Norton vs. hacksaw: results

Hey all,

I've realized that I much prefer narrow stones to wider ones. So I decided to cut my Norton stones in two.... Since I don't have any fancy power saws and such, I decided to just settle on a vice and a hacksaw. I did this with my 220/1000 stone, and since it turned out so great I'm going to do the same for my 4000/8000 one.

1)The first pic is of my prep work, just with the stone marked and ready to go!
2)The second is half way through the process, I just kept working my way around all 4 sides of the stone, gradually sawing my way throught it!
3)The third picture was my happiest moment, since I finally have 2 stones!
4)The last pictures is after I smoothed out all the edges and made them all nice and pretty using my little norton diamond hone.

It didn't take too long, probably 2 hours from start to very finish. It was definitely worth it, and I am VERY happy with the results. :D It ended up dulling 3 saw blades...but that's what I expected. I have a feeling my 4000/8000 stone cutting will be much harder, so I think I should stock up on saw blades before I start that project! Hope you enjoyed,

Dave

Nice looking finished product.

I'd probably do it by hand too, even though I have all sorts of power tools. Thinner kerf and less waste of expensive stone.

Just curious as to why you like your stones narrower?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aroliver59

Just curious as to why you like your stones narrower?

---

I just find I have more control: It's easier to focus on a particular area of a razor if there are imperfections (i.e. slight warp), and it's just easier to hold while honing! Also, I feel the entire razor edge gets more fair treatment. What I mean by this is that if you do the X pattern on a 3" hone the middle gets a LOT of work while the heel and toe only get a bit per every stroke. But on a narrow hone the amount of contact each area of the blade has on the stone is more evenly distributed. Does that make any sense?? I just find the narrow ones easier to use, but that's obviously just my preferrence.

Dave

Good job ! :bow

good job for sure!! i recently bought a narrow chinese 12k stone from Chris L and really like the size. i also like the idea that if i cut my 4/8k and 220/1k nortons i then have twice the hones and potentially double what i paid for (i know the narrower it is the faster it may wear but whatever). i am seriously considering cutting mine just like you did. which hacksaw blades did you use (aluminum type or metal) and did it take 2 hours of continuous cutting? or did that include the lapping and cleaning up of the edges like round and such (nice job by the way)? also what did you use for the smoothing of the corners? lapping stone or paper or other hone? thanks for all the info you feel like giving and again good job.

Nice work, I enjoy the photos!

Hey all again,

I was on a roll tonight, so I did the same thing to my 4000/8000 stone! It was harder to do as suspected.... Almost everything went smoothly until a little chip broke up on the 8000 side! It was a couple of millimeters deep, so I spent a bit of time lapping the surface of that half of the stone when I was finished. I got the chip out, and although the stone is a bit thinner, no trace of a chip! Other than that there was no problem, just a bit of work and I suspect I'll be a little sore tomorrow!

Chee16, to answer your questions I used a blade that says "Carbon Steel" on it. Not sure if that would be the best choice, but it seemed to work for me.:) I used my norton diamond hone (I'm sure it's just like a DMT), which is 325 grit I believe, to do my lapping and the rounding of the edges. There's a pretty clear view of it in the next picture. And it took me a couple of hours INCLUDING all the lapping, cleaning up and such. It only took me about an hour and a half (I started not long after posting the results from my 220/1000!) to do my 4k/8k, including all the lapping and such. Here's the final pic of my new two stones!

Thank you all for all the kind words, :bow

Dave

THose look awesome!

Nicely done.
Some like narrow, other like wide... to each his own.
The nice thing is now that you can sell one half and recuperate a part of the cost of your norton.

Flipping a hone on it's side is only practical if the hone is a single grit. It seems that most people with Nortons have the two sided hones so frequently recommended here.