Thread: First honing attempt isn't going to well

Alright, well first things first. I just picked up a new Norton 4/8k and niniwa 12k to learn how to hone. Razor in question is a $30 ebay razor in good condition, no cracks/pitting/rust anywhere near the edge, only a very little pitting up near the spine on one side.

Now I was able to get the 4k side of the norton flat and got all of that roughness smoothed out of the stone with very little problems. Didn't really take all that much. Now I was working on the 8k side for a great deal of time and just didn't seem like I was getting anywhere, the DMT plate did appear to be cutting properly because whenever I would pull the stone up to check on it, I could see the yellow slurry on the dmt clearly. This Norton stone just seemed to have the center of the stone be very high, could not get the corners to smooth out at all. Now after 25+ mins I decided to take a break and go work on the niniwa 12k stone. It started to do the same thing the 8k norton was. However I didn't put quite as much time into this stone, a full hour had passed since I started lapping these stones and holding the dmt plate under running water was starting to fatigue my arms, these things aren't light. So I have stopped for the night as my hands are just a bit to shaky to be trusted now.

My question is do new stones like the norton 8k and niniwa 12k take a substantial amount of time to get them flat initially? I was using very little pressure at all during this process, was using just enough to make sure the stones stayed in contact. Is more pressure normally needed? Or is this normal behavior.

I suppose ill ask if you are
#1 certain your lapping plate is flat.
#2 are you using a figure eight motion to ensure even coverage of your stones.
#3 have you lightly beveled all edges of your hones?

Marked a grid with pencil to see your progress and where the problem is? These are just some things to do ,, but time and patience is the way with razors , slow a steady grasshopper . And I thought you were talking about your first honing , which I was going to say that is typical , it takes a while to get that down too . Good luck. Ntc

Originally Posted by tcrideshd

Marked a grid with pencil to see your progress and where the problem is? These are just some things to do ,, but time and patience is the way with razors , slow a steady grasshopper . And I thought you were talking about your first honing , which I was going to say that is typical , it takes a while to get that down too . Good luck. Ntc

+ 1. There is guessing and then there is method. Going slow is great - the pencil grid takes out the guess work.

Hang in there!

The last Norton I lapped was like a banana. Concave on 4k & convex on 8k. I lapped across the centre of the 8k for a while till the ends could contact the plate evenly otherwise the plate just rocked with the shape of the stone & got nowhere.
I have also had more than one warped DMT. You need to check the plate as well.

After reading post #1 I thought maybe your stroke was too long. If your lapping plate is traveling more than 25% off the edge of your stone you may be unintentionally rocking it putting more pressure/wear on the ends.

We all see something different. I do quite a bit of lapping. I put the plug in the sink and put piece of rubber in the bottom of the sink. In it's former life the mat was either a piece of conveyer belt or a truck bed liner. I suppose any heavy piece of rubber works. I run the water into the sink until it is a couple of inches over the mat, the DMT plate goes on the mat and the hone gets rubbed on the plate. It makes for better ergonomics and the DMT stays wet and clear of slurry. Anti fatigue mats will probably work for a rubber source too. The pencil grid really is the way to find when it is flat.

Originally Posted by Blistersteel

I suppose ill ask if you are
#1 certain your lapping plate is flat.
#2 are you using a figure eight motion to ensure even coverage of your stones.
#3 have you lightly beveled all edges of your hones?

1) I'm not to certain I actually have something I know for a fact is straight, recently moved so some things are in disarray. It does not see saw on a glass. I'll see if I can come up with something to see if its perfectly flat.
2) Yes
3) I have been beveling them after I flatten them, should this be done before?

Originally Posted by tcrideshd

Marked a grid with pencil to see your progress and where the problem is? These are just some things to do ,, but time and patience is the way with razors , slow a steady grasshopper . And I thought you were talking about your first honing , which I was going to say that is typical , it takes a while to get that down too . Good luck. Ntc

Yes I have been marking the stone up, this is how I know that the corners are just not getting hit (the center seems very high)

Originally Posted by 10Pups

After reading post #1 I thought maybe your stroke was too long. If your lapping plate is traveling more than 25% off the edge of your stone you may be unintentionally rocking it putting more pressure/wear on the ends.

Well that's the opposite of what i'm seeing actually, only the center of the stone seems to be wearing down on the plate, the corners are not getting worn in at all. They still have that very rough glaze on them.


My though is that lapping these stones shouldn't take an hour or more and if I'm doing something improperly.

I do my lapping similar to the way RezDog does his. Take the plug out of the kitchen sink, lay down some anti slip drawer line Eco Grip Liner 12 in x 10 ft, White | Canadian Tire for the DMT to sit on, run a constant trickle of water on the DMT and lap the hone. I do mark the hone with a pencil grid also.

Bob

Yes it could take more than an hour. Tc