Quote Originally Posted by Euclid440 View Post
Yes, you will need to lap it. They are very hard and you may have better luck with loose silicone powder,

GotGrit.com has all you need, you don’t need much, a tablespoon or two of each grit, starting at 80 to get flat and switch to Wet & Dry after, 500 grit. 80,120,220,320,500 is a good progression, (about $8.50), then wet & dry. Hard stones can strip the Diamonds from a Diamond plate,

Mark a grid on the stone with a Sharpie and sprinkle a tablespoon on a wet steel cookie sheet, (dollar store) and lay on flat cement, use your bodyweight. Once flat it will go quickly. Wet cookie sheet works well for wet & dry also,

The Chinese hones benefit from a fine finish, I go to 1k and burnish with hard flat carbon steel, for razor use, like an Ark, 2-300 laps.

Once lapped and burnished, you do not want to re-lap, like a synthetic. It may cut slower, but will give a finer finish.
Thanks for the info. I'll look into the grits; what is wet & dry? Is that different than the 500 grit?

Honestly, I don't know where I could find flat cement around here... my balcony is tiled with about one square foot tiles and fairly flat, would that work? Does that flat surface need to be perfectly flat (i.e. lapped hone flat) or just flat in the general sense? Any other recommendations?

"go to 1k and burnish with hard flat carbon steel, for razor use, like an Ark, 2-300 laps." What does this mean? A 1k grit against the stone and then rub it with steel? Is this a different method of lapping from the progression of grits mentioned?

"Once lapped and burnished, you do not want to re-lap, like a synthetic. It may cut slower, but will give a finer finish." Does this mean that I won't need to lap the guangxi again, period?

Thanks again everyone.