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I picked up a swaty of the bay and it appears that is have never been used. No nicks, lines or sign of use at all. My question is how do I determine if it needs lapped. To my untrained eye it looks flat. Do I use a square edge or should I just lap it anyway?
The best way is to draw a grid on the surface with pencil and then use your lapping stone to see if it wears out evenly. It's all right here, with pix.
Hone Lapping 101 - Straight Razor Place Wiki
Or you could just sell the Swaty to me!
The manufacturers of old will finish the working surface of these hones so it is “Razor Ready” out the box… unfortunately, most of these stones were stored for decades in someone’s attic or basement and sometimes get bounced around, so by the time it's finally in your possession, it needs lapping… but this is not always the case, some are indeed "like new".
If you are reasonably sure the stone is flat… that is; no chips, gouge, scratches or voids on the surface, it is smooth and you can see a clean reflection at an angle, then it should be quite OK for your razor… give it a whirl.