M1k3
Senior Member
#SchrödingerI think I speak for everybody here in wanting to know the answer to this important question: Are the cats s***ting in the bathtub, or are they f***ing...?
#SchrödingerI think I speak for everybody here in wanting to know the answer to this important question: Are the cats s***ting in the bathtub, or are they f***ing...?
I think I speak for everybody here in wanting to know the answer to this important question: Are the cats s***ting in the bathtub, or are they f***ing...?
I plan to show your hand pictures to my wife, in the hopes of convincing her that a few cuts here and there on the hand, almost all of the time, are normal.So here's something that demonstrates quite neatly what @stringer was saying above.
I got a new (or rather very old) coti the other day, it looked nice enough, but not necessarily like it’s going to be completely remarkable:
View attachment 286935
It’s medium-ish hardness, and quite fine grained, but oh my is it fast! I was not expecting this:
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I was actually testing it for speed and grit rather than polishing, so that kiri had just just come of an SG500. But nevertheless you can see in the two pics below that the stone is already completely erasing 500 grit scratch marks and taking the core steel toward mirror. These pictures were taken after about 90 seconds use:
View attachment 286930
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And after another minute and a half - the SG500 marks are basically gone:
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This is a really sensational stone, and may be the best polishing Coticule I’ve ever had.
Try lapping it with a coarse diamond stone. I find mine gets that slippery feeling after quite a bit of use.but while I can get an excellent (but maybe less toothy than I like) edge on a knife with one, the feel of sharpening does not quite resonate with me. The stone seems slippery, numb, not really conveying what is happening.
I have to try that. Thanks!Try lapping it with a coarse diamond stone. I find mine gets that slippery feeling after quite a bit of use.
I plan to show your hand pictures to my wife, in the hopes of convincing her that a few cuts here and there on the hand, almost all of the time, are normal.
and prioritize speed,
I enjoy using them for razors, but while I can get an excellent (but maybe less toothy than I like) edge on a knife with one, the feel of sharpening does not quite resonate with me. The stone seems slippery, numb, not really conveying what is happening. I know there are people who say that about the Shapton Glass stones, no feedback, while I think they have tons of feedback. But in this case, I really do experience a lack of feedback, an anechoic chamber for the hands.
Maybe the problem is that all of my coticules were touted for their fineness or razor-facing qualities. But when was the last time you saw someone bragging about the coarseness of the coticule they were selling?
I'm the exact opposite here. I don't love my SG 1k because I don't feel it has much feedback and since I got the Chosera 800 I never touch it. My Coticules are super creamy and have nice feedback. I did specifically ask Rob at AC for faster ones for knives and not razors though. I got a medium bout (the pinky if you scroll up enough in this thread) that is harder and glassier than my others but also cuts S30V without issues so...idk. Weird, fun stones.I enjoy using them for razors, but while I can get an excellent (but maybe less toothy than I like) edge on a knife with one, the feel of sharpening does not quite resonate with me. The stone seems slippery, numb, not really conveying what is happening. I know there are people who say that about the Shapton Glass stones, no feedback, while I think they have tons of feedback. But in this case, I really do experience a lack of feedback, an anechoic chamber for the hands.
Maybe the problem is that all of my coticules were touted for their fineness or razor-facing qualities. But when was the last time you saw someone bragging about the coarseness of the coticule they were selling?
I have a couple of small ones to try out. But which side do you mean? In razor-land, we ignore the yellow side and use the one with the pattern, but I'm not sure whether that's what you're recommending here.Certainly the harder and finer cotis will feel like this when used for knives, but softer ones can feel very nice. It's a bit of a shame that the fastest and coarsest of the veins readily available today is also the most expensive - Les Latneuses.
I have a couple of small ones to try out. But which side do you mean? In razor-land, we ignore the yellow side and use the one with the pattern, but I'm not sure whether that's what you're recommending here.
The reason I like speed, particularly in natural stones for knife sharpening, is that I find that fast stones give more toothy and aggressive edges. In comparison to a similar 'grit' but slower stone which might tend more to polishing and refining an edge.
I never look at edges under a scope, so I can't prove that's true. Just my impressions from cutting stuff, thumbnail tests, &c. But the ideal for me are stones that are relatively fine but also very fast, and good cotis are kicking goals here.
Whereas the hybrid layer of Les Lat is more like an ark; probably a kind of chert, and pretty much 100% silica I believe.
My Spyderco F/UF stones have a bit of a curve to them, as though a giant had grabbed the ends and bent them, just a little. Maybe 1mm of daylight in the middle, if I put a straight edge on the stone.And hard as **** to flatten. Less fun than an Ark. I've done ~10 Arks and that one les lat was plenty for one lifetime. Still isn't done actually. Laughs at a diamond plate. The only thing worse is a Spyderco F/UF.
You were right. The yellow side of my Les Lat felt like a knife stone -- discernible feedback, little bit of rasp, no slipperiness, except it was crazy fast. It made short work of a Maxamet pocket knife that needed a touch-up. Now onward to the kitchen knives.Yep - the Les Lat coticule side (rather than the hard 'hybrid' side) is very fast, and probably low-mid grit in coticule terms.
Whereas the hybrid layer of Les Lat is more like an ark; probably a kind of chert, and pretty much 100% silica I believe.
You were right. The yellow side of my Les Lat felt like a knife stone -- discernible feedback, little bit of rasp, no slipperiness, except it was crazy fast. It made short work of a Maxamet pocket knife that needed a touch-up. Now onward to the kitchen knives.
I'd love a larger one, in a more orthodox shape, but it seems as though you can't even buy them with money. I wish AC hadn't started stamping "Selected Plus" on these stones, which made them seem way too must-have.
I can't believe I had something like this all along, and just thought of it as the useless yellow side of my nice razor hone.
I haven't tried my Spyderco ZDP-189 on a coticule (yet), but I had the same frustration sharpening it until I tried a diamond stone, vitrified or resin-bonded. Then it seemed really easy to sharpen. People say that ZDP-189 sharpens fine on the same stones I had trouble with (e.g. Shapton Glass), but I haven't been able to explain that. Maybe it's something different about Spyderco's heat treat.I guess I’m about to learn a little something. Scored an older 6” cot/bbw combo on ebay. Maybe it will sharpen this ZDP-189 spyderco that ignores the other stones I’ve tried on it.
I was hoping to find a bbw buried in the case, but it's just the filet on this one. Quite pretty, imo, and the slurry quickly turned black when I touched up (the parts that could reach) my just barely hardened opinel on it:
before:
View attachment 288148
after:View attachment 288149I'll just keep my eyes out for a bbw to pair it up with, or another oddball size natural that I think it'll pair nicely with, novaculite or otherwise.
'tis, and I believe the color goes through to the back, it was part of a bonded combi originally, so the back (bonded) side is too dark to verify.Is that a coti? Is it that colour all the way down?!
[EDIT - Just zoomed in, and it is a coti isn't it. Some kind of weird transition layer between yellow and blue perhaps...? Very cool!]
'tis, and I believe the color goes through to the back, it was part of a bonded combi originally, so the back (bonded) side is too dark to verify.
I quickly stuck it with wax it on top of this box for now, it'll either get used up like this, or a partner for it will make itself known in some manner, and I'll change it over into a travel stone.
View attachment 288599
'tis, and I believe the color goes through to the back, it was part of a bonded combi originally, so the back (bonded) side is too dark to verify.
I quickly stuck it with wax it on top of this box for now, it'll either get used up like this, or a partner for it will make itself known in some manner, and I'll change it over into a travel stone.
View attachment 288599
just barely hardened opinel
I wish! It's ~ 30mm x 125mm. I can sharpen a 270 gyuto or CCK on this size if I want, but I'm going to guess I'll choose to use it for <200mm knives in practice. It is (near) flat, so it will be a nice change of pace to sharpen on it instead of slowly working out the dishing on some of my other cotis, like a weirdo.Oh yeah, that's gorgeous isn't it! Maybe the colour balance was showing funny on my computer for the previous pics, but that's definitely what they call a 'pink coticule'. And a serious find; people love the pink ones cos they're so pretty, and it looks pretty big? 7 or 8 x2?
I only have one small one that has particularly pink colouration and it's very good, as well as being very pretty.
I wish! It's ~ 30mm x 125mm. I can sharpen a 270 gyuto or CCK on this size if I want, but I'm going to guess I'll choose to use it for <200mm knives in practice. It is (near) flat, so it will be a nice change of pace to sharpen on it instead of slowly working out the dishing on some of my other cotis, like a weirdo.
They have coti-crystolon combis, too...I just spotted this on Griffith shaving goods, checked to see if my coffee contained any hallucinogenics, and thought some might find this as odd as I did.
Apperantly it sold for 200$usd.
I think Ardenes Coticule still sells bbw-crystolon combos, which seems like a really fun traveling stone!They have coti-crystolon combis, too...
A few more of mine...
View attachment 197303
The nearest stone (not a coticule) is something called a 'Goldfisch Wetzstein' which is a from a layer of La Lorraine.
The one next to it I sold, the coticule was very fine, and probably extremely good for razors.
The third is a strange stone cut with a very thick layer of BBW, and both sides are fast and coarse:
View attachment 197302
The huge stone at the end is almost certainly La Veinette, and it's one of the most extraordinary whetstones I've ever used. It self slurries with ease and is incredibly fast while finishing very fine. The edges on knives are perfection, and the BBW side polishes really beautifully (I think anyway):
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That is a very lovely combo with manganese spots. A prized feature. Those may (or may not) indicate faster speed and finer grit.Is this a hybrid/hybrid les lat?
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At least that's my best guess. Having no clue at all.