Thread: The Question of hone flatness

So should I be paranoid about this?I followed Nortons/Lynns intructions on the 220/1k&4/8 I lapped them flat with a pencil grid and paper.Over 5 years I've honed or retouched 10 razors,all bevels and spines look even.But do the stones need relapped?Oh hell I'm gonna do it again just to make sure they are flat!

I use all 10 razors and shave 3 times a week?

If the hones are flat they will re lap with very little material removal.

Originally Posted by Zemke

So should I be paranoid about this?I followed Nortons/Lynns intructions on the 220/1k&4/8 I lapped them flat with a pencil grid and paper.Over 5 years I've honed or retouched 10 razors,all bevels and spines look even.But do the stones need relapped?Oh hell I'm gonna do it again just to make sure they are flat!

I use all 10 razors and shave 3 times a week?

Heck, If the razors are shaving you well and you are using the hones in the same way, it seems that it is not necessary. I have, and have seen, many really dished hones that obviously were used till they were no longer needed.
If the quality of your edges goes down, then I would consider a re-lapping and then re- honing the razors.
Just my take on it, and... I am the one that always over-thinks and over precisions things!
~Richard

Originally Posted by rhensley

Where can I find this elusive cleanser. where I live I shop at Walmart Kroger's the usual places and I haven't found it. do I need to go the nearest bar . just joking but I have looked.

Comet or ajax cleanser will do the same thing.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Comet or ajax cleanser will do the same thing.

Thanks I have comet.

I subscribe to the theory of mostly flat. So long as I don't let the hones get a saddle in the middle, they usually do fine.

Naniwa Select for me, don't need much water. I never soak them. Just spray till water pools up and use them. Then after a dozen razors or so, clean with a diamond plate lightly under running water and put them up til the next use.

Have fun.

Originally Posted by Lynn

I subscribe to the theory of mostly flat. So long as I don't let the hones get a saddle in the middle, they usually do fine.

Naniwa Select for me, don't need much water. I never soak them. Just spray till water pools up and use them. Then after a dozen razors or so, clean with a diamond plate lightly under running water and put them up til the next use.

Have fun.

Thanks feller. I just got through watching your video on the subject. I guess mine were not that bad the 1K had a little rise in the center going the length of the stone. when I held a straight edge across the stone I could see some light under the edge on both sides of that little hump. the other stones were really quite good. I probably will order a new diamond plate I'm going to try it one more time and decide. Oh and it seems like this winter i'm wearing your videos out. you should charge royalties.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Comet or ajax cleanser will do the same thing.

No they won't either. Bar Keeper's Friend contains oxalic acid. Neither Ajax nor Comet have this ingredient. It's an important one for our purposes as it dissolves steel and make it easy to loosen up and wash away. It also helps majorly to make the cleaner more effective with a lot of other stains, like rust.

Originally Posted by eKretz

No they won't either. Bar Keeper's Friend contains oxalic acid. Neither Ajax nor Comet have this ingredient. It's an important one for our purposes as it dissolves steel and make it easy to loosen up and wash away. It also helps majorly to make the cleaner more effective with a lot of other stains, like rust.

Dissolves steel? I bet that stuff is hard on the plumbing in some older houses. Galvanized steel pipes. I wonder if it will harm the pipes?

I wouldn't think so. When used as a cleanser it's pretty much full strength with just enough water to form a paste. Once it gets washed down the drain with running water it would be pretty dilute. Even when it's a concentrated paste it's not like you can witness the chemical reaction and watch the steel dissolve before your eyes or anything. The dissolving that occurs is on a pretty microscopic level - it only takes a tiny amount of reduction in the size of a steel swarf particle to make it come loose from anywhere it might be stuck/wedged.