Thread: Anyone use this stone?

Originally Posted by JustN

Also I bet lapping this stone with the flattening stone that came with my Norton wouldn't be a good idea. I don't own a diamond plate yet.

Don't try the Norton Stone - you're far better finding a *flat* (i.e. not kinda flat but truly flat) surface and some wet/dry sandpaper to lap these guys. I found a marble tile from Home Depot or equivalent did the trick. The diamond plates are perfect for lapping, but not necessary.

But however you do it, lapping these are essential. That's true of all hones, but from what I've heard especially true for the PHIGs since quality control varies somewhat.

+1 to the advice re the gent in Poland who sells them if he still is. That's where I bought mine and I was very happy with it. It is also true that these stones are a bit of a crap shoot. Some - like mine - turn out to be excellent finishers while others just simply aren't.

Also, IMHO it would not be worth the savings to buy a portion of one of these stones. They are so (relatively) inexpensive that it makes sense to me to hold off until you can get the full size version. It will make your job easier and the process of finishing much more enjoyable I support Whipped Dog and think Larry's a top guy, but the 1/4 hone just doesn't make sense to me when the full size ones are within reasonable reach. Why pay $15 for a 2x4 stone when you can get the full 2x8 one for $25? Just my opinion.

Sand paper works as a good replacement for a diamond stone for lapping. I found that these are not to hard to lap either, of course I have lapped more arkansas stones then any other type of stone so pretty much everything else is super quick and easy

I ordered the stone just a short time ago off of Amazon along with a jewlers glass 40x. Hopefully will be easier and more convienient than my microscope. I hope the stone works out for my finishing stone.

Originally Posted by Cangooner

Don't try the Norton Stone - you're far better finding a *flat* (i.e. not kinda flat but truly flat) surface and some wet/dry sandpaper to lap these guys. I found a marble tile from Home Depot or equivalent did the trick. The diamond plates are perfect for lapping, but not necessary.

Ditto here. Marble tile left over from house projects and varying levels of grit can lap most stuff. I even used it to progressively lap a really hard barber hone from 600 up to 2500. Tiles fit quite nicely in the bottom of a since, counter, wherever.

Originally Posted by JustN

I ordered the stone just a short time ago off of Amazon along with a jewlers glass 40x. Hopefully will be easier and more convienient than my microscope. I hope the stone works out for my finishing stone.

Bookmark this thread and use it as a reference link for yourself[emoji2]

When you say marble tile to you mean ceramic tile that looks like marble?
Marble tile appears to cost way more than the stone lol.
I'm browsing around online today looking for items that may be flat enough to lap my stone. The tile sounds good, but unless I use polished ceramic they seem to be expensive.

2nd - What grit sandpaper should I use to lap a stone that I want to use for finishing?

Originally Posted by JustN

When you say marble tile to you mean ceramic tile that looks like marble?
Marble tile appears to cost way more than the stone lol.
I'm browsing around online today looking for items that may be flat enough to lap my stone. The tile sounds good, but unless I use polished ceramic they seem to be expensive.

2nd - What grit sandpaper should I use to lap a stone that I want to use for finishing?

1. Doesn't matter, as long as it's dead-@ss flat. Check a hardware store near you or one which has home remodeling inventory.

2. Depends on the stone your flattening. Alot of guys here have DMT-325s which they use to lap a variety of stones. I only have experience with Naniwa synthetic stones and a variety of BH(barber hones). For the Nani SS, a piece of 400 grit or 600 grit Wet/Dry gets the job done in short order, including my Nani 12K.

Lapping on sandpaper will take a long time and lots of work.

Lose Silicon Carbide with water and a cookie sheet on flat cement with your body weight, will do it much, much quicker. Gotgrit.com, start with 60 or 80 grit and work up as high as you can.

Once flat it goes quickly, well fairly… stay on 60 or 80 till flat.

Finish on wet and dry up to 2K.

They will eat a DMT...

And buy the largest stone you can find.

JustN, check Habitat For Humanity stores, Re-Stores or recycling center/stores. Found a big marble tile for $1.00. Great places for the odd and unusual and needed at darn good prices.

Granite tiles are just as good and very flat. They run about $6 apiece at my local big box hardware stores IIRC.