Sharpening stone Belgian whetstone brochure
Why does the Legendary Grindstone work so well? Where is Belgian Stone quarried? What is the secret of the unique composition? Find out about our articles and prices and take advantage of our natural products.
Why does the Legendary Grindstone work so well?
Where is Belgian Stone quarried?
What is the secret of the unique composition?
Find out about our articles and prices and take advantage of our natural products.
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The history of mining in the Belgian Ardennes goes back
to 1625, but the Roman writer Plinius had already
mentioned the whetstones in this region.
Till today the deposit is worldwide unique
because of its composition. The smoother
yellow-grey one, about 480 million years old
sediment rock of volcanic ashes and clays is
made of a large concentration of small
rounded garnets. (5-20 micron)
Garnet is nearly as hard as diamond, korund
and beryll and like a football, its surface
consists of facets, These two characteristics,
namely the hard and small round grains give
this stone its exceptional sharpening
qualities.
Discovery
„The blue whetstone“
In 1996/1997 the new management of the last
remaining mine ordered in association with
Luttich University an examination of the geological
layers of the traditional yellow Coticule.
The surprising result: the discovery of a high-quality
sharpening stone with identical qualities but
blue-colored because of containing iron oxyde.
It consists of about 30% garnets.Therefore it´s a bit
slower than the yellow one, but on the other
hand it´s more durable.
The big advantage of the Blue Whetstone is that the
remaining layers of 15-20 cm can be exploited.
So it´s possible to cut the rock into rectangular stones of
different dimensions.
Moreover the Blue Stone is suitable for
profile shapes, but unlikelly other
harder profil stones it´s possible to
adapt its shape to your individual
requirement with simple sandpaper.
Big formats of
„The blue
whetstone“
Carnet as Rhombendodekaeder
Profile shapes
of the „blue
whetstone“
How does the Belgian Stone work?
As soon as you start the sharpening, the garnets will
leave the stone and when used with water, they create a
very „abrasive milk“.
The round and oval garnets contact with the steel while
polishing the surface of the blade.
This combination of speed and fine-finishing is
unique all over the world. So you can reach a
sharpeness which can cut a wooden fibre at right angles.
The classic Coticule
„Coticule“
The traditional stone is available in high and best
quality. It contains 35-40% garnets.
Unfortunately the thinnest layers bring the best
quality, so this stone is seldom offered as a rectangular
stone but as the so called polygon „Brocken“ which gave
the stone its name.
It is offered in two qualities:
Quality I (extra-extra) is a homogeneous stone
of perfect appearance.
Quality II (extra-fine) can show slight flaws
but which don´t influence its sharpening qualities.
The difference between quality I and II is only visual.
Profiled stones of
„The blue whetstone“
Benchstones of the yellow
„Coticule“
Profilstones, regulary
Combination stone
„World novelty”
For the first time a combination
of stones make a
new sharpening stone. It
will be suitable for slight
sharpening without
electricity if you are away
from home.
The combination of the
rougher and harder Blue
Belgian Whetstone with
the french sandstone enables
you to an intense abrasion
combined with a fine
polishing of your tool
blades.
Profilestones, irregulary
„Pyrenees grindstone“ and the Blue
Belgian Whetstone communicated as one stone
„The classic” yellow Coticule