Thread: Help with Chinese 12k

I recently got a Chinese 12k from Sparq. I lapped it up to a 1000 grit paper to make sure that it was flat and smooth.

When I finish with my Naniwa 8k, the bevel is very shiny and smooth. Mirror like. When I begin to use the C12K, the bevel looks scratched up and courser than it did with the Naniwa. I am using only water and light pressure.

Am I doing this right? Should I be using slurry? I am just looking to further polish the edge.

Any chance that random grit from the sandpaper contaminated the stone ? Just a thought.

I hope not, I lap under running water and then give the stone a good rubbing by hand under running water as well to make sure that it is nice and smooth and free of debris.

Did you round the edges of the stone? If not that could be the reason. I think the C12K is to hard to get particles of the sandpaper embedded into it.

Good luck with your stone.

Skizzo

Forget what the bevel looks like, how does the edge cut?

I just tried the stone again. I soaked it a little longer this time and the bevel seems to be much smoother. I'll giv'r a workout tomorrow and see how it went.

I only use the 12k as an occasional touch-up with no slurry.

I don't know what sort of scratches it's making, but the resulting edge is sharp n' smooth

Try a little bit of shave soap just the smallest touch will make it feel very different
and it washes off. No need to paint it with lather just rub a puck with a damp
finger then the stone.

My Chinese stone needed a lot of cleanup. It was not flat, even or level and after flattening needed a modest work out with a large kitchen knife to get rid of the roughness left after I got most of it flat.

Like others have said, forget what the bevel looks like, it's how it shaves that counts! Also, there is no point in soaking them. I have had a fair number of them pass through my hands, and have found that they can be quite variable - some are finer than others, and some have crystal-like inclusions that can leave scratches no matter how careful you are.

Because the surface is so hard and adamantine anything on it can be felt - even dust that settles out of the air, or grit from lower rated hones, so you must keep it very clean. I use a thin slurry, then dilute it progressively with water til it is just water - you don't have to do as many laps this way as the slurry speeds things up a bit. You will still need a fair number of laps, though.

The soap/lather is good advice - makes the blade adhere well to the stone (I suppose it increases the suction).

Do make sure the edges are rounded - the stone is very unforgiving because it is so hard, and rough or raised edges can undo all your hard work.

Regards,
Neil.