Whetstone Set for Straight Razor Sharpening Coticule

The Coticule stone is a natural whetstone with a rich past. The extraction and production of the Coticule in the Belgian Ardennes dates back to the 17th century. It is a sedimentary rock formed over 480 million years, consisting of grey-yellowish volcanic ash and clay containing hard garnet crystals. These give the Coticule its exceptional sharpening characteristics.

Your razor will thank you with never felt before sharpness.

The Belgian Whetstone consists of 30% to 42% garnet crystals bonded together with mica. These garnets are what give the Coticule its exceptional sharpening characteristics. The geometrical shape of these garnets is a dodecahedron. There are twelve surfaces with obtuse angles. The garnets have a diameter of 5 to 15 microns and penetrate 1 to 3 microns into the metal to be sharpened. This ideal geometric shape (obtuse angles polish the metal) and the large numbers of these garnets ensure that the blade is sharpened both very quickly and extremely finely. In just a few minutes, this results in a razor-sharp cut, for any object that is to be sharpened.

The Belgian whetstone is often compared to a 4,000 - 8,000 grit whetstone, using the Japanese grit system, but it must be borne in mind that it is a  natural product, and therefore no stone is 100% identical to another. The grit rating is given purely for information, and tells you little about the specific characteristics of the stone. The advantage compared to other whetstones is: A Beglian whetstone sharpens very finely and very quickly. No other whetstone possesses this combination.

The hardness of the garnets ensures that they are able to hone any kind of steel, including stainless steel (inter alia, 18/8 and 18/10 stainless), Damascus Steel and HSS High Speed Steel.

The geometric shape of the garnets gives the whetstone another unique characteristic. The smooth shape of the garnets means that they sharpen the metal without leaving behind tiny burrs.  This results in a fine gleam without scratches on the blade, which makes the knife considerably easier to use.

A razor sharpened with a Belgian whetstone does not damage the skin during shaving. The garnets do not leave any tiny burrs on the blade, which is unique to the whetstones.  This means that there is no chance of skin irritation. The Belgian whetstone gives a razor-sharp blade and unrivalled comfort during shaving. Without skin irritation, the skin feels very soft after shaving.