(backup from Coticule.be)

Welcome to Coticule.be

This website is about a piece of rock.

In Roman times expeditions were sent to Belgica, almost at the border of the Empire, all because of the discovery of a unique type of rock that could create an unrivaled edge on all kinds of cutlery.

In 1770 the French master knifemaker Jean-Jaques Perret spent an entire chapter in his book “La pogonotomie, or the art of how to shave oneself” discussing the amazing razor hones made from this rock.

Up until late into the second half of the 20th Century, Coticule hones were exported all over the world and considered the “nec plus ultra” for sharpening scalpels, laboratory equipment and straight razors.

Today a flourishing niche of users of these amazing hones remains intact.

Only one company is still mining these “Coticules”, which means whetstone in a Latin context, and although we sympathize with the owners and the people working there, we are not commercially affiliated with them. If you would like to visit their website, you can find the link in our “recommended websites” section.

But before you do that, please feel welcomed to explore our place. We offer invaluable information about the use of the hones. We bring you the engrossing story about the rich history of the hones and the people risking their lives extracting them from the underground. We have articles about the geology and the mineralogy of the Coticule rock.

We offer a free razor honing service for those who would like to experience the illustrious “Coticule edge” without the need to buy one.

There’s more, but we leave that up to you to discover.

My special thanks goes out to: Dan Elam, Robin Kroha, David Polan, Kris Van Dyck, Ray Habyan, Maurice and Rob Celis of Ardennes Coticule, for keeping the great Coticule legacy of the old website (until 2009?) alive and kicking.