Thread: Shapton 16k Glass Stone cracked!

Have any of you ever had this happen? or heard of it?

I take great care with my stones, and am baffled by this.

The glass backing plate is intact and undamaged. I never soak the stone. when I flatten, I rub the stone on top of the DMT, using only finger pressure to swirl it around. Never DMT on top of stone.

I honed a blade, all was well, 30 minutes later, I'm honing a second blade, and feeling an edge.
Crack simply seemed to appear, not there one moment, there the next.

Thoughts?

I use the complete set of Shapton glass stones for all my razor work. Knock on wood but I have never had this to happen. I use the Shapton Glass stone holder when honing and flatting them. It provides complete support under the entire piece of glass while I use them. Can you still use the stone? I wonder if there is some type of epoxy glue made specifically for glass. A filler to bond and stop the crack from spreading.

Not really a big deal if it's still fastened to the glass plate and no chunks have come out. You could try to see if the vendor you purchased it from will replace it if it's not too old, but personally I'd just drizzle some water thin CA into the crack and let it set for a few days, then lap it flat and use it. I have fixed several cracked stones this way and the repair can't be felt at all while honing, nor is there any detrimental effect to the edge.

I would not be as quick as you to say "not a big deal" To me, if a product fails, its a big deal. It makes me leery of purchasing again. I have had this stone for years, and hardly ever use it. I went to sell it last year, but nobody bid. Now, I cant even attempt to sell it. To me, its a loss.

Due to the fact that the crack can be felt when honed over, I think its a safe assumption that it lifted at least a small amount off the glass backing plate. Perhaps the plate had a miniscule convexity which over time stressed the stone material until it broke?

Well, to you it may be a big deal, to me, not at all. Probably because I've had plenty of stones that have cracked or were broken and once they are CA'ed it's like nothing ever happened. You probably have no recourse as far as warranty if the stone is several years old. I have been leery of Glass stones from the start as they are so thin, but many many others have used them with no issues for quite some time now. I have several Shapton Pro stones though, and have never had any issues with those - though some have had.

The crack may be able to be felt, but once you lap it you most likely wouldn't even know it was there even if you didn't apply CA. It doesn't have to lift much (even .001" - ¼ the thickness of the average piece of paper would likely be enough) for you to feel it when honing because the change is so abrupt. It could merely be the stone's stress relieving or even the glass. To me, this is a minor problem in the grand scheme of things. Although certainly disappointing, the stone is still perfectly usable.

Lap it and see if you can still feel it when honing. If you can, it is a paperweight AFAIC ..........

How long have you had that stone Magpie? If you've done nothing to cause it to happen, then it has to be a defect, but I imagine there's some time limit on these things.

I've had my Shapton 16K on glass for years and years (in fact, I think I got mine when they first became available) with nothing like that happening.

Anyway, I'd try your vendor if it hasn't been too long. If it has been too long, you have really only one choice - try to fix it as others have said. If it cannot be fixed I'm afraid it's like Jimmy said.

Good luck.

James.

I have the 30K on glass and have had it a good number of years without incident. A glass backing is well glass. If that part didn't crack then something bizarre must have happened to make the honing surface crack.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I have the 30K on glass and have had it a good number of years without incident. A glass backing is well glass. If that part didn't crack then something bizarre must have happened to make the honing surface crack.

My life has been nothing if not bizarre.

Of course the stone is not a total loss, even if I just ignore the crack and simply hone on the majority section. Its just puzzling, and rather annoying. I don't even know if I still have the vendor info. It was one of those Amazon purchases.
Having seen the photos of what happened when somebody on here tried to cut down a glass stone, I thought for certain the glass itself would have exploded before the hone surface went.

You could always try going straight to Shapton. I hope it works out alright.

My Chosera 1k has developed cracks, but it doesn't affect honing. I had a little ding in my Naniwa 8k that also had no effect. I have some naturals with dings or the like, so I only use a part of the stone, and that works for me.