New Belgian - CRACK!

New natural Belgian arrived yesterday!

There was a chip / corner missing but I didn't find it in the package so I decided this is how it was sent and is normal... I won't be using the corner much anyway.

I was extremely excited until I saw a long crack in the blue / purple stone. Looking from the top it's close to the perfect diagonal. On one side, the crack is as deep as the blue itself, almost to the yellow stone. On the other side there is no visible crack. I can feel the crack with my finger.

So: I know Belgians may have flaws in them and still work OK but this seems too much... Wondering if this is normal or I should talk to the seller. I am not that knowledgeable about Belgians so I don't want to contact him about something that may not be an issue at all (even though I find it hard to believe such a crack is a non-issue)

I need it
1) to sharpen razors, so if it's still usable I won't feel too bad
2) but I still would like to be able to get decent resale value if I decide to let it go without losing much...

Thanks for the advice

Thanks
Ivo

I wouldn't take it the way it arrived. Hopefully the seller has an honest return policy.

Gee Ivo,

I have just received my new natural Belgian also, and your comments have made me go and have a closer inspection of mine. You see I had mine sent to my work so the missus wouldn't find out about it, and I had not had the chance to have a good look at it.

It is now wrapped in bubble wrap inside a box inside the boot of my car, how brave is that? :)

Fortunately on close inspection it is in pristine condition, and I can't see any abnormalities.

Did you buy yours privately? I still don't have a slurry stone for mine yet, and am unsure if what ever it is I get, that I'm able to build a slurry on both sides of the natural with the same slurry stone, or indeed if I need two different grades of slurry stone. I really don't know.

Anyhow I hope yours is OK, and that you don't have to return it.

John

Quote:

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Originally Posted by izlat

New natural Belgian arrived yesterday!

There was a chip / corner missing but I didn't find it in the package so I decided this is how it was sent and is normal... I won't be using the corner much anyway.

I was extremely excited until I saw a long crack in the blue / purple stone. Looking from the top it's close to the perfect diagonal. On one side, the crack is as deep as the blue itself, almost to the yellow stone. On the other side there is no visible crack. I can feel the crack with my finger.

So: I know Belgians may have flaws in them and still work OK but this seems too much... Wondering if this is normal or I should talk to the seller. I am not that knowledgeable about Belgians so I don't want to contact him about something that may not be an issue at all (even though I find it hard to believe such a crack is a non-issue)

I need it
1) to sharpen razors, so if it's still usable I won't feel too bad
2) but I still would like to be able to get decent resale value if I decide to let it go without losing much...

Thanks for the advice

Thanks
Ivo

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The crack is unacceptable. Get a refund.

The stones sometimes have veins in them and minor imperfections. The key is that if you can feel the imperfection with your fingernail that's unacceptable, send it back. If its smooth and you can't feel anything its probably a vein or something thats very minor and polished into the stone. The only issue with that is sometimes minor cracks you can't feel can grow into larger ones that will become an issue later on so the best advice is if its a vein its OK anything else send it back.

Update:

I got my natural from Howard (The Perfect Edge) and he is going to replace it without any problems. He said he'd never ship it with the crack, so I guess it occured in transit

Wanted to say thanks to Howard and recommend him to others, who are thinking about Belgians.

Cheers
Ivo