Thread: Would this suit as a lapping stone?

I have a natural stone hone that I picked up from the market almost a year ago. It doesn't get used very much because I think it is far too coarse for razors. I think it is some sort of granite.

Anyway, I'm going to be off work for a few months over the school holidays and I want to avoid having to continually buy wet n dry paper to lap my hones. I want to know is the size of the stone suitable for lapping? How much bigger than the hone does a lapping stone have to be?

The dimensions of this stone are 21cm (8 3/8th inch) by 9.5cm (3 3/4th inch). The biggest hone I would be using this on are Naniwa and Sharpton hones which are 21cm (8 3/8th inch) by 7cm (2 3/4th inch)

But before I can do anything with this stone it needs to be lapped and it's as hard as dragon's teeth.

Originally Posted by ndw76

I have a natural stone hone that I picked up from the market almost a year ago. It doesn't get used very much because I think it is far too coarse for razors. I think it is some sort of granite.

Anyway, I'm going to be off work for a few months over the school holidays and I want to avoid having to continually buy wet n dry paper to lap my hones. I want to know is the size of the stone suitable for lapping? How much bigger than the hone does a lapping stone have to be?

The dimensions of this stone are 21cm (8 3/8th inch) by 9.5cm (3 3/4th inch). The biggest hone I would be using this on are Naniwa and Sharpton hones which are 21cm (8 3/8th inch) by 7cm (2 3/4th inch)

But before I can do anything with this stone it needs to be lapped and it's as hard as dragon's teeth.

Before I got my larger DMT plate i use to lap all my stones with a 2" by 6" course DMT. Your stone is more than enough for lappng.

Size doesn't matter, but you want to lap with something that is flat, will remain flat, and will remove grit from the other hone much faster than it will lose grit. These are reasons why DMT's are a popular choice - they are flat, stay flat, and lose marginal if any grit as they are used (if used properly).

I wish I knew buddy. If it is like granite then probably not. Better to spend time pushing a broom for change to buy a D-plate.

If it works like a sharpening stone then it's worth a try. You want the lapping stone to abrade some=so you have to use it evenly as possible.

If I need to clean a syn. after starting i use a smaller 1x5 inch to clean. ... adding another stone to the process helps everything average out, (I think) and saves some use of the reference piece.

Which could even be the diamond plate. they do wear out. The natural is wearing away so you should lap all your hones one on another. It can be troublesome, fine stones may nearly lock together when wet.
To check myself I use a grid, but not on the reference but between 2 hones. like a 5 and 8k. Dont let them stick, but i find the grid on each stone to rub out very quickly. Should you try that with your natural reference and find that not to be the case-then you probably have mis-worn the stone.

Back to the 1x5 "nagura" , perhaps using some the same stone you have or even a small or med. plate. I guess i dont feel comfortable using a "too small" ref. alone. It is less frustrating to use the nagura and reference on a finish hone than using another fine or med. checking these against each other enough to get used to them matching; then less often. Iyo, perhaps amakusa come to mind as the sort of consistency you want. I use iyo. I wonder what others are better honing other stones than steel?

I'm with Kevin and Holli - from what I've read DMTs are fairly cheap, come flat out of the box (no lapping required, and last well if used properly (lap under running water to remove the swarf, otherwise the suction can pull the diamonds off the steel. The DMT 'coarse' could be a good addition - it's great for lapping, and can also be used to breadknife out a frown or chip quickly. A DMTC and DMTF are on my list of hones to buy when I scrape the cash together, along with a set of Naniwas.

A DMT may be cheap, but it's no where near as cheap as the natural stone I already have as I don't have to pay for my natural stone again.