Is this stone cracked? Norton Translucent. New.
- Thread starter Chan Eil Whiskers
- Start date
kelbro
Alfred Spatchcock
It is most likely an inclusion but it may make it hard to sell if you decide to move it later. Some might consider it a 'second' or be concerned that it is a crack.
- Thread starter
- #63
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
such beautiful stones...
It’s not a crack it’s on both sides of the stone. I assure you the stone is solid. It’s a natural stone, it’s not a second. You can’t even feel it or nothing.
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- #66
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
I've concluded the line in mine is an inclusion. You can't feel it. It hones well. Of course, I could be wrong, but enough people more knowledgeable than me have agreed it's an inclusion.
Happy shaves,
Jim
My general thoughts on this are: if you can't feel it and it's causing no edge damage... Who cares what it is. 
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- #68
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
My general thoughts on this are: if you can't feel it and it's causing no edge damage... Who cares what it is.
I cared when it was a question of whether to keep or return the stone. The vendor said I could return it.
Now I don't care. I kept it and like it.
Happy shaves,
Jim
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- #70
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
I've used the stone several times now. It is a real great finishing stone. The more I use it the more I like it.
I have a Hard Black Arkansas, too, and like it just fine, but I believe the Hard Translucent Arkansas is my favorite of the two. Why? Don't know. Maybe it's a better finisher. Maybe it's just a better looking and cooler stone.
My razors are getting sharper and sharper, link. Some of that is because of this stone.
Happy shaves,
Jim
I have a Hard Black Arkansas, too, and like it just fine, but I believe the Hard Translucent Arkansas is my favorite of the two. Why? Don't know. Maybe it's a better finisher. Maybe it's just a better looking and cooler stone.
My razors are getting sharper and sharper, link. Some of that is because of this stone.
Happy shaves,
Jim
I think these inclusions are fairly common in Arks. I have two old Arkswith a similar thing. The lines are perfectly straight, they go through the entire stone, are white and they transmit light. They are also slightly reflective at the right angle. You can not feel them and they do not affect honing. They are totally non-toxic. They are actually present on two of my best arks. I view them similarly to manganese lines on Coticules. Perhaps they are a sign of a good stone.
Note the diagonal line in the middle of this Behr Manning Norton.
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This old butterscotch tranny has a similar thing length ways down the middle. At first I thought it was a two-tone stone. On closer inspection the two side are actually the same colour. You can see this quite clearly in the side view. The visual effect on the top face seems to be from differential light transmission on the line. This is another great stone. It actually has several of these lines in different planes.
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Maybe a vein of pure quartz instead of crypto?
Possibly. Seems like some form of stress fracture that occurred while the stone was forming which got filled in again by nature. I was a little worried at first but the lines don’t seem to be a problem at all. Mine are all non-toxic and stable.
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I decided to finish a kitchen knife on a little turkey stone and it's got an inclusion(with about 1mm depth) that runs the length of the bottom of the stone. It was a14" chef knife on a 3 ⅛" x 2" stone and I was sure I was going to hang the edge on it but it just rolled on like it wasn't the there. I can stick a fingernail in it and I've never dug it out(maybe someone did though).
I've 2 or 3 with those same lines and they were very good stones. I've not had any influence an edge at all.
I've arrived at the conclusion, that the scratches/cracks I seen on my stone is a thick line of clear quartz. Cool with me....Can't feel it.
I'm no geologist... but I can saw with the absolute authority of a know it all that these are cracks that formed millions of years ago and refilled also millions of years ago with slightly different purity material than the original stone was formed by.
See Bill Shakespeare's As You Like It for confirmation.
See Bill Shakespeare's As You Like It for confirmation.
Dang Tomo! To my nearsighted , color blind eye,,,,That beauty appears quite blue to me. What color is it really? I bet it's a shade of grey... Nice stones!
Thanks. I’ve got a soft spot for the vintage arks. The color shows up better on the indoor photo with the box. It’s a translucent grey. It’s a really cool stone.
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