Thread: Lapping for the first time

Hi, can i get some info please.
I am about to start honing for the first time.
I have on the way , a Shapton 1k/4k/8k/16 & DMT8-325.
Am i rite in thinking that before i start honing, i need to lap the stones.
To do this i would mark the stones with a pencil and use my DMT8 in a figure of eight pattern untill all the pencil marks have gone? Or would i just use a back n forth motion with the DMT plate?
Also should i round off the edges of the stones to prevent chipping?
Would i do all of this under running water or just wet the stones?
Thanks untold amounts

A combination of back and forth as well as figure 8 motions works well. The stones should be kept wet for this to work well, and it can be done under running water. I chamfered or rounded the side edges on all my stones. It may not make a big difference if you hone carefully, but it does make the side edges less likely to harm the razor if you make a sloppy stroke. As long as you make sure that both the stones and the DMT are really wet, it does not have to be done under running water.

If the stones are glass stones, you should be good to go. If they are not a lapping would be good. Rounding the edges is always nice. Figure 8 or back and forth will work. Definitely make sure the stones are wet and I like to use the DMT under running water with the stones I use it with. Helps cut down the sticktion.

Have fun.

must say that my shapton gs 16k was very uneven. i had to lap it quite abit

Originally Posted by Lynn

If the stones are glass stones, you should be good to go. If they are not a lapping would be good. Rounding the edges is always nice. Figure 8 or back and forth will work. Definitely make sure the stones are wet and I like to use the DMT under running water with the stones I use it with. Helps cut down the sticktion.

Have fun.

Yeh they are the glass ones..
I will try what i saw online: wet 2 of them and if they stick together without coming apart ,then they are as flat as a flat thing in a flat place

Ah, but if there's just not enough water between the stones, they'll stick together mightily and it will be quite a hassle to let them come apart. I even had that when raising a slurry on a Jnat with too little water.

Originally Posted by Laurens

Ah, but if there's just not enough water between the stones, they'll stick together mightily and it will be quite a hassle to let them come apart. I even had that when raising a slurry on a Jnat with too little water.

so how can u tell if the stones are flat or not?

Originally Posted by JOB15

so how can u tell if the stones are flat or not?

best way is to use a sandpaper on a flat hard surface or a dmt plate and draw the lines on the stones and see if all the lines disappears at the same time. i can almost guarantee that the stone is not 100% flat. its nothing you see that easy with the naked eye.

Aye, I prefer the pencil marks too. Draw them, lap until gone, draw and lap again to check, then the entire grid should disappear in just a few strokes. And don't be too scared of a not perfectly flat hone, it will still work. Often enough, old second-hand hones are not flat and the previous owners used those successfully.

Originally Posted by JOB15

so how can u tell if the stones are flat or not?

Checking with the grid and sandpaper is probably the easiest and cheapest method. I use the largest sheets of wet/dry I can find and tape the sand paper down to and old polished piece of granite countertop I had laying around. Use the motions mentioned above but turn the stone 180 every now and then to ensure a more consistent flattening process. If you have a really flat surface than this may not be a necessary step but it is still good practice!