The history of Coticule dates back until before 1865 when the production of whetstone was done mainly by house labour at local farms. Farmers searched and collected the stones from their fields and transformed them into whetstones. In 1865 Mrs. Denise Burton-Walrant decided to start a business, named Burton. She wanted to expand her business across the borders of Belgium. Until 1900, she was able to sell the whetstones in Belgium, Germany, France, Italy and England. In 1901 her son took over the business. Due to the installation of the first power plant in the area of Lierneux he was able to upgrade the workplace with new, electricity-driven machines. The production rose tremendously. By 1954 whetstones were sold almost all over the world; Europe, USA, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Congo, India, Mexico, Argentine and Chilli. When in 1982 Prosper, the last descendant of the Burton-family, died the production stopped. Four years after the dead of Prosper, five men with a passion for Coticule started again a small production of whetstones as a hobby. One of these men is Maurice. In 1998 he started a new company, Ardennes-Coticule. In 2001 he introduced the Belgian Blue Whetstone. He discovered that some of the blue layers had the same excellent grinding qualities as the yellow ones. Until today Ardennes-Coticule produces whetstones following the time-tested production methods in the same workplace Mr. Denis Burton-Walrant ‘s son build in 1901.
