Thread: Pre hone lapping?

I just received my Norton Flattening stone in the mail and plan to use it for the first time this evening. I also received a Natural Chinese finishing stone (12000 grit). Now, from what I read on here I understand it is recommended to lap the Chinese stone before use. What I'm wondering is, will the Norton Flattening Stone do the trick? If sand paper is preferable, what grit? And finally, should all my stones/ sand paper soak in water before lapping?

Thanks for the help

The Norton stone should be lapped before you use it, and I'd bet the Norton stone would leave some scratches in the Chinese one, though those could be removed with sandpaper.

Given the hardness of the Chinese stone, you may have to re-lap the Norton stone partway through (depending on how much work your Chinese needs).

oh and should the flattening stone be flattened before its first use (excessive?)

The CH12k is a pretty hard stone, I would use the sandpaper 320 grit wet-r-dry, instead of the much softer Norton lapping stone...
And yes water is your friend when lapping

JMHO here