so much it seems therapeutic somehow. I do look forward to mastering the dilucot though.
 
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