Thread: Well I finally gave in to the Shapton alure

Hey all,

So I finally pulled the trigger on a nice set of Shapton glass stones from Tom/jendeindustries (Thanks!). I don't have much money to throw around, so had to sell a few of my hones to finance these new babies. The ones I let go (a couple of coticules, a thuringian and my norton) where ones that I won't need anymore and I'm still left with a nice 8x2 coticule, a little y/g escher, a chinese "12k" stone and my Nakayama. Oh, any my DMT D8C and DMT D6EF.

Up to now I've used a hybrid system of honing and not that it didn't work, but I always did want one "system" of hones. I used to use: DMT 1200, Norton 4000, Norton 8000, then coticule/ y/g escher / nakayama to finish.

Well soon I will have the perfect system of doubling grits: 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, 8000, and 16000. I cannot wait to try them out! I know I won't need the 500 much, but it'll be nice to have in case I need more serious work. The 2000 isn't that necessary either, but it would not be an ellogant system of doubling grits without it!

So I will of course shave straight of the 16k and see how that feels, and then do some laps on the Nakayama to see how that compares. I still like the idea of finishing with a natural stone like a Nakayama, but I want to see how the edge off of the 16k compares. If I prefer the Nakayama edge (which I hope I will since I love it!) I may try to just skip the 16k and go to the Nakayama straight from the 8k, since O_S always states you do not need to go any higher than 8k before the Nakayama, and see how that edge compares.

I can do the same test with my coticule and little escher, but since I've gotten the Nakayama I don't really bother with them much since I know the Nakayama will always win! (Also a reason why I don't regret selling some stones )

I didn't go for the stone holder or the DGLP since I think both aren't totally necessary. I have a well broken in DMT D8C that I will use for lapping, and I bought some nice little rectangular rubber feet (used to put on the bottom of objects to provide grip to a surface) that should stick solidly to the glass bottom and will add another 8mm to the height of the hones. I can easily hone at that additional height with the stone at the edge of my counter.

Anyways, I just thought I would share my new purchase and I've picked up a few more ebay razors to sacrifice to the Shapton gods. I still have my DMT 1200/600 if a razor if being a real pain in the rear to set a bevel. I haven't honed too many razors so far, but I feel satisfied that I have a complete honing system (granted I like the Shaptons which I really have no doubt of) that can tackle any scenario.

Thanks for reading! I wasn't going to share my new purchase, but I feel like sharing tonight.

Happy Honing