Thread: Norton 8k = ~5k JIS?

I have heard that Norton 8k is more like 5k JIS (Japanese industrial standard). Any truth in this? And if so, as a recommendation for newbs, perhaps one should be seeking to shave off, say, a King 6k or a Suehiro Rika 5k as an equivalent to shaving off a Norton 8k?

Guess you would have to give it a try.

What is your source of information??

There have been previous threads about different manufacturers' various grit scales and I think I remember at least one grit conversion table here, but I'm not able to find it.
Maybe someone else can find it.

There is an old thread in the archives that the author went through the trouble of contacting Norton to find that it is an 8k JIS

I have dug it out multiple times over the last ten years, nearly every time this same question comes up have fun with your search..

PS: You will get tons of response that what you posted is the truth because it has been parroted from the Grit conversion tables nearly a million times

Hone and Shave off a King 6k
do the same off a Naniwa SS 8k
do the same on the Norton 8k

Then tell me your opinion

I might opine that the Norton 8k would be the best shave.....In the right hands, of course!

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

I have heard that Norton 8k is more like 5k JIS (Japanese industrial standard). Any truth in this? And if so, as a recommendation for newbs, perhaps one should be seeking to shave off, say, a King 6k or a Suehiro Rika 5k as an equivalent to shaving off a Norton 8k?

This was the updated comparison chart that Smokintbird posted back in '09. Using that info, after bevel set, I did pyramids on the superstones of 3k & 5k and shaved. Seemed like 4/8 to me but it is very subjective. Might not seem like that to someone else. So as Lynn said, you have to try it and see what you think.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...tml#post446896

The really important thing to remember is that grit size is not the only factor that affects how fast or how deeply a hone cuts into steel. This is the reason Lynn said that you will have to give it a try. These tables don't tell the whole story. The binder, the grit density, and the grit friability also come into play.

The young honer says to the old honer;
"Hey old man, lets run down the hill and hone on that 5K!"

The old honer responds;
"How about we walk down the hill and hone on them all."

I don't have an opinion, as I've not tried a Norton 8000. I have tried a King 6k, King 8k, and Suehiro 6k and find that they yield usable enough edges. My question has to do with an alleged discrepancy between Norton 8000 and 8k JIS, for anyone who may have tried both and might be in a position to say whether or not they are relatively equivalent, how might the respective binders come into play, and so on.

Two underlying concerns for me are first, that various xk ratings get thrown around fairly loosely on the forums (take a natural stone being rated as xk as an immediate example--what system is being referred to there exactly, JIS?) and second, that Norton (Saint Gobain Abrasives) seems to have in-house rating scales that ignore anything else, other than perhaps a diamond-rated micron default.

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

Two underlying problems for me are first, that various xk ratings get thrown around fairly loosely on the forums (take a natural stone being rated as xk as an immediate example--what system is being referred to there exactly, JIS?)

NO natural stone EVER should be assigned a grit rating. The absurdity of the con artists selling various grits of Chinese hones and ILR hones just proves that they have no credibility at all. They are basing those ratings on scratch pattern comparisons with those of synthetic hones; but as you have noticed, there is a possibility that the grit ratings of synthetic hones may not be comparable so then the question is simple. To which synthetic hone are they making their comparison? The answer is easy, whichever one makes them seem to be of a higher grit.

Don't trust anyone who assigns a grit rating to a natural hone.