Thread: 12,000 grit specialty stone

Originally Posted by k5MOW

OK I am thinking about doing the sandpaper idea. What grit wet dry sandpaper should I get.

Thanks Roger

I use 320. I glue it down and use it for a long time.

Wet\dry sandpaper on a piece of tile, glass or even a flat counter top will work since your not going to need to flatten the stone to much. Wetting the back of the sandpaper will hold it in place, but I've used double sided tape on the two long edges to hold it. The Naniwa stones are pretty easy to lap. The DMT can be expensive for occasional use, but if you start getting into bevel setting and that the diamond plates are invaluable. My Norton lapping stone sits on a shelf collecting dust since it takes more effort keeping it flat than it does to other stones.

One more question on the 12,000 grit specialty stone. Do they need flatting right out of the box? Do they come flat?

Roger

Originally Posted by k5MOW

One more question on the 12,000 grit specialty stone. Do they need flatting right out of the box? Do they come flat?

Roger

They do need to be lapped a bit out of the box, even if they are flat the surface needs some conditioning.

Originally Posted by bluesman7

They do need to be lapped a bit out of the box, even if they are flat the surface needs some conditioning.

This. Every hone I have has needed some degree of flattening. Norton, Shapton, Naniwa, I think the one exception were the Welsh slates I got from AJ. He had them pretty well flat and I only needed to condition one side.

I didn't try the Naniwa or Shapton surfaces to see if they had a similar skim coat of material to Norton hones that needs be done away with to get to the good stuff, but I assume they're better after a little prep and break in. I find that's the case in most every aspect of razor honing. The prep work and break in are the foundations of success.

Thank you all very much for the info. I lapped The specialty stone with 400 grit sandpaper and a piece of glass. Worked great.

Thank you all very much for the info. I lapped The specialty stone with 400 grit sandpaper and a piece of glass. Worked great.

Roger

Does it make sense, to get a 15000 grid stone as well?

What grid of stones would you recommend, in order to get a cheap razor to shave ready?

Originally Posted by Neunerball

Does it make sense, to get a 15000 grid stone as well?

What grid of stones would you recommend, in order to get a cheap razor to shave ready?

Personally I have and will continue to maintain that until you can get a CCC shave (Clean-Close-Comfortable) shave off of an 8K hone your pouring money down a rat hole by buying a finer grit hone.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If I were to drop and break my Naniwa 12, or any of my other finishing hones and didn't have the funds to replace them I could live off of my Norton 8K edge for the rest of my life. However if I were to drop and break that Norton--I'd eat peanut butter sandwiches 3 times a day while I saved up the funds for a new one. And that the truth!

Originally Posted by cudarunner

Personally I have and will continue to maintain that until you can get a CCC shave (Clean-Close-Comfortable) shave off of an 8K hone your pouring money down a rat hole by buying a finer grit hone.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If I were to drop and break my Naniwa 12, or any of my other finishing hones and didn't have the funds to replace them I could live off of my Norton 8K edge for the rest of my life. However if I were to drop and break that Norton--I'd eat peanut butter sandwiches 3 times a day while I saved up the funds for a new one. And that the truth!

Exactly this! I've gotten stellar shaves off of that Norton 8k; I don't know if it makes any difference that I have one of the old/good ones that are supposed to be superior to later ones produced overseas. Roy and many others of us consider that (or its Naniwa equivalent, which has kind of eclipsed it in popularity on the forums as many consider it a better hone) to be the benchmark. "Do not pass go" with all of the fancy higher-grit synthetics or exotic naturals until you can nail it consistently on the 8. Heck, for that matter, I've gotten some incredible shaves off of just my Chosera 1k after maxing it out and following up with some judicious stropping. It's all just hobbyist-level obsessing beyond a certain point (but isn't that part of the fun?!).

Having said all of this, my current go-to finish is generally a Naniwa 12 followed by some work on an Arkansas progression on WD-40, then sealing the deal with a progression on my vintage shell strops.