make it shave ready

[Mcrome01]

I have a couple of stamped wapis coming to me soon from ebay (open_razor) and was wondering, since I am considering purchasing one, if the Norton 4000/8000 will be the right tool for making them shave ready. If so, what is the recommended process (10 or so strokes on each side then canvas then leather stropping?)
Thanks a bunch!

[Mike_ratliff]

It will take much more than 10 strokes to set the bevel on these.
You will have to use your own judgement on weither the 8k side is fine enough for your tastes, but the most important thing is making sure you have a good bevel.
I start all of my Wapis out on a 1200 grit stone, before even touching the 4k side of a norton.

That doesn't mean you can't do it, but it will take longer on a 4000 grit stone.

It will take 30 passes at minnimum on the 4k before you will be ready to even consider the 8k side. You will need to just keep testing the blade, until it feels sharp enough. (TPT, TNT)

Expect the initial bevel setting to take you the longest, it may take 100 passes
once you have a good bevel, then you can start doing pyramids.

after you have a satisfactory edge off the 8k, I would personally still go to a finer hone or a pasted strop.

If you don't have a pasted strop, strop on newspaper, probably 200 passes... then 50 on leather.

No promises, but with my current knowledge, that is what I would try if I didn't have all of my equipment.

[FiReSTaRT]

If I were you I'd read what we have in the help files section. There's a great article on the pyramid honing method.
Also, you will need to lap the norton to make sure the surface is flat. Otherwise your results won't be so good.

[Navaja]

If you order the Norton from Howard, you can have it lapped for an extra couple of bucks