Hey all! I've been around for a while (here and on SRP) and finally got around to taking a few pics of my coticules. Would love to get some kind of ID on them if possible. They are all natural Combo stones. Enjoy the pics and many thanks!

Coticule 1: Got this off Ebay. It's a natural combo that's ~1.25" thick. Has some beautiful coloring to it ranging from a pale yellow to caramel in spots.



Coticule 2: This one I haven't really experimented with a whole lot. With water, it doesn't seem to produce an edge as nice as coticule 3 below, but I feel it is faster, as the slurry darkens much faster. The pictures might not show it well, but it has some nice red/pink coloring to it.





and a side view...



Coticule 3: This was my first, and I have to say it is my favorite. It is paler yellow than Coticule 1, and I believe gives the smoothest edge of the 3 I have at the moment. With just water it will produce a very nice edge in my limited experience with a coti.





and a side view...



Slurry stones: The triangular one is a very light yellow, and the other is a grey color.



Group shot: Just a shot of them all together to compare.



Sorry for being pic heavy!

I'm an amateur, so take my opinions with a grain of salt.

1. Vintage? Need side shots too.

2. La Grise

3. La Petite Blanche?

You need to provide side pics of the slurry stones, but the bottom one that you called gray is most likely La Grise or perhaps La Verte.

The first, being an old production stone, is almost impossible to identify with any certainty.

The second is difficult for me to determine. Can you take more pictures? Also, did you mean that it's fast on slurry and on water? Does the surface darken with swarf at all when using just water? It's difficult to say, but it might be Les Latneuses.

The third is most likely La Veinette.

I don't know about the slurry stones without side views.

Ok, I will take a few more pictures today and put them up shortly.

Dan - as far as the 2nd one goes, what would you like as far as pics?

I never pegged the last one for La Veinette due to the distinct blue line running along the side, the spots, and the absence of white lines on the side.

Ok, got a few more pictures for you all. Dan, for the 2nd one, when using slurry, it darkens fairly fast, but with just water, it took about 30+ x-strokes before I saw ANY sign of swarf. Coti #3 WITH slurry is not nearly as fast as #2. Took about 3x as many half strokes before the slurry got close to the darkness of #2. Coti #3 with just water was slow as well, and also took about 20-30 x-strokes before swarf could be seen. And as I said before, all the stones (including slurry stones) are natural combo's.

Slurry Stone #1 :







Slurry Stone #2 :





Coti #1 : Yes, it appears to be a vintage one, judging from the box it came in, but here's more pictures. The BBW side isn't as "dark" as Coti's #2 and #3. You can't see as much "spotting" of garnets as the other 2. The BBW on #2/#3 appear more "red" in color.

















Coti #2 : More pics

Coticule #1: an old Coticule, that could possibly come from one of many "unmapped" layers. It does make me think of some La Grosse Blanches I've seen, but that doesn't mean it necessarily is one.

Coticule #2: Likely La Grise.

Coticule #3: La Nouvelle Veine.

Kind regards,
Bart.

Bart:

Coticule #3: La Nouvelle Veine.

Kind regards,
Bart.

I'm just wondering, how come La Nouvelle Veine? From the blue splotches and areas with a reddish/pink tinge, I would have thought La Veinette. The thin lines of blue on the side also contributed to me thinking La Veinette.

Bart, I'm also curious. Aside from those spots, I can see it being La Nouvelle Veine, although I've never heard of a spotted one. Pray tell?

Interesting information! Many thanks! Maybe this is a topic for another thread, but say you have a hone from one vein (take your pick) and the slurry stone is from a different vein...does that make any difference on the result you get when honing? Will the slurry have the properties associated with the hone or the slurry stone? Maybe my thoughts are ridiculous, but it was just a thought that came to mind.

If there is a possibility that #1 is a LGB, I will sit it out in the sunlight to see if it darkens at all. Not sure if all LGB exhibit that property or not, but I will try it to see. How long do you think it would take in the sun to see any changes?

Again, thanks Bart, Dan, and the rest!

Dan - Any thoughts on the slurry stones?

It does not make a difference regardless of the slurry stone used. You can mix and match as you please.

La Veinette will have white lines running in the axial plane in the BBW seen on the lateral walls.

I have been admiring the first stone quite a bit. Very enchanting little stone there

Paul:

La Veinette will have white lines running in the axial plane in the BBW seen on the lateral walls.

I have been admiring the first stone quite a bit. Very enchanting little stone there

Thanks! Although I have not spent much time with #1 as of yet, I do love the "look" of it. Very pretty.

As far as the "white lines" you mentioned in the BBW, please tell me if the images below are what you mean. The images are from #3, the hone in question.

Based on my understanding, yes, that is the kind of white line found in the BBW that's adjacent to La Veinette.

Bart, I understand now about the spots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfU7FgLMchI