Fassbinder & Co. Goldfisch Wetzstein (200 x 50 x 19mm)

Size: 200 x 50 x 19mm weight: 573gr.
Density: XXXgr./cm³ / Estimated grit size: medium – fine > 4-10K
Usage: can be used with water, glycerine and oil
Color: appears different, sometimes with a more
pronounced BBW pattern but tending towards wine red,
sometimes more violet with a certain banding and swirling,
stone tends to auto slurry
Supplier/Distributor:
Fassbinder & Co., Solingen (F&Co.)

About this specific stone:
This one is a labelled stone from Fassbinder & Co., a trading import and export company for sharpening stones located in Solingen. This paticular one has a quite good label, actually it has some cuts thru the paper. The stone has a nice Rouge Du Salm pattern on the working surface. These stones seem to have their origin from the closed company Burton Rox in Belgium, Rue Petit Sart 34, 6688 Lierneux.

General Information on Lorraine Rouge / Rouge Du Salm:
Firstly extensive explained and named from Henk Bos in his Grinding and Honing Part 4 “Belgian Waterwhetstones”. Henks statement was that the stones beeing sold as labelled Lorraine Stones are the same stones which were earlier known from the Belgium Quarries as Rouge Du Salm / Engl.: Salm Rouge. They have been extracted in the past from the layers called “Veine Lorraine” or “Veine Rouge Du Salm”.

The Rouge Du Salm / Salm Rouge appears as a special layer within two BBW Layers and can be identified due to its color and behavior when honing. The color tends to go into a wine red or a darker violet and less into blue.

The stones also work quite fast with a thick slurry and a bit pressure and can be used in a lower progression (>4K) up to finishing with plain water into the area of (>8K). After owning around eight of these stones i can underline the statement from Henk. Actually it seems that within this layer the structure and appearance widely differs. This means there are stones reaching the optical Rouge Du Salm area with a typical red wine BBW structure and the known dots. Some stones only show the second face of this layer, there is no BBW structure, the color tends to go into dark violet and a very fine looking clouded swirling with colors of light violet, dark violet. It also seems that this second face behaves a bit different, probably its working a bit coarser.

Suppliers of the Lorraine Rouge / Rouge Du Salm:
Actually there have been quite a lot of companies selling these stones. First to mention here the company F&Co. (Fassbinder & Co, Solingen) which sold the Lorraine Rouge / Rouge Du Salm Stones under the Trademark “Goldfisch Wetzstein”. They also sold Thurigian Water Hones, Arkansas Stones and a later of lot of different types of synthetic stones.

Then there is a company named D. Giovannacci, L. & B. Ghelfi, which labelled the stones with a red label and the text M.P.O.P. (Meules, Pierres, Outillage, Produits), which is probably a precurser of F.G.B.C. (F. Ghelfi, Birroleau & Cie.)

The third Label which came up was a re-labelled “Goldfisch Wetzstein”. Actually this could be a one time example, because under the Goldfisch label there was a “Fox Razor Hone “ label

External Links

My Videos about technical topics:

Pierre Lorraine Rouge / Rouge Du Salm Honing Properties

My other Videos:
Pierre Lorraine Rouge / Rouge Du Salm

Pierre Du Lorraine Rouge / Rouge Du Salm
Goldfisch Wetzstein Marke F&Co.

Pierre Lorraine Rouge / Rouge Du Salm

More Information from the wetshaving boards:

Badgerandblade.com (B&B):
“Lorraine Rouge / Rouge Du Salm / BBW / Goldfisch Wetzstein “

other Literature/Information:

Bos, Henk
Grinding and Honing Part 4 Belgian Whetstones
INFO20M – 73 (ISSN: 1872-7824)
“Information for Ship and tool-lovers”
www.bosq.home.xs4all.nl
available in english and dutch

Boulvain, F. Prof. & Pingot, J. L. Dr.
Excursions: “Une introduction à la GEOLOGIE de la WALLONIE”, Université de Liège, Faculté des Sciences,
Département de Géologie, 2014
LINK

Boulvain, F. Prof.
Excursions “Excursions des cours de Processus
Sedimentaires et Geologie de la Wallonie”
Université de Liège, Faculté des Sciences,
Département de Géologie, 2013

Caubergs Michel
“Inventaire de quelques anciennes mines et
carrieres souterraines de Wallonie”
Essai D’archeologie miniere, 1991

Devleeschouwer, Mullard, Goemaere
“Underground Workings of Slate Vein and Coticule in the commune of Vielsam (Belgium): The Geological Risk Management through Database and GIS”
Post-Mining 2005, November 16-17, Nancy, France
LINK

Gaspard, Charles
“L’industrie de la Pierre a rasoir dans le region de Sart-Lierneux” Extraites des Enquêtes du Museé de la Vie Wallonie,
TOME XIV (No. 5 157-160)

Goemaere, Eric
“Ardoise et coticule en Terre de Salm, Des pierres et des Hommes”
Collection Geosciences du Service Géologique de Belgique, Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique
ISBN : 978-2-9600676-1-3
LINK

Goemaere, Eric
“Ardoise et coticule en Terre de Salm, Des pierres et des Hommes
Extrait L’atelier Burton”
Collection Geosciences du Service Géologique de Belgique, Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique
ISBN : 978-2-9600676-1-3
LINK

Goemaere, E. & Declercq, P-Y.
“Le “coticule” de Vielsalm et Lierneux (Belgique)” une pierrre à aiguiser au passé mondial”
Ann. Soc. géologique du Nord, 19 (2e série), 117-131, 2012

Lessuise, A.
“Le coticule. Situation géographique et géologique des gisements. Exploitation et préparation des pierres abrasives. Valorisation des déchets d’exploitation”
Annales des Mines de Belgique, 1: 101-125, 1981

Remacle, A.
“Les ardoisières de l’Ardenne belge”
Intérêt biologique et état des lieux des sites en surface. Région wallonne, Direction Générale des Ressources Naturelles et de l’Environnement, Division de la Nature et des Forêts, Travaux n° 30, 189 p., 2007

Renard, A. & S.J.
“Sur la structure et La Composition Minéralogique Du Coticule et sur ses Rapports avec Le Phyllade Oligistifère”
21.10.1876