Thread: Lapping a Nakayama

I guess you could ask; however I doubt he stone has been stored in the way a using stone should be stored, but rather the way whole sellers store things waiting to be sold. When was it cut and stamped?- probably not yesterday.

one cuts the cord and baths a newborn, no? the gestation is over now, yes?

I completely disagree with the claim that lapping is a waste of stone. Actually, I think using a great stone with a poor surface is a waste of a stone.

When (if) you start to lap it, you will get a sense of how flat it is. If it seems fairly flat already, then don't bother going further. I lapped mine because they clearly were not flat enough for me. I probably won't need to ever lap them again in my life. They won't remain perfectly flat but they will be close enough to be perfectly functional because the wear will follow my honing path.

Well I do lap my naturals, as I couldn't live with the thought of them not being perfectly flat. But O_S has a great point about barbers 100+ years ago, as they probably didn't have perfectly flat hones.

I have chosen to lap my nakayama after seeing it wasn't as flat as it could be. I'm not saying that it's not useable now, because it clearly is. I just like to know that all my stones are as flat as can be, but that's obviously a personal preferrence. I'm a little OCD like that. But I know I'll only need to lap it once though, as I'm definitely not the type of person to lap one after every use. At least not my naturals anyways. I've lapped my norton a few times, but that's because it takes a lot more abuse and it's not so precious to me!

I will be sure to take more pictures of the kanji before hand for my record. I plan on lying a piece of 1000 grit wet/dry paper on my DMT (a known flat surface) and lapping it on that. I also have 1500 and 2000 grit that I will take it through to help smooth out the surface more.

Thanks for all the replies, it did give me some insight. Lapping a natural stone is indeed not an easy decision and is a very personal choice. I'll shut my bathroom door OLD_SCHOOL so you can't hear the nakayama scream when I lap it.

If and when I ever get one of the Nakayama stones I will lap it. I don't lap my naturals every time I use them but I do lap them when I get them. It is too bad that you have to lose the Kanji but unless it was bought as a collectible,I agree with Utopian,I would certainly lap it to get the best performance out of it.

Well it's lapped! And it's just as beautiful as before.

I took my time doing it, and rounded off the edged lengthwise as well as side of the edge by the chip a little more so it would not interfere with the surface. The stone wasn't too far off flat before, but there is a noticeable difference now. When I began lapping I could see exactly where the high/low spots but before too long it was flat. I went through a progression of grits and finished on 2000 grit wet/dry and smoothed over the bevelled edges by hand with the 2000 grit paper.

It looks really good, and I tried it out. There is a noticeable improvement in the feel when I'm honing on it, so I guess the increased flatness made a slight difference afterall. And dispite what it looks like in the picture, that dark line on the top left is not a crack, but just a dark line in the surface. There are actually more in the side on the stone, kinda pretty actually.

Anyways, I'm pleased I did it, and I think it looks great now. (I'm not the greatest picture taker....sorry)

I don't get the part about never lapping again either.

Still the stone is wearing, swarf left on the surface- I gues you could scrub it off.

A few swipes on the lap is a good thing imho.

We can see lots of old hones that were worn terribly out of flat- but we cannot talk to that guy or know if he really knew anything or not.

But we do know that the old method of lapping is stone on stone and that those who sharpen well continually for years know to keep the stone flat.

This is not specifically related to lapping but I found a Kanji online dictionary if anyone would like to take the time looking it over.

Japanese Kanji Dictionary


For instance type in Nakayama and it comes back as the correct Kanji. It could be handy at times.
http://www.saiga-jp.com/cgi-bin/dic....47977258_78321

On the subject of lapping nakayama:
So Yamashi.ta -arguably one of the most experienced experts on Japanese hones in the world- told me to use a diamond plate to lap my hones. 600 or 1000 grit is what he uses. It keeps the honing surface flat and fresh.

He laps before each honing session. I lap every couple of honing sessions, since my honing is less intensive than his. Lapping is -not- a waste of stone if you just lap until it is flat again. Because the material that is removed is typically on the surface that you don't use. If you would, then it would wear down the same as the middle of the stone.