Quote Originally Posted by Alucard73 View Post
you shouldn't need to lap a new arkansas stone and if used properly it will take years of wear before it needs lapping mine have been used daily for nearly twenty years and don't look like they will need lapping for a long time to come
I have a large Black Surgical Arkansas (12" x 3" x 1") which I bought new a few years back from a vendor in the US. I assumed it was lapped but apparently not that well done. Left to Right across the stone is OK but it has a belly of about 0.5mm in the middle (a bit over 1/64"?)

I tried a bit with a DMT but saw that woulld be a useless exercise and gave up after about 5 min a circular movements (did not want to ruin my diamond plate).
Anyway my question is can I just ignore this amount or should I send it to some professional outfit to correct it?
(Both sides have a belly)

(the original vendor stated it was within spec)

Cheers
Anthony