Thread: Naniwa Superstone Lapping Issue

Mine do what is being described as well. I never know where a spot will show up that needs a little more lapping. I don't grid however. I lap after every use which is normally around 12 razors at a time. Then I spray water on the stone and as Glen described, I walk away for a few minutes and spray more and then start honing. I would not recommend the Super Stones for knives, but they are great for razors. The good thing for me anyway is that they still are extremely reliable for straight razors and I get a few thousand razors on each before I need to replace them.

Don't know if I'm gonna wear my 1K Chosera out though in this life time. It is harder and does not need the spot lapping like the Super Stones.

Have fun,

Lynn

My 10K humps up too. I think what's needed is a system that doesn't fight the swelling, but works around it. Maybe that is Glenn's method. I'll wait and see how it works for you. Please report back.

My worst experience is when I lap for 10 minutes to flatten the hump, then put the stones away to dry, and then discover I created a saddle when I go to use them a week later. Lap the saddle away, and then the next time there is an even larger bulge! So if you fight the bulge the wrong way you can make it even worse.

I like my Naniwa SS a lot, I just need to find a peaceful way to coexist!!

Originally Posted by matt321

My worst experience is when I lap for 10 minutes to flatten the hump, then put the stones away to dry, and then discover I created a saddle when I go to use them a week later. Lap the saddle away, and then the next time there is an even larger bulge! So if you fight the bulge the wrong way you can make it even worse.

For that reason, I never fully flatten the hone. I only refresh enough of the surface of the hump to allow me to hone on it.

It sounds like the water is evaporating from the edges first & shrinking while the center is evaporating slower and staying fatter. Perhaps the guys with unmounted stones could store them on the sides and see if this makes a difference? Perhaps dry them on a rack for better exposure to air?
I also suspect a difference based on frequency of use and soaking time. If they are used every day then the amount of moisture loss will be much less than if the hones were used once per week.

Since I just picked up a set of the unmounted, thick, Naniwa SS hones, it will be interesting to see what happens for me. Thanks for this thread, it is very useful.

Glen posted this. I don't know if it will solve the problem,let alone the question but it should eliminate one of the variables. Here's the link:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones/50537-discovery-lapping-shapton-pros-naniwa-superstones-ymmv.html
Good Luck on your quest!

Originally Posted by cudarunner

Glen posted this. I don't know if it will solve the problem,let alone the question but it should eliminate one of the variables. Here's the link:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones/50537-discovery-lapping-shapton-pros-naniwa-superstones-ymmv.html
Good Luck on your quest!

Yes, and he described the same thing again in post #14 of this thread. I'm not sure what variable it will eliminate but I am willing to try it, though I'm pretty sure that the Naniwas are not supposed to be soaked.

I think A reason might be that when you flatten a concave
stone, you are putting more pressure in the middle.

Try lapping your stone with very little pressure.

Sharpman

Originally Posted by SharpMan

I think A reason might be that when you flatten a concave
stone, you are putting more pressure in the middle.

Try lapping your stone with very little pressure.

Sharpman

That is definitely not the cause for this problem. First, I use minimal pressure. Second, if I used excessive pressure in that manner, all of the hones would show the same pattern, but they don't. Finally, I haven't been working out lately so I highly doubt that I could bend my DMT plate to the degree needed to create this pattern.

Originally Posted by Utopian

That is definitely not the cause for this problem. First, I use minimal pressure. Second, if I used excessive pressure in that manner, all of the hones would show the same pattern, but they don't. Finally, I haven't been working out lately so I highly doubt that I could bend my DMT plate to the degree needed to create this pattern.

The DMT plates aren't super flat to start with. A minimal amount of bending
could cause what you are experiencing. It would not require excessive pressure since the dmt plate is quite thin.

Since you write that the other hones don't show that pattern, I guess
this is indeed not the reason.

Sharpman

Originally Posted by SharpMan

The DMT plates aren't super flat to start with. A minimal amount of bending
could cause what you are experiencing. It would not require excessive pressure since the dmt plate is quite thin.

I use a Shapton DGLP to lap my Naniwas. I believe that they are considered to be more consistent in their flatness relative to the DMTs.

It's a pointless disagreement, but I don't consider the DMT plates to be thin and I believe it would take quite a bit of pressure beyond normal lapping pressure to bend them significantly.