Hard to clean, stand came chipped, still a nice piece of slate, could be good for engraving
I got this mostly for using as a decorative sign, however I did try it out as a serving platter as well. My biggest issue was cleaning it.Lint sticks to it like crazy. I washed it and tried to dry it with multiple things (towel, microfiber, paper towels) and they ALL left some kind of lint. Normally this isn't a big issue for me since air drying solves that problem, but part of the cleaning process involves oiling it and it is very difficult to oil without using some kind of wiping tool. I ended up using my hands and just very gently pat drying it with paper towels, but it took a lot of effort, something I don't think I will be interested in doing every time I want to use it.Next is the chalk. Cleaning the chalk off is even more difficult. It took me three washes to get it off and even then, there was a ghost image. I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong, but I couldn't get it to clean well.The stand that came with it is cute but was chipped in multiple visible places which was a bummer.I did test using it to slice cheese and it leaves a lot of scratch marks. I feel like this is normal for slate, and I think this suggests that this may actually just be a great piece for someone who is into engraving.Overall, it's a nice piece of slate. Just not practical for me and my uses.