Thread: Cutting up my Norton - blasphemy?

I have a Norton 4/8 that I have had very little success with so far. I noticed that most of the blades I have are either warped, smiling or whatever and felt unable to master the necessary gymnastics to hone them on the norton, so I got a few narrow hones and started honing in my hand. I find this much more comfortable than honing on a table, and have actually managed to get a few blades sharp.
Now I am left wondering if I would have more success if I cut a 6"x1" (My preferred size, I think) piece off the Norton, and used it in my hand.
Do you guys think this would be a wise course of action, and if so what would I use to cut the Norton?

Connor

Have you tried placing the hone on a small platform or even as Lynn described in his DVD,resting it on your thigh?

I seriously doubt you would have success attempting to "cut" a waterstone without shattering it.Such a narrow stone would also seem to be a disadvantage when you attempt to hone a blade that is correctly manufactured.

IMO, if you can manage to hone on a small stone, you should,with practice be able to use ANY sized stone.

One other guy here ripped his Norton straight down the middle to make it narrower. I forget the name of the thread, do a search. You have to find a shop that cuts granite & marble for counter tops & has the diamond-edged saws to do it with.

It's not blasphemy, but make sure that's what you really want because you can't uncut it if you change your mind. (Also remember you're going to lose 1/4" or so b/c of the width of the saw blade). I was going to do that to my Chinese waterstone (the large one--my local Woodcraft doesn't stock the small one). But then I flattened one of the sides & tries using it to hone a smiler using a rolling stroke, & decided I liked the wider surface better after all.

You could do what I did which is to sell your 4/8 in the classifieds and buy single grit Nortons 1,4 & 8. Now you merely turn the stone up on edge and you have your 1" hone. Although it isn't a major issue the 8K doesn't need to be soaked. Norton says to splash some water on it not to soak it. I find this to be very convenient. Tools For Working Wood has Norton single grit hones cut to 8 X 1 1/2 and I also bought a set of them. Very useful for smiling or warped blades but as Randy pointed out to me after I bought the narrow stones turning the 8 X 3 single grit on edge is also a way to go.

Rosco,

Call around to various tile shops or ceramic tile contractors to see who has a small tub saw and who would be willing to cut down your stone. A tub saw is a masonry cutting tool with a diamond blade that is constantly bathed in water from the tub beneath the table which holds the material being cut. Cutting your Norton would take only a few minutes per cut.

good luck,

You're not crazy for wanting to do this. Tools for Working Wood has been selling ripped Norton stones for a long time. IIRC they sell homogeneous grit Nortons ripped to 1".

Go for it if you want to.

Chris L

Superfly (Nenad) cut his Norton - search for his threads and you should be able to find it.

Since I don't use my Norton very often, but I still think it can come in handy occasionally given the chance I'd replace it with a 1/4 of it, or so. I suspect that slicing off a 1" stripe you'll probably want to keep the other 2", but if all you want is a narrow stone, I'm interested in a piece.

Originally Posted by gugi

Superfly (Nenad) cut his Norton - search for his threads and you should be able to find it.

Yep, I did that. Sliced the sucker right in the middle :P

It works better this way (for me, atleast). Offers more control of the portion of the blade I am sharpening. You can vary the pressure on different parts, and get more response this way...

What you'll get cutting the Norton is two long strips, that I am thinking of cutting width wise also...

cheers,
Nenad

http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...tone-hmmm.html

That is the thread with all the answers you need. I also cut my Norton in half as I describe in that thread. I now have two 8x1.5" 4k/8k stones. I like them plenty better than when it was whole. I just lapped all the sides after it was cut. I am also probably going to cut my 220/1k in half too.

I have a broken shapton 8000 i'd like to rip down the middle, but not right down the middle I figure to offset to get 1.5 inch plus.

I might call a tile contractor to see where they are working... tell 'em you want to see their work in progress because you need a few 1000 square feet laid
Then when you get there act like you just rolled down the street and had an epiphany while thinking about drinking the six pack you happen to have along. Otherwise they will be confused and figure a huge fee is required to think about what you're asking them to do