Thread: Norton 8K vs. Naniwa 12K

I was wanting some opinions on why my Norton feels smoother to my touch vs. my Nani 12?

What I am saying is that the Nani feels a little ruff in comparison...

Should this be?

If you meant the surface of the stone I haven't checked mine one against the other. I know my edge is greatly improved going from the 8k to the 12k.

Just ran my finger over both and I can't tell one from the other. I lap them with a 325 diamond plate.

My edge improves also. However, they have a different feel. I think I Need a better lapping plate. What do I need to try? Some wet dry sandpaper maybe? What grit paper should I get to lap them? I have the norton 220 lapping stone right now.

The DMTC is 325 and so is the Shapton GDLP plate. Try some 325 paper.

with your set-up I think I would try another Lap.
Sandpaper on granite is a thing I intend to revisit. I have better habits now, no longer doing excessive grinding before lapping. That sloppiness may have skewed my opinion on sandpaper. But then I started with a 120grit diasharp(it cut fast originally) And was so much better I could only smirk at paperers

With a granite tile you can get darn accurate. Since you have that 220 may as well get a concrete block or paver while fetching the tile. Paver makes a good first step flattening the Norton.
(assuming you dont want the plate)

While you decide which way to go, why not lap the 8 and 12 together with grids. If they are close you should be able to de_pencil without much effort.

if they are way off so is your Norton. None of this speaks to teh smoothness issue; I have no idea how to quantify the smoothness of the hone surface by touch.

I've had both i lapped my 12k with nagura stone and it felt no where near as smooth as my dmtc left the surface. i highly rate dmtc , it cost but its an exallant investment.

I am paranoid about 'contaminating' one grit with another. I don't know that it is really an issue but with the diamond plates I don't have to concern myself with it. I just rinse throughly between grits when lapping through a progression.

325 seems to me to be the magic number, I used to do the "rub the stones" together routine also, but a few scratches on the sides of mirror finished customs fixed me of that... I honestly don't really trust sandpaper any longer either... A DMT 325 is a fantastic lapping investment it really is, a GDLP from Shapton is even better, but I am not convinced it is 5 times better


Kris in answer to your question I have found that touch to the fingertips just isn't good enough to tell the difference after about 4k

I can feel the differance when honing after i used 325, the surface and feel between the razor and hone tells me every thing. The surface feels right for me . I have used norton flatterning stone and i did'nt like the feed back of the hone, same with my nagura stone. I've even compared all three. The dmt produced the best surface for me by far the nagura stone was the worst plus it released yellow substance all over my hone. I have used sandpaper thats pritty good but can be messy. I just grab my dmt anmd lap when ever i need its so much cleaner and easier plus it does'nt need lapping and i no its allways flat.

Originally Posted by pcm81

I think I know why I like the rubbing stones better, my stone progression is so close that there is never a big jump so even if contamination occurs it is by a very similar grit. I however do agree that DMTs work great for flattening/lapping, however I disagree that a 10K stone can be well lapped by 325DMT.

I hate to disagree, but most all everyone on here uses something near the 325 grit level to lap their stones....

The DMT 325 seems to work all the way up to 30k Shaptons and many use it even on the Japanese naturals, eschers, etc...
If I am not mistaken the Shapton GDLP is rated at 325 also..
Like I posted earlier I used the multiple stones routine in the past, the problem like Jimmy pointed out is the contamination factor... This is not much of a problem when sharpening tools and knives like you do, but with razors it creates two problems..

1. The errant piece of hard ass grit the puts micro chips or serrations into the edge.... Now on a tool or a knife this is not that big a deal but the biggest difference in honing razors and every single other tool is that we put these on our face...We not only want sharp we are looking for smooth too...

2. Not as important on most razors but hugely important on mirror finishes which cost either time, or $$$, that one piece of hard ass grit will inevitably roll down the finish and wreck it...

Now it seems as though you know a bit about sharpening and stones but from your posts you haven't yet even sharpened a straight razor...
You might want to try a few, to learn the unique problems they pose...