Dressante Coticule
The lines in this bit of Belgian real estate are said to be comprised of Manganese dioxide (Mn0²) which is also known as Pyrolusite; a very soft innocuous material.
Manganese plays a critical role in the formation of Spessartine Garnets - the presence of these black lines and splotches often indicates that the stone has a high Garnet concentration. Generally speaking, usually find such stones to be faster and very very good finishers. This one is no exception.
The feedback from this stone is incredible - almost like getting vibrating text messages that tell you when to progress, dilute, or just stop.
In use, this stone is fast and efficacious; it can be used for setting bevels easily. It's also quite hard and dense, making it a preferred option for finishing. This is not a one-trick pony - edges off this one can be keen and brisk or comfortable and uber smooth. This Bout is, I think, a #9; and the basic shape is somewhat rectangular, which makes it an easy stone to use.
The Coticule layer is glued to slate, and the filler used at the quarry to even out the bottom of the stone had an indentation that left a very small section exposed; it wasn't flush in that areas. I suspected that this would be best if smoothed out, and that section was filled with epoxy to lprotect the stone. All along the sides, there was a superficial fissure that was visually bothersome, this was filled with CA glue and dried flurry and then the sides of the stone were sealed in lacquer.
Approx. Dimensions: 4.37 x 2.74 x 0.75" / 113 x 70 x 23 mm (measured in the middle of the stone)
Weight: 18.5 oz / 524 g
Coticule layer is 1/2" / 12.7 mm thick
