Thanks to all who took the time to respond to my earlier post. I have been traveling and this is the first opportunity I have had to check the forum. The comments above certainly make me feel more comfortable with my purchase.

The Zulu Grey website says that most orders are shipping within 20 days, but the language seemed to indicate that was primarily if the size ordered was not in stock. I assumed that sizes in stock would be were ready for shipment in a few days. However, "in stock" may only mean that they do not have to go out and quarry new rock for cutting and polishing.

No one has every accused me of being patient, but I will try to wait patiently for my new rock to arrive. I do have other finishing hones to maintain my razors in the meantime. I just like trying new hones in a never-ending search for the ideal edge.

For the sake of others who might be interested in purchasing this hone, I will post again to this thread when I receive notice of shipment and once again when it arrives in Chicagoland. I will review the hone at some point, but as with many natural hones, the Zulu appears to have a learning curve to develop the technique to achieve optimal performance. Thus, I do not want to review the hone before I have spent enough time with the stone to understand its potential.