Thread: Norton 4k feels grainier and rougher than Chosera 1k

My Norton 4k side is grainy as well. Frankly I don't care for it. It gets the job done but it is very grainy. When I first got it, Gssixgun suggested that a LOT had to be lapped off of it to remove the gritty texture. I gave it hell with my DMT and took a good 1/8" off of it. Yeah, it's as smooth as it's gonna get until I hit the 8k side. It performs fine but it throws slurry readily and feels grittier than my SS 1k. When the time comes, I'll replace it with a different stone but I think you'll find that it's doing it's job just the same in spite of how it feels.

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

My Norton 4k side is grainy as well. Frankly I don't care for it. It gets the job done but it is very grainy. When I first got it, Gssixgun suggested that a LOT had to be lapped off of it to remove the gritty texture. I gave it hell with my DMT and took a good 1/8" off of it. Yeah, it's as smooth as it's gonna get until I hit the 8k side. It performs fine but it throws slurry readily and feels grittier than my SS 1k. When the time comes, I'll replace it with a different stone but I think you'll find that it's doing it's job just the same in spite of how it feels.

What I am worried is that even with 1/8 of an inch off, it is still more "grittier" than the Chosera 1k or the SS 1k, in which case, one should start off setting the bevel using the Norton 4k rather than any of the 1ks, and then use the 1k as the second step.

Sigh, right now, going from my Chosera 1k to the Norton 4k just feels like going "downhill" if you know what I mean.

Don't focus in on how it feels but how it's cutting. I think you'll see that that in spite of its gritty texture, it not more aggressive in the steel than the 1k. The depth of the scratches will confirm this.

What does the stria look like? If the stria is even and the edge straight, the stone is fine.

Norton’s do feel grittier compared to the Choseras.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Norton’s do feel grittier compared to the Choseras.

But they work just fine.
Buy yourself a Norton 1k and the problem will go away! I assure you the 1k will feel "grainier." The point simply is the different brands of hones feel different. I have an older US made Norton 4k and a newer mexican made 4k and they both work fine. Under the microscope they look different. I did a post about it years ago. Critically though, they work the same.

I think it's pointless to lap away a significant amount of a hone just because you don't like the way it feels. The original purpose of that lapping was to remove occasional aberrant bits of grit that hung up the blade and caused sctatches. You can hear Lynn hitting one on his DVD. The entire hone was not bad but there was a one piece of grit that needed to be lapped away.

I go from a Chosera 1K to a 4/8K Norton. I have a full Norton, Chosera and Super Stone progressions, but prefer the performance of the Norton 4/8K and the speed of the hones. I pre- finish on a 12k super stone then Naturals or film.

It is grittier, but it’s the performance I prefer of the Norton 4/8K. I never did remove much of my stones when I first lapped them years ago.

I just sent my Norton 4k/8k back for a replacement. Talked to both Woodcraft and the Norton customer service engineer about it. When I told the Norton rep that I had lapped more than half the stone thickness away and still the stone felt rougher than my Norton 220 and dulled every razor it touched he told me that the stone was obviously defective and to send it back for a replacement. the new one should be delivered today. I'll report back after I lap it. This time, I won't spend four hours lapping, I just ask for a refund and buy different 4k and 8k stones.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

I go from a Chosera 1K to a 4/8K Norton. I have a full Norton, Chosera and Super Stone progressions, but prefer the performance of the Norton 4/8K and the speed of the hones. I pre- finish on a 12k super stone then Naturals or film.

It is grittier, but it’s the performance I prefer of the Norton 4/8K. I never did remove much of my stones when I first lapped them years ago.

The reason you did not have to lap it down much, could it be because your Norton 4k/8k was not made in Mexico?

Also, how is your experience of going from the Chosera 1k to 4k/8k Norton?

Originally Posted by Utopian

But they work just fine.
Buy yourself a Norton 1k and the problem will go away! I assure you the 1k will feel "grainier." The point simply is the different brands of hones feel different. I have an older US made Norton 4k and a newer mexican made 4k and they both work fine. Under the microscope they look different. I did a post about it years ago. Critically though, they work the same.

I think it's pointless to lap away a significant amount of a hone just because you don't like the way it feels. The original purpose of that lapping was to remove occasional aberrant bits of grit that hung up the blade and caused sctatches. You can hear Lynn hitting one on his DVD. The entire hone was not bad but there was a one piece of grit that needed to be lapped away.

If there are tiny air pockets/valleys/dips on the surface of the Norton 4k, wouldn't it cause small chips on the edge of the blade as you are honing it?

No. They are holes, not bumps. Consider them as negative honing spaces.