Thread: Why lapping film rules

It is a lot less than buying hones and a lapping plate. Theres a guy named seraphim who posts here. He obviously knows alot about this. You could get a dmt extra fine(1200 grit) to set bevels and then use lapping film from there. Get a piece of flat glass or marble/granite tile. Im only repeating what I have read. I have used al/ox lapping film. IMO it works. I have used it for touching up a few razors. A little more convenient, no soaking of stones and no lapping. And I keep the setup next to my shaving area. I got granite tile at home depot, they cut it into 3x6 inches for no charge so I have 4 flat bases for 5 bucks.I just had to use dmt to smooth the edge a little. Cut the film and your done.

Originally Posted by brooksie967

I didn't take the time to read the whole thread so I apologize if this has been answered already. How cost effective is this method of honing? How durable is the lapping film and is it really a noticeably better shave than the hones that are out there?

It costs about $30 for an assortment of film and a tile. Film lasts a while, honing a razor uses maybe 25¢ of film. I have been getting really good feedback from the shave ready razors I have been selling. Some info here How to hone straight razors with lapping film

It is an inexpensive way to hone if you dont have hones. If you do have hones, it probably is not necessary. You can get a blade very sharp and shave ready on norton 1k,4/8 and naniwa 12k, then crox or pasted strops. Its very good, but you dont absolutely need it.

Originally Posted by eod7

It costs about $30 for an assortment of film and a tile. Film lasts a while, honing a razor uses maybe 25¢ of film. I have been getting really good feedback from the shave ready razors I have been selling. Some info here How to hone straight razors with lapping film

If you finish on a .1 micron lapping film, it seems to me that stropping would probably not be necessary or maybe even be detrimental to the edge. I have never tried that but you guys are more experienced with this. So strop after .1 micron or not?

No mater what honing media you finish on when you think the razor is done do a shave test. If the edge is sharp enough but not as smooth as you like try ~20 lapps on a plain leather strop, then another shave test. Repeat the plain leather stropping and testing until you get to ~100 if it still is not smooth try ~10 passes on crox then ~20 on plain leather followed by another shave test. Repeat the plain leather strop and test routine until satisfied.

Once you are satisfied with your edge finish your shave and enjoy your accomplishment.

Jonathan

Originally Posted by Datsots

No mater what honing media you finish on when you think the razor is done do a shave test. If the edge is sharp enough but not as smooth as you like try ~20 lapps on a plain leather strop, then another shave test. Repeat the plain leather stropping and testing until you get to ~100 if it still is not smooth try ~10 passes on crox then ~20 on plain leather followed by another shave test. Repeat the plain leather strop and test routine until satisfied.

Once you are satisfied with your edge finish your shave and enjoy your accomplishment.

Jonathan

I was asking if using lapping film at .1 micron would you still have to strop after. CROX is .5 micron. The finest film is .1 micron. I was curious if the .1 micron is finer than the bridle strop and would actually dull it even with good stropping technique. I guess I will have to try it tomorrow. Does anybody know what the strop grit would be then? I know it just smooths the blade but has to count for something as hht test is always better after stropping.

Originally Posted by Datsots

No mater what honing media you finish on when you think the razor is done do a shave test. If the edge is sharp enough but not as smooth as you like try ~20 lapps on a plain leather strop, then another shave test. Repeat the plain leather stropping and testing until you get to ~100 if it still is not smooth try ~10 passes on crox then ~20 on plain leather followed by another shave test. Repeat the plain leather strop and test routine until satisfied.

Once you are satisfied with your edge finish your shave and enjoy your accomplishment.

Jonathan

If the razor passes the shave test off the .1 film then no but if it doesn't plain leather can smooth and sharpen the razor. Without a SEM (scanning electron microscope) it is impossible to quantify which is finer. However you can judge for your self on which leaves the razor feeling sharper, you just have to try both. After all how you finish your razor is all about what you want the razor to feel like. I would not expect the effective grit level of plain leather to be lower than any lapping film.

Jonathan

Thanks for the advice, I will shave with 2 different full hollows, both 6/8 that I have that shave the same. I will use one for one side stropped and the other on the other side unstropped. I will touchup both on the 12 k then .5 diamond and .1 diamond film.

Originally Posted by bill3152

Thanks for the advice, I will shave with 2 different full hollows, both 6/8 that I have that shave the same. I will use one for one side stropped and the other on the other side unstropped. I will touchup both on the 12 k then .5 diamond and .1 diamond film.

Itouched up a recently honed blade on .1 micron diamond film. Before the strop, I did the fools pass on one side atg, then stropped for 50 and did the other side. No difference in the feel or closeness. Both sides bbs. I then did the whole shave atg. Touched up on the chin though. 1 pass atg and my face is 90-95% bbs neck is about 75%. I will try this with a blade finished on crox to see the difference, before and after strop. Since the strop didnt hurt the shave, after tomorrow I will just always strop as I have before. Just want to experiment for a day here. Thanks for listening.