Strange Norton stone :hmmm:

[superfly]

Look what Norton sent to me, when I ordered a 4/8K combo!! Should I return it??



actually, I took my Norton stone to a stone mason this morning, and he split it in half. It was the 3" hone to start with, now it's 2x1.5". Well, actually a bit smaller, the diamond coated saw was around 1/4" in width. It made an wasy job cutting the stone, it looked like the saw didn't even noticed the hone was there, lol...

I know some of you guys want slimmer Norton stone, and Kelly already cut his (but not lenght wise), so I encourage you to do it...

cheers,
Nenad

edit: the pics were supposed to be the other way round...

[Russel Baldridge]

Neat!

That's is VERY strange, I can't even think of a good reason to manufacture a hone in that manner.

[ChrisL]

Although I sold my Nortons some time ago, I've actually thought about getting a narrow Norton 4000 and 8000. toolsforworkingwood.com sells 1.5" wide Nortons they rip down the center just like you did. I have plenty of narrow higher grit naturals for warped blades but no narrow lower grit stones. Your guy you took yours to did a great job on the clean cut. You'll get good use out of those narrow stones.

Chris L

[randydance062449]

Ha! I just spoke with you this morning on Skye and you already have this done! Good job!

I would send you my hone but you live in Skopje Macedonia so the postage would be a bit high.

Guys... Nenad is a long time member here and has done some very good graphics for us in the past. I think he said that he has about 25 razors now. This morning, about 3 AM my time, we were discussing our preference for narrow hones and also different shaped hones. Now I have to take time to get my Norton combo hone cut down. I have wanted to do that for a long time. I like those hones!

[Philadelph]

That's a great job you had done Nenad! It occured to me just now that
1. I prefer narrow hones,
2. They seem more effective when honing since you are almost forced to use the X,
3. It will save on wear- when lapping, you will only really lap half of the hone and the other half will be uneffected as long as you haven't used it!

Now where to find a stone mason...

[superfly]

Thanx guys, I see you like my new hones...

I have use them today, and I must say they are way more effective than the wider hone. They feel bit akward to use, because of their thickness, but it's a matter of habit.

There are two more options with these stones: Separating the hones grit wise, but given the thickness, I think that would be a waste of material, and plus you would have to glue them on something, like a tile or so, in order to give them more stabiliy, ana second,
sawing them in half, making 4x4" stones. This is actually a good idea, since it will force more agressive X pattern, not allowing the middle of the blade to spend much time on the hone, thus allowing the formation of a frown... The 8" norton is too long for a razor hone, I think...

don't be afraid to cut yours

cheers,
Nenad

[randydance062449]

The 8" norton is too long for a razor hone, I think...

As you and I discussed a few minutes ago I think your right. Now its time to play with different shapes and lengths of hones to get a hone where the razors heel and toe stay on the hone longer than the middle of the razor. That will result in "smile" shape to the razors edge profile.

Guys, ...Nenad and I were discussing the shape of a scythe stone. The idea I had been playing around with for a few months was a hone about 1" wide on both ends and 2" or 3" in the center. Then measuring the distance that the heel, toe and middle of the razor would be on the hone during a lap. Shortly after that Nenad realized that the length of his hone was giving him a problem.
So now it iis time to do some drawing and measuring and design a better razor hone.

[randydance062449]

I may just end up with a hone size like the classic old natural stones.
1.25" x 5". The old timers had just as much smarts as we do now.Plus they had many years of experience.

[superfly]

Well, honing with the new narrower hone, I realized that I have put a frown in the edge of one of my softer steel blades in just 10 minutes. That makes me think that the middle of the razor is spending too much time on the stone, equal pressure given.

I also think that the best razor hone is sized 1.25"x5", or even 1.25x4". I would say that the size evolved with years, and that the hones were made that way because that is the ideal size for razor, and not lack of materials, as was previosely argued when discussing the same topic (which is not new, more info can be found if searching).

Next, I am gonna limit the honing surface on my new 1.5 inch wide Norton hone to 4 or 5 inches in lenght, and see how it goes. I already did this in the past, progressing from the Lithide hone (around 5" in lenght), to the Norton yellow, using the same stroke on the Norton as I was using on the Lithide hone.

Nenad

[Philadelph]

Nenad, will you post your results of using the Norton 1.25 x 5"? I'm curious if it will solve your problem. It never occured to me that longer hones could cause a frown but I can see where the problem may arise.