Thread: New Shapton M5 12000

Hi,

I recently picked up a Shapton M5 12000 from the Japan Woodworker to add to my base norton hone set 220/1000, 4000/8000.

I touched up a Christians 4/8, finishing on the 12000 then swaty, strop linen and strop leather.

My shave this morning was BBS. Very comfortable shave.

Anyone here use Shapton's M5 series hones? I see the Pro glass hones mentioned form time to time here.

- Mike

I got to play with JimmyHAD's Shapton Professional Series, but I've never touched an M5. I would guess it is the same material but the cheaper price is due to the thinner layer of actual hone, which is adhered to a ceramic substrate in the same manner as the Glass Stones. It's a very nice cheaper option ($59) for a finishing hone, and a Shapton at that!

Hi,

It was good jumping point for a finer hone.

- Mike

Why not try to shave from the M5 12k but finish on the Swaty?

Hi,

Good question, I'm new to honing. So far I only have shaved with any of the blades I've honed when I thought I was done working through the series of progressions.

I have a 3 more blades to hone. I'll try that and see how it feels before moving to the swaty.

When ordering this hone I bought some .3 micro film to experiment with too. It is supposed to be something like an 18000 grit equal or there abouts. Also, I need to get a paddle or something nice and flat to stick it to. I saw in some the videos that marble can work well to stick the film on.

- Mike

0.3micron paper won´t fit into normal git ratings. Ie. it is not 18.000 or equal to.

0.3µm is as low as it gets, there is no synthetic stone this fine.
So the only thing you can be sure of is that it will cut finer than most if not any stone you come across.
So technically it is not near 18.000 but much like 60.000 or 100.000...
But that´s just speculation and won´t necessarily mean better shaves.
But you should definitely experiment with it

Hi,

I did not know that. I was going by what the sellers description said. I'm guessing they may not be correct. After you mentioned this I did some googling and most of the comments I've seen reflect what you said.

The 12 micron (#1200 grit) quickly removes steel, while the 5 micron (#2500 grit) refines and produces a keen edge. The 0.3 micron (#18000 grit) leaves a mirror finish. For the best edge, use the 1 micron (#8000) prior to the 0.3 micron. They are supplied on PSA 8½˝x11˝ sheets. One sheet can make a number of specialized hones and strops.

0.3mic S/O PSA Lapping Film 8-1/2"x11"-White

- Mike

Well they may not be wrong after all, because they did not say wich system they are referring to.
There are many different systems for grit rating, and even these vary from one manufacturer to another.
Most of the time we refer to JIS, the system Naniwa uses

Hi,

Oh. Then I should ask them so I know what I'm using. I'm guessing knowing what your working helps the honing process.

Thanks,
Mike

even if you knew which system they were referring to, you´d have problems comparing these to stones of other systems.
There are numerous discussions about whether a Norton 8.000 (officially rated 3µm) is finer, or coarser than a DMT 8.000 (3µm, too) and so on.

It takes time and practice to know where in a system a stone or a paper belongs.

Generally the microns help an awful lot. The size of the micron makes things a little more comparable, but just a little