I recently bought a bargain ($10) 3-line Swaty off eBay, my first! It had a sizable chip on the main face, but was pretty clean on the rear side. I figured it was worth a try at saving. So, I lapped it with a DMT XX-Coarse, then Coarse, then Extra Fine. The chip was deep, and I ended up removing over 1/16" off the main face. Before and after photos are below.

I noticed a few things. First, my understanding of 3-line Swatys was that they were about 10K - 12K grit, and were finishers. The more mint ones I've seen pictures of are shiny and deep brown. My lapped Swaty isn't shiny or deep brown, and has a noticeable "crunchyness" to it when honing, like a DMT. It feels much more aggressive than 12K. It has little silvery flecks in it when looked at under strong light.

Is this "crunchy" feel normal? Did I over-do it on the XX-Coarse DMT, and need to keep polishing it with the Extra Fine? The edge I got off it isn't one I would shave with, but I finished the edge nicely on a Nakayama after the Swaty. In my inexperienced hands, it doesn't seem as fine as a Coticle, and I read all the time about people who use Swatys as finishers after Coticles, so I'm puzzled.

Swaty as purchased:



The same Swaty, after I lapped it: