Aquanin said:
Microchipping is very atypical for a Coticule. It simply should not happen. You've been around other hones enough not to crash into the side edge of the hone, and I can't imagine you would go so overboard on pressure, that it would become a problem. Coticules are rather pressure-friendly.
That leaves 2 possibilities: the razor or the hone.
The razor: some have very brittle steel. Thiers Issards are among my favorite razors, but they do have this tendency to chip. Atlhoug this happens during the first shave and I haven't seen it immediately after honing , not after the first stropping. (All razors I hone are inspected with maginification, post honing, post stropping and post 1st shave) Adding 2 layers of tape to the spine, which augments the bevel angle 1.5 - 2 degrees, has always fixed that problem for me.
I figure you have spotted this micro-shipping issue with several different razors, which practically rules it out as a possible culprit.
That leaves us with the second possibility. You know the famous quote by Sherlock Holmes: "When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth". Hence we must consider the Coticule.
I know for fact that Ardennes takes great care to inspect the Coticules and rule out possible problematic behavior as much as humanly possible. During my last visit, I saw some Coticules laying aside, perfect sizes, ready to be cut into smaller bouts or even slurry stones, only because they showed some signs of possible problematic spots. These parts were to be trimmed off. I am almost sure I could have saved some of these whetstones from their sad destiny, by giving them a fair chance during a test. Maurice told me they couldn't be bothered. It would take too much time to do that kind of testing, and what if a slighty problematic spot became worse a bit deeper into the stone? They have a very simple policy for returning goods: if a customer is not happy, he can send his hone back and they ship another one. Even when it's bought at a reseller. No questions asked. That's their idea of standing behind their product. It would not be in their interest to sell dysfunctional Coticules.
But, they don't hone a razor on each Coticule they sell and inspect the edge with a microscope. "Most unlikely" does not equal "impossible".
Here's what I propose. If you can rule out the possibility of a "chip-prone" razor, I can arrange for you to be the first participant of our new "Hone on loan" program. I will be starting a thread about that initiative one of the next days.
You will receive a Coticule with a proven record that you can try for a month or so. Plenty of time to compare it against your own specimen. Please let me know when interested.
Kind regards,
Bart.