If a defect is bad enough to cause damage, it is more likely to do it by jarring the stylus loose from the shank than any other way. (Yes, I've heard of it happening, once to a Grado, and once to a Koetsu, no less.) Anyone who plays a record with that kind of obvious defect deserves the result.
When do records damage a stylus
I hope this is not a dumb question. How bad does a record have to be before it damages your stylus? I have a bunch of old records. Most of them are in very good shape. Some have ticks and pops even after I clean. Some have some scratches that don't make the music skip but you can here a pop, pop, pop when the stylus hits there until it gets past the scratch. Everybody talks about hear some pops but how bad before you do damage to the stylus? I can't afford to replace all of my records but I can't afford to replace my stylus either.