Thread: Chinese 12K as a Dressing Stone

Originally Posted by Leighton

Not to rain on your parade or anything but... Isn't sandpaper even cheaper?

I bought my Chinese 12k to sharpen razors, not smooth out scratch patterns on hones, so it was free for me!
I probably wouldn't buy one just for that purpose, though.

If you can keep your Shaptons flat with the C12k then it must be working. I would not have thought it would cut fast enough to be practical for that purpose, but I don't have one, so there.

Back before I had lapping stones, I used barber hones to do the job. It was very slow, but it worked. More recently, I was lapping with a coarse DMT, and I took out the remaining scratches with a Swaty. So long as everything is non-porus and you're not getting grit embedded in stones, I don't see why not.

And in the long run it should be cheaper than sandpaper, since the stones will take quite some time to "run out."

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Back before I had lapping stones, I used barber hones to do the job. It was very slow, but it worked. More recently, I was lapping with a coarse DMT, and I took out the remaining scratches with a Swaty. So long as everything is non-porus and you're not getting grit embedded in stones, I don't see why not.

And in the long run it should be cheaper than sandpaper, since the stones will take quite some time to "run out."

For what it worth, I cut grooves in my 12k like a Norton flatening stone and lapped it with an Extra coarse DMT and chamfered ALL edges. I have been flatening my Shapton 16000, 12000 and my Norton 8000. The 12k leaves the surface on the polishing stones better than any other method I have used and it does so with cosiderable speed. I believe the mode of how it works is because the 12k is so hard relative to the other stones. So as many of us would LOVE to flatten with a fine DMT we now know that would quickly destroy the Nickel binder. I believe the 12k once flat will stay that way for a long time and only need an occasional lap to keep it true. By the very nature of these finer water stones, I always like to keep them optimum but not to wear them down so fast, so for the price of the 12k give it a try, it works for me and it can work for you!
Even if you flatten with a DGLP I believe the "12k Lapper" will give your polishing stone that etra finese that will afford more effective abrasive to bevel contact.
Mike

Originally Posted by Kingfish

For what it worth, I cut grooves in my 12k like a Norton flatening stone and lapped it with an Extra coarse DMT and chamfered ALL edges. I have been flatening my Shapton 16000, 12000 and my Norton 8000. The 12k leaves the surface on the polishing stones better than any other method I have used and it does so with cosiderable speed. I believe the mode of how it works is because the 12k is so hard relative to the other stones. So as many of us would LOVE to flatten with a fine DMT we now know that would quickly destroy the Nickel binder. I believe the 12k once flat will stay that way for a long time and only need an occasional lap to keep it true. By the very nature of these finer water stones, I always like to keep them optimum but not to wear them down so fast, so for the price of the 12k give it a try, it works for me and it can work for you!
Even if you flatten with a DGLP I believe the "12k Lapper" will give your polishing stone that etra finese that will afford more effective abrasive to bevel contact.
Mike

Well, I read this thread and due to recently lapping some of my stones and deciding not to use my dmt1200 anymore, I figured I would try what Kingfish(Mike) has already done. I modified one side of my Chinese 12k a bit to look like a Norton lapping plate and must admit that it works very well.