Thread: Help me with my Norton

Ya i guess ill get something MEANT fpr lapping tomorrow to make sure thats not the issue. But one thing i dont with the pencil grid technique is, what if my stone isnt flat then draw the grid... if i remove all the marks all that means in my head is i removed an even layer but i dont know that my stone itself is true
just a thought

Edit: thanks for the input, i appreciate it.

You are not trying to " remove" the grid. Draw the grid run your lapping plate/block on the Norton. After 10 strokes if you look at the grid you will be able to see which high spots in the stone you are hitting.

You want to run 8s not in one spot at a time but as much or all of the stone at a time. Assuming you have chosen a flat plate, when the grid
is gone your stone is flat

Originally Posted by JTmke

You are not trying to " remove" the grid. Draw the grid run your lapping plate/block on the Norton. After 10 strokes if you look at the grid you will be able to see which high spots in the stone you are hitting.

You want to run 8s not in one spot at a time but as much or all of the stone at a time. Assuming you have chosen a flat plate, when the grid
is gone your stone is flat

Ya thats probably my issue. Like i said i need to get something more meant for lapping. But side-note, could it be thar i havent taken enough initally off? I just took enough off to where it didnt feel too grainy.

Originally Posted by JTmke

You are not trying to " remove" the grid. Draw the grid run your lapping plate/block on the Norton. After 10 strokes if you look at the grid you will be able to see which high spots in the stone you are hitting.

You want to run 8s not in one spot at a time but as much or all of the stone at a time. Assuming you have chosen a flat plate, when the grid
is gone your stone is flat

I would say that you are trying to remove the grid. By drawing a grid you will identify the low lying points on your hone - the only way to get down to these is by removing all the surrounding material. When you have done this your hone should be flat.

By the way, if you have some remaining pencil marks at the ends of you stone - don't worry as it's quite common for synthetic stones to taper slightly at the very ends.

Not a great big deal. Clean off the grid once it's loaded (you can rub the stone against any other stone you have and just rinse the surface of the finer stone after you do that) and continue to hone until you are done. Use x strokes (or circles) so that the whole edge of the razor is done evenly.

You started theread by saying you're a newbie honer - no-one has yet asked the question as to how new are you to using a straight razor?

The reason I raise this is that if you are inexperienced with straight razors generally, then why are you even trying to hone one?

Get to use one, learn about stropping, then get better at using your razor, then get better at stropping and then, if you decide you like it - and only then, think about hones.

Originally Posted by UKRob

You started theread by saying you're a newbie honer - no-one has yet asked the question as to how new are you to using a straight razor?

The reason I raise this is that if you are inexperienced with straight razors generally, then why are you even trying to hone one?

Get to use one, learn about stropping, then get better at using your razor, then get better at stropping and then, if you decide you like it - and only then, think about hones.

Again.. like i said. I have more than one razor and the main one i SHAVE with i only strop and will send out for hones. But why not learn to hone now? Especially if it a blade im not needing to shave with?

Edit: i meant that by i have and used to hone a lot of knives so i have the concept pretty well but straights are a new beast.

Originally Posted by UKRob

I would say that you are trying to remove the grid. By drawing a grid you will identify the low lying points on your hone - the only way to get down to these is by removing all the surrounding material. When you have done this your hone should be flat.

By the way, if you have some remaining pencil marks at the ends of you stone - don't worry as it's quite common for synthetic stones to taper slightly at the very ends.

Maybe I was not clear enough. What I mean is do not try to remove the grid a spot at a time. You need the whole stone flat. Sanding one spot to get rid of the grid is not going to work. I draw a grid and test the stone after 10 strokes. Keep checking it. Wipe of the grid and draw a new one. Keep sanding until the stone is flat.