Chipped Norton 4/8000 3"

I just received my new stone today from Ray at Classicshaving via FedEx. Needless to say, I was excited to receive the stone so that I can now start to begin practicing my honing skills. :D Upon opening up the blue plastic box and, much to my disappointment, I discovered there was a chip taken out of one of the corners of the 4000 side. :( The chip is probably 1" x 1/4". The broken piece was still in the container.

I need some help/advice with respect to three things: :shrug:

1) Will having the chipped corner do any damage to blades if I honed without repairing the chip?

2) If the stone can be repaired, is there anything I can use to repair the stone (e.g. glue, etc.)?

3) Should I simply send the stone back for a new, undamaged stone?

Thanks in advance for any help provided.

Jeff

First response would be to return it. Ray can make FedEx pay for it likely. The next question is does it significantly shorten the usable length of the stone? I dare say most of us don't go all the way to the tip of the 8" length. If you can live with it, just make sure to take some sandpaper and soften the edges where the chip came from to make sure you don't gouge your razor accidentally. I wouldn't try to re-attach it. Hope this helps .....................Jeff

It shortens the stone by about 1". The chip is about 1" lengthwise and about a 1/4" widthwise.

I called and left a message with Ray. I'm hoping he calls me back tomorrow. My first thoughts were to send it back and that's probably what I'm going to do pending my discussion with Ray. I'm not an experienced honer and I don't want to start off on the wrong foot.

yeah if the long part of the chip shortens the hone by that much, get another one.............Jeff

Personally, even if it were just a small corner, you should get what you paid for. Ray should make things right.

RT

FedEx blows ass by the way. I swore off using them about 10 years ago. They absolutely trashed a custom knife shipped to me. The maker insured it for $1500 and it was in a small box. My guess is the box slingers at 3am saw a small box insured, thought it was a Rolex, and busted it open. Upon seeing a knife, not knowing what it was, they decided to see if they could throw it and stick it into a wall about 437,000 times. It was a damascus auto, a small one, with black pearl scales and gold trim. Incredible. Anyway, it was shoddily re-taped, and finally showed up to me. When he and I went to make a claim at fedex, they cited some rule about "collectibles" having a $500 insurance limit and that's all they would pay. Odd how that never came up when they were accepting the payment for $1500 worth of insurance. Long story short, the extra grand would have been lost three times over with a lawyer, so cest la vie. Lesson learned. Neither I, nor this maker friend of mine, will EVER use FedEx again. As a matter of fact, if I ever find myself several beers up and a Fedex truck parked in a handy location, I will likely pee on it. .............Jeff

Did you purchase the one without the plastic protective case? I would suggest asking classicshaving to send you one with the protective case. Not only will it arrive sans chip, but the case makes for a really nice stand which can even hold water to soak the side your not using at the moment. Its worth the extra $10.

I have bought a Norton 4K/8K at my local Woodcraft Store ($79.95). They had three there, all in the blue plastic box. Some of the boxes are taped shut by the placement of the barcode label so you cannot open them but I did anyway <g>. Glad I did becuase one was already chipped. If you drop the blue case on a floor the stone will still hit hard enough to chip.

These could be damaged at any stage of the game and being in the nice case most sellers, buyers, etc... would think to tear one open just to check.

The Woodcraft 12k stones are notorious for this....badly chipped right out of the box.

Tony

I spoke with Laurie at Classicshaving this morning. They're sending me a new one today. They're going to file a claim with FedEx. Hopefully, this time they'll ship it some other way than FedEx .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by str8rzrshvr

I spoke with Laurie at Classicshaving this morning. They're sending me a new one today. They're going to file a claim with FedEx. Hopefully, this time they'll ship it some other way than FedEx .

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Jeff,
Personally I feel this action should have been taken prior to posting a thread, giving Classic Shaving the opportunity to resolve the issue.

Unfortunately carriers break things. I receive deliveries from each of the major carriers on a daily basis and must say they are all equal when it comes to damaged packages. Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by str8rzrshvr

I spoke with Laurie at Classicshaving this morning. They're sending me a new one today. They're going to file a claim with FedEx. Hopefully, this time they'll ship it some other way than FedEx .

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Fed Ex also likes to charge HUGE brokerage fees to carry goods across the border. :rant:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rik

Personally I feel this action should have been taken prior to posting a thread, giving Classic Shaving the opportunity to resolve the issue.

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I don't think there was ill intent to "encourage" Ray to replace the item. Ray is a very honest and (no offense meant) old-fashioned in the way he does business. There are things I could buy other places for less money, but Ray stands behind his products, and with everything he does (such as the SRP Club Razor), I'll spend the extra with him. He's a great guy.

In the end, this whole thread ends up being a plug for Ray and his outstanding customer service.

It was never my intention to force Ray's hand. Quite the contrary. I started this thread asking what I should do about it. I was willing to accept it as it was, actually, until other members suggested returning it. As it turned out, I spoke with Laurie at Classicshaving this morning and without hesitation she informed me they were sending a replacement out today! How's that for customer service!!! Top-shelf in my book. I informed Laurie they now have a life long customer! Sensei_Kyle is right, there are other competitors out here that sell products cheaper. All my "tools" have been purchased from Ray (with the exception of one razor which I bought from another Top-shelp seller, Tony Miller) and I will continue to buy from Ray because he's a great guy who has great customer service.

Classicshaving is top-notch in my book. Thanks, Ray/Laurie!!

Jeff Sandora

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Originally Posted by xman

Fed Ex also likes to charge HUGE brokerage fees to carry goods across the border. :rant:

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They all do it! I had to send a razor back to a seller because it was damaged. Stupid me I sent it via UPS. I paid $10 upfront. They wanted the seller to pay another $60 in brokerage fees!!! We told UPS to keep it.

Xman is that large of a charge normal? What's the justification behind it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by str8rzrshvr

It was never my intention to force Ray's hand. Quite the contrary. I started this thread asking what I should do about it. I was willing to accept it as it was, actually, until other members suggested returning it. As it turned out, I spoke with Laurie at Classicshaving this morning and without hesitation she informed me they were sending a replacement out today! How's that for customer service!!! Top-shelf in my book. I informed Laurie they now have a life long customer! Sensei_Kyle is right, there are other competitors out here that sell products cheaper. All my "tools" have been purchased from Ray (with the exception of one razor which I bought from another Top-shelp seller, Tony Miller) and I will continue to buy from Ray because he's a great guy who has great customer service.

Classicshaving is top-notch in my book. Thanks, Ray/Laurie!!

Jeff Sandora

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Greetings Jeff,

I didn't feel you were trying to discredit Classic Shaving. But some vendors have taken a beating on other sites because individuals went straight to the forums rather than the vendor to resolve the issue.

Your thread is very informative for someone who picks up a used stone that is damaged. But in the case of a damaged new item, the vendor should be contacted first out of courtesy.

By beginning the post with how the vendor resolved the issue, you prevent anyone from misconstruing your intent. Have a good one. :)

Thanks for the reply.

No, my intent wasn't to discredit Classicshaving. I have had nothing but great service in each of my dealings with Ray. I was disappointed not in the service I got from Ray, but in the fact that it was chipped. I know it was nothing Ray or C/S had done. Actually, like I said above, I would have kept it as it was.

As a rule, I don't like to bash anyone in a public forum, especially, someone who I've had nothing but great service from. I felt confident, based on my previous dealings and conversations with Ray, that this issue would be rectified in an acceptable manner. He's a straight up guy and I enjoy doing business with him and will continue to do so.

I will, however, heed your advice should I experience similar issues in the future. Thanks,

Jeff

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rik

They all do it! I had to send a razor back to a seller because it was damaged. Stupid me I sent it via UPS. I paid $10 upfront. They wanted the seller to pay another $60 in brokerage fees!!! We told UPS to keep it.

Xman is that large of a charge normal? What's the justification behind it?

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Yeah, it's nuts. "Paperwork" or some =µ†#@:rant:ƒµ¢<!ñ:rant:$#!†:rant:excuse.
ALWAYS SHIP USPS, PLEASE! (how's it go? "neither rain nor sleat nor . . "what?)

X