Cracked Coticule Question

OK, I gotta start by saying that Rob from Ardennes Coticule is a class act. He currently has this Coticule Selected 150x50mm (6"x2") 50% reduction - Straight Razor Place Classifieds coticule for sale for 50% off, because it is cracked. It has a crack running diagonally from one side to the other, about half way down the length of the stone. Below is a copy/paste of a PM he sent to me after I asked if the crack would effect the sharpening ability of the coticule, or if it would just be cosmetic.

Paste:

Hello,

It's an actual crack, but a closed one (so not a cosmetic fault).

I honed some knives on the stone just to check if the crack would effect the usability of the stone and it isn't effecting the usability at all!

But the crack is there and for that reason it isn't salable at its 100% value.

Regards
Rob Celis

It took Rob less than three hours to respond to my question. Now *that's* customer service. Anyway, Rob stated that he sharpened *knives* with the coticule to no ill effects. Do you guys think that would also apply to the much thinner blade of a razor?? I *really* would like to buy this stone, but not if there's any chance of the crack affecting it's functionality as a finishing stone.

Opinions?

(Why do I have the feeling that I'm gonna get sniped on this stone now that I've posted this thread?)

I've mixed melted beeswax and coticule powder together to form a waxy coticule paste. It worked very well to fill side cracks/saw marks in a few coticules. If I did it again I'd also heat the stone in an oven on a fairly low temp (say 200 F) to prevent the wax paste from solidifying instantly and before it could penetrate the crack.

Chris L

I couldn't see the crack in the stone despite the line indicating its location. I believe that as long the stone is lapped, the two edges of the crack will be level and therefore will not interfere with honing. Worse case, you could ask if Rob will allow you to return it if the crack is a problem. However, I would guess that Rob would not bother to put it up for sale on SRP unless he was confident that the hone would work. I suggest you buy it immediately before someone else beats you to it!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Utopian

Worse case, you could ask if Rob will allow you to return it if the crack is a problem.!

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That's definitely not a problem!

i purchased a hone from rob in december, fantastic guy to deal with im very pleased with mine, rob does respond to email very fast also, and i believe he has a great return policy if you would be unhappy with your purchase, id buy it before someoe else does

Probably will work just fine for many years. You might run into a problem if you ever wanted to sell it.

Thanks for the help, everyone, and especially Rob. :) I really thought I was going to be able to talk SWMBO into this stone for my birthday (which is rapidly approaching), but I was flat out denied.

So if anyone has been holding off on purchasing the stone while I worked this through, you have my sincere thanks, but don't hesitate to snap this bargain up.

*sigh* you only turn 42 once.. :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FloorPizza

*sigh* you only turn 42 once.. :(

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I dunno, Ive been doing it for quite a while now!:D