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The coticule is the truth!

Thin CA glue is your best bet. Very easy to do. Not even worth sending back when it is such a easy fix like that.

Tape up the sides with some painters tape,electrical tape, or other tape that will not leave residue as it will come out the sides if you put to much.
Stand it up and places a couple of drops and you will see it wick down into the crack. Keep filling a drop at a time untill it fils up. Slowly squeeze and clean up any extra that seeps out. Like Empire says place something with some weight on it and leave for 24 hours. Thin CA cures fast.
If a little seeped out while drying and it bothers you, some 320-400 wet/dry sandpaper will take it off.
So, after I let it dry out, the coticule seemed to retract and the crack is super hairline to where I cant even get a string of dental floss through it. Anyways, I tried the CA glue but it def didnt have the clearance to seep through to the inside fully. I am just hoping it seeped through at least a mm. Had it clamped up then razored off the excess. Hopefully that is enough to keep it in place. I am going to start lacquering the sides tomorrow with cashew lacquer. Hopefully that will keep the CA glue seal insulated while stabilizing the body of the coticule as a whole. Will post pictures of the abomination after its all said and done. I couldnt find a single sealed coticule picture on the net so I am sure its going to look "interesting" lol
 
B

bmiller3230

Bad news...just after I posted that message, I decided to whip out my coticule to practice some honing and noticed that a crack had formed near the line where the bbw meets the coticule! I have no idea how it formed but it wasnt there yesterday, but I have only used this with running water and baby oil thus far and it hasnt seen any drops or temperature shocks or anything. Its my precious, and I baby this sucker. Anyone know how this could have happened? and is there a way to possibly fix this? I just bought this sucker less than a month ago so total bummer. Here is a YT short of it.

coticule split forming

slurry stone is on hold until i figure this issue out lol./cry
you really should not be having to do this if you bought a new Selected Plus from Ardennes. For the price of those things, I would have them replace it instead. They have good customer service, so I would contact them about it. I have a lot of cotis and haven't seen this ever. It CAN be repaired with glue, but you should not be having to do this. It's defective.
 
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bmiller3230

So, after I let it dry out, the coticule seemed to retract and the crack is super hairline to where I cant even get a string of dental floss through it. Anyways, I tried the CA glue but it def didnt have the clearance to seep through to the inside fully. I am just hoping it seeped through at least a mm. Had it clamped up then razored off the excess. Hopefully that is enough to keep it in place. I am going to start lacquering the sides tomorrow with cashew lacquer. Hopefully that will keep the CA glue seal insulated while stabilizing the body of the coticule as a whole. Will post pictures of the abomination after its all said and done. I couldnt find a single sealed coticule picture on the net so I am sure its going to look "interesting" lol
Don't. Contact Ardennes and have it replaced. You should not have to seal them. They are meant to be used with water.
 
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So, after I let it dry out, the coticule seemed to retract and the crack is super hairline to where I cant even get a string of dental floss through it. Anyways, I tried the CA glue but it def didnt have the clearance to seep through to the inside fully. I am just hoping it seeped through at least a mm. Had it clamped up then razored off the excess. Hopefully that is enough to keep it in place. I am going to start lacquering the sides tomorrow with cashew lacquer. Hopefully that will keep the CA glue seal insulated while stabilizing the body of the coticule as a whole. Will post pictures of the abomination after its all said and done. I couldnt find a single sealed coticule picture on the net so I am sure its going to look "interesting" lol
Did you use Thin Ca? That stuff is thinner than water and get into the tiniest of cracks. It has a lower surface tension than water and does some amazing things. I have used it on cracked washitas and others. It has held up for 7-8 plus years with no problem even after lapping. I have used it on cotis too and that is why I recommended it for you. If you feel it did not seep in all the way then sealing the sides makes sense otherwise I would not bother but it is your stone and should do what gives you the most confidence.
you really should not be having to do this if you bought a new Selected Plus from Ardennes. For the price of those things, I would have them replace it instead. They have good customer service, so I would contact them about it. I have a lot of cotis and haven't seen this ever. It CAN be repaired with glue, but you should not be having to do this. It's defective.
You should not have to do this but they are natural stones and things can happen. It cracked very close to the glue line not at the glue line so it is not like it is poor workmanship.
I'm sure he would replace it but having to ship it back going though customs again. Or if he is in Europe having to pay VAT and shipping again would in my opinion not be worth the hassel for such a easy fix. I am a rock guy and have many Coti, Jnats, Thuris, Arkansa, French stones so I can say with a good degree of certainty that my recommendation is solid. I have been there done that. It is like childs play, nothing I would sweat over.

In the end do what you think is best for you. If you did not like how it turned out, return it. I'm sure he would take it back. Like stated above, he has good customer service.
 
Don't. Contact Ardennes and have it replaced. You should not have to seal them. They are meant to be used with water.
Hmm
Did you use Thin Ca? That stuff is thinner than water and get into the tiniest of cracks. It has a lower surface tension than water and does some amazing things. I have used it on cracked washitas and others. It has held up for 7-8 plus years with no problem even after lapping. I have used it on cotis too and that is why I recommended it for you. If you feel it did not seep in all the way then sealing the sides makes sense otherwise I would not bother but it is your stone and should do what gives you the most confidence.

You should not have to do this but they are natural stones and things can happen. It cracked very close to the glue line not at the glue line so it is not like it is poor workmanship.
I'm sure he would replace it but having to ship it back going though customs again. Or if he is in Europe having to pay VAT and shipping again would in my opinion not be worth the hassel for such a easy fix. I am a rock guy and have many Coti, Jnats, Thuris, Arkansa, French stones so I can say with a good degree of certainty that my recommendation is solid. I have been there done that. It is like childs play, nothing I would sweat over.

In the end do what you think is best for you. If you did not like how it turned out, return it. I'm sure he would take it back. Like stated above, he has good customer s
 
Did you use Thin Ca? That stuff is thinner than water and get into the tiniest of cracks. It has a lower surface tension than water and does some amazing things. I have used it on cracked washitas and others. It has held up for 7-8 plus years with no problem even after lapping. I have used it on cotis too and that is why I recommended it for you. If you feel it did not seep in all the way then sealing the sides makes sense otherwise I would not bother but it is your stone and should do what gives you the most confidence.

You should not have to do this but they are natural stones and things can happen. It cracked very close to the glue line not at the glue line so it is not like it is poor workmanship.
I'm sure he would replace it but having to ship it back going though customs again. Or if he is in Europe having to pay VAT and shipping again would in my opinion not be worth the hassel for such a easy fix. I am a rock guy and have many Coti, Jnats, Thuris, Arkansa, French stones so I can say with a good degree of certainty that my recommendation is solid. I have been there done that. It is like childs play, nothing I would sweat over.

In the end do what you think is best for you. If you did not like how it turned out, return it. I'm sure he would take it back. Like stated above, he has good customer service.
That last "hmm" reply was my phone bugging out sorry.

Yeah I emailed him a few days ago but he hasn't gotten back to me yet, guessing he has been busy. It wasnt exactly cheap for me and I would consider this a defect but like you said, I also recognize this is a natural stone and things can happen. Dont want to add to climate change through unneeded logistics of returning it and I'd rather try to fix what I got. Like how the japanese fix broken ceramics with gold lining to make it more beautiful than it was originally. When I seal this sucker in cashew lacquer, it will truely be mine. Plus it has a little sentimental value to me being my first SR stone as well. But thank you and thank you B.miller for your advices. Greatly appreciated!
 
I would say get some of the super thin CA and try to get the crack to take more before you seal. And when you seal it, make sure your first coats are very thin so it soaks into any other cracks that might be hiding.

If the crack ever fails spectacularly it would be a great candidate for setting in a paddle or permanent box. Many of the old 18th century vintage coticules were handled that way if they weren't backed with BBW.

I'm sure Rob will make this right, but at the same time there's no point in sending it back around the world.
 
Did you use Thin Ca? That stuff is thinner than water and get into the tiniest of cracks. It has a lower surface tension than water and does some amazing things. I have used it on cracked washitas and others. It has held up for 7-8 plus years with no problem even after lapping. I have used it on cotis too and that is why I recommended it for you. If you feel it did not seep in all the way then sealing the sides makes sense otherwise I would not bother but it is your stone and should do what gives you the most confidence.

You should not have to do this but they are natural stones and things can happen. It cracked very close to the glue line not at the glue line so it is not like it is poor workmanship.
I'm sure he would replace it but having to ship it back going though customs again. Or if he is in Europe having to pay VAT and shipping again would in my opinion not be worth the hassel for such a easy fix. I am a rock guy and have many Coti, Jnats, Thuris, Arkansa, French stones so I can say with a good degree of certainty that my recommendation is solid. I have been there done that. It is like childs play, nothing I would sweat over.

In the end do what you think is best for you. If you did not like how it turned out, return it. I'm sure he would take it back. Like stated above, he has good customer service.
I had to do this with my la lune slurry stone too. It cleaved in between the layers after dropping it and all spit lengthwise. Glued it with super glue and it works a dream. I wouldn't want to have to go back through customs and if was one I really liked if propelling just glue it too. The La Lune slurry stone and my first little lpb palm stone broke very soon after unboxing. The lpb 20 mins layer the ll about 2 days. Both times completely my fault. AC does have great customer service and will replace it though id imagine.
 
I would say get some of the super thin CA and try to get the crack to take more before you seal. And when you seal it, make sure your first coats are very thin so it soaks into any other cracks that might be hiding.

If the crack ever fails spectacularly it would be a great candidate for setting in a paddle or permanent box. Many of the old 18th century vintage coticules were handled that way if they weren't backed with BBW.

I'm sure Rob will make this right, but at the same time there's no point in sending it back around the world.
Agree, I just decided to keep it and learn how to use lacquer for the first time. So here is the end result. A sealed coticule! lol. Learned a lot about cashew lacquer. I should have gone a lot thinner than I did initially. But it is sealed hopefully. In case you guys wonder what the hell a sealed coticule would look like, here it is. I bought some kind of maroon colored cashew lacquer because it was the cheapest. Kinda looks like an ice cream bar now.
20230409_190741.jpg
 
Agree, I just decided to keep it and learn how to use lacquer for the first time. So here is the end result. A sealed coticule! lol. Learned a lot about cashew lacquer. I should have gone a lot thinner than I did initially. But it is sealed hopefully. In case you guys wonder what the hell a sealed coticule would look like, here it is. I bought some kind of maroon colored cashew lacquer because it was the cheapest. Kinda looks like an ice cream bar now.
View attachment 1635180
That looks nice.
 
Hello all, I've only been on the forum a short while and it's been a pleasure, a great group.
I've been using a shavette for a couple of months now, but want to start using SR's. I had a decent shave after honing with the Genco but when I tried to get it sharper I started my downhill slide in my honing abilities.
At the moment I have 4 vintage razors eagerly waiting on me to give them purpose again :cool:

After many hours of using cheap carborundum stones to set the bevel and honing (400/1000/5000/1000) I've finally accepted I'm getting my arse royaly kicked , I've decided to go with a coticule.
Yes, I know it is probably ultimately me, but I'm justifying buying a better stone through it ;)

I see two that I'm interested in and your guidence and suggestions on this or a differnt purchase will be greatly appreciated.
Here's the page that has the $115 one and the $270 ones I'm looking at, (the $270 one will take a little longer for me to get, I can get the $115 now)

Will the higher priced one be worth the wait or is the less expensive one a good option that I won't regret later.
From what I understand the higher price one can do 'bevel to finish', while the lower price one I'll need to use other options for the bevel setting part.

I see coticules can be controversial, some seem to not be able to get the finish they want. I found this video from DrMatt interesting, I'm sure most of you may have already seen it.

Thanks,
Rick
 

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Will the higher priced one be worth the wait or is the less expensive one a good option that I won't regret later.
The price goes up exponentially with size not performance, although some veins can be more expensive.
It is nice to have a large stone if you can afford it, and if it is a good razor grade stone.
 
The $115 is an 8" x 3.15"

the $270 is an 8" x 2.25"

I didn't see the $300 8" x 3" one which if I go the higher route will be the one I get,
the higher price ones are 'select grade'
the $115 is rated for medium to finishing honing
 
The $115 one is a Belgian Blue. I haven't used one but from what I've read they're said to be much slower than a coti. I'd stick with the yellow coties IMO.

A 3" width is nice but not necessary. I use a 2" x 6" coti and get great mileage out of it. If you're cost conscious that might be a good way to split the difference in pricing.
 
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As usual I jump in and start talking before I finish my research. I'm learning more about the differences between the bbw and yellow, I originally thought a coti was a coti was a coti.

Thanks all, I'll be back in touch, but please, any advice good or bad is always welcomed.
 
As usual I jump in and start talking before I finish my research. I'm learning more about the differences between the bbw and yellow, I originally thought a coti was a coti was a coti.

Thanks all, I'll be back in touch, but please, any advice good or bad is always welcomed.

Don't do what I did the other day and try to hone your razor while listening to a Zoom meeting for work. I think I invented a new sharpness test - the blade was sharp enough to slice the base of my index finger with no pressure.
 
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