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

[JimmyHAD]

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

Really glad that Chris mentioned the narrow Nortons available at Tools for working wood. I bought a set of 1K,4K, and 8K 8"X1 1/2". I love the darn things, The feedback on them is great and I can do the rolling X more easily then with a 3" wide stone. I am having much better luck with a big Rogers wedge that has a warped blade.

[Howard]

I have cut a number of different stones to sizes requested by customers. The size most requested is 1" wide and I think that's the size on the David Polan videos. His is a coticule. In addition to David's, I've also cut belgian natural combos to one inch wide and belgian blues as well. I haven't cut a Norton yet but would be willing to do so. I've the 1k/4k and 4k/8k stones in stock.

[Philadelph]

So a couple days ago I went on a wild goose chase for someone to cut my hone. I went to a granite place which pointed me to this guys machine shop. Once I found his shop it was a strange experience. He was a crazy guy and didn't have a diamond saw but started wondering how he could cut my hone. Besides talking about his drinking problems he was thinking out loud like, "I wonder if my bandsaw could do it..."

Well, without asking he took it over to the bandsaw (large industrial metal cutting type) and started into the middle by eyeballing it. I was about to start grabbing for the hone but he said it was working. So he takes some calipers and measures a center line down the hone. He starts back at the bandsaw and luckily it seems like there is no chipping or anything- it was just very slow cutting. SO then he calls me over and says "here, just hold this with steady pressure" and lets ME cut the hone at HIS saw! Is that a liability issue or what?!? He also said to watch my fingers cause he didn't want a lawsuit. Anyway, it took a WHILE and might have even dulled his blade, who knows. In the end it worked pretty damn well though! Came out with two even sides (although roughed up along the cut) almost 1.5 inches wide each. The blade obviously didn't have as much kerf as a table saw would. I took THEM home and lapped all surfaces and am thoroughly pleased.

Would I suggest doing this? No. But hey, I think I lucked out by not coming home with my 4k/8k in pieces and am actually happier than when I started. I'll post some picks when I take some.