Thread: Hairline Cracks SUCK!!!

I have been hand sanding a 7/8 W&B full hollow barbers notch for the last 4 weekends. It was comming along great. The blade was really starting to look pristine. I was all the way up to 800g sanding starting from 150g. Then disaster struck. I was happily sanding away using my magnetic safety jig clamped to the coffee table......(only about a foot off the ground)...when the blad suddenly came loose from the magnets. I got out of the way having learned my lesson on catching a falling razor some time ago. It clanged on the hardwood floor but looked fine. I continued sanding. After about another hour of sanding I took it over into the good light to see if I was ready to move up another grit. DOH!!!! There appeared to be a super tiny hairline crack right near the heel. I busted out my bench hone with some 1000g paper. I needed to throw a quick bevel on it to get a good look with the microscope. Sure enough that sick feeling in my belly was correct. It was indeed a crack visible on both sides of the blade, all the way up to the edge. RRRRAAAARRR! At least I only lost the 9$ I spent on it from Ebay. Next time I will take my own advice and throw a piece of carpet under my work space in case something like this happens again. Who would have thought a less than 1 foot drop to hardwood would have caused that crack.