Wet/Dry Sandpaper

What would you recommend as a brand of wet/dry sandpaper to use for lapping stones? I've had enough of my DMT D8C so, I'm selling it and going for this option instead.

Steven

I use 3M Imperial Lapping film on a ThorLabs glass lapping plate. No complaints from me using this setup.
Regards,
Alex

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Originally Posted by nerobot

What would you recommend as a brand of wet/dry sandpaper to use for lapping stones? I've had enough of my DMT D8C so, I'm selling it and going for this option instead.

Steven

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Really? What's the problem? That seems like a step backward to me.

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Originally Posted by joke1176

Really? What's the problem? That seems like a step backward to me.

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Surprised me to when I first decided. The main reason is that I don't like the finish from the DMT when honing or lapping. When honing, it seems far too low a grit and leaves a nasty edge, and since I now have another, higher grit stone for setting bevels, don't need it for that. I don't really like the finish it gives when lapping either, and end up using 600 grit paper, on top of the DMT, to lap the hones off. I'm sure I have done all I can to ware it in, but it's just not for me. So, hopefully I can sell it far near what I got and use either granite or glass with wet/dry paper.

Also, I find it too small for lapping my Norton 8/4.

Steven

I have been using the Halfords own label product in the yellow packaging.
They go up to 1500 grit and the price is good as well. I used some much more expensive German made product, but to be honest, I couldn't tell the difference. Just remember to dust off the paper before you start in case there is any contamination on the surface. It only takes a couple of bits of grit to damage a smoothed surface.

I use whichever one that I can find the cheapest! Unlike regular sandpaper, I've not found a difference in quality of the wet/dry sandpaper. I don't have a lot of sandpaper purchasing experience, though, so maybe I've just been lucky.

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Originally Posted by nerobot

Surprised me to when I first decided. The main reason is that I don't like the finish from the DMT when honing or lapping. When honing, it seems far too low a grit and leaves a nasty edge, and since I now have another, higher grit stone for setting bevels, don't need it for that. I don't really like the finish it gives when lapping either, and end up using 600 grit paper, on top of the DMT, to lap the hones off. I'm sure I have done all I can to ware it in, but it's just not for me. So, hopefully I can sell it far near what I got and use either granite or glass with wet/dry paper.

Also, I find it too small for lapping my Norton 8/4.

Steven

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Interesting... I never got much actual honing improvement out of using high grit paper or stones for "finish" lapping. I do see your point about the size of the plate vs the Norton though.

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Originally Posted by A_S

I use 3M Imperial Lapping film on a ThorLabs glass lapping plate. No complaints from me using this setup.
Regards,
Alex

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Is the glass plate that you use the same one as near the bottom of this page?

Thorlabs.com - Fiber Polishing Supplies

I just traded my Norton lapping plate in for a granite tile and some Norton 3x sand paper. I like the finish the 150 grit leaves on my 4k/8k, but I want something a little more coarse for my 1k. I think I am going to try 80 grit paper and see if that makes a difference. It is easy to give the stones a smoother surface by lapping with a higher grit paper.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nerobot

Surprised me to when I first decided. The main reason is that I don't like the finish from the DMT when honing or lapping. When honing, it seems far too low a grit and leaves a nasty edge, and since I now have another, higher grit stone for setting bevels, don't need it for that. I don't really like the finish it gives when lapping either, and end up using 600 grit paper, on top of the DMT, to lap the hones off. I'm sure I have done all I can to ware it in, but it's just not for me. So, hopefully I can sell it far near what I got and use either granite or glass with wet/dry paper.

Also, I find it too small for lapping my Norton 8/4.

Steven

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I've had the same experience with the DMT. It leaves deep scratches in my hones, even after break-in. I'm done with it. Now I just use it as my lapping plate and cover it with sandpaper.

Jordan