coticule crack?

Hey there, got a coticule from steve at the invisible edge, lapped it, honed on it and used the full length of the coti but got a hiccup when honing near the top end of the stone.

the stone has alot of lines on it but there's only one that I can feel when honing and to me it feels like the blade hits it... enough to affect the edge anyways. I've lapped it for two hours so far after the first lapping and it hasn't taken it away, so I was wondering if I could get some advice on if its supposed to have this crack in it or not.

here's some pics:
http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/8969/p1000835c.jpg

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/7589/p1000838n.jpg

its the two vertical lines in the firt picture and it also goes down the side in the second picture, implying its all the way through, any ideas?

cheers Alex

I would send it back for a replacement. A tight crack in a natural stone is not desirable but it is acceptable if it doesn't affect the honing. I couldn't live with it if I can feel it through the razor.

hard to say from pics.
but if it feels like it is crack may be you should talk to the vendor about the issue and see what can be done about it.

Thanks guys I'll email the vendor and see what can be done.

thanks again, Alex

These are natural products and many have veins which you should not be able to feel and with enough magnification you'll see they all have some cracks in them. However there should be nothing you can feel with a fingernail or the razor. That's a defect.