Thread: Can you give me a lapping lesson?

Which stones should be lapped each time?

What makes good lappers? I use a DMT 325. Should this not be used on things say above 12000? Or on my coticule? Safe for my 16K shapton?

Are there stones that should never be lapped?

I plan to get an 8k soon, probably Naniwa. Will the 325 be okay for this?

Depends on usage & how soft the stone is. Drawing a light pencil grid on the surface & lapping it off will tell you everything you need to know about a particular stones flatness.
You will get an idea on how often it needs doing by doing it regularly at first.
Harder stones like some J-nat finishers rarely need lapping especially if you use a diamond plate for slurry making as they get a pseudo lap each use.
I can't really advise about DMT C's for lapping as I use Atoma plates but the few times I've used a DMT C on a stone I was impressed at how smooth the surface was.

Originally Posted by rickboone

Which stones should be lapped each time?

What makes good lappers? I use a DMT 325. Should this not be used on things say above 12000? Or on my coticule? Safe for my 16K shapton?

Are there stones that should never be lapped?

I plan to get an 8k soon, probably Naniwa. Will the 325 be okay for this?

I will let Utopian touch this one !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HeHeHe

How often you lap depends on how much you use the stone and also how fast the stone will dish. Some stones dish slower and therefore will require less frequent lapping, but even those stones might require often lapping if you use them a lot.
As far as what you lap with, an accepted norm here is the 325 DMT.
I personally use 1.2k Atoma for all my synthetics from 3k and up.
For my Jnats I go past the Atoma as I prefer a surface that is as smooth as possible.

I truly ish i could help with this one but all i have is a barbers hone and i dont lap it since i have only used it 2 times since i got it.(do you even lap barber hones?)

rickboone,

I use the DMT 325 continuous diamond plate to lap all my Naniwas (1, 3, 5, 8, 10 & 12K) with excellent results.

The 325 is also great for raising slurry on these stones.

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

Originally Posted by rickboone

Which stones should be lapped each time?

Let's distinguish between lapping and refreshing. The former is flattening the hone while the latter is clearing swarf off the hone to provide a fresh cutting surface. Some hones like the Naniwa Superstones and the Shapton Glass Stones benefit from refreshing before each use. The Nortons don't seem to need refreshing as often so they are more on an as needed basis. When refreshing is done frequently, they is less of a need to do full blown lapping because each refreshing session serves as a mini lapping session.

Originally Posted by rickboone

What makes good lappers? I use a DMT 325. Should this not be used on things say above 12000? Or on my coticule? Safe for my 16K shapton?

A good lapper is one that is flat and able to uniformly cut the hone surface. Your DMTC is just fine for lapping. The company says that it can only be used for synthetic water stones and that probably is the best advice, but you can get away with using it for naturals if you use a light touch and lots of water. You can use it on hones above 12k. It is fine for the coticule and the Shapton 16k.

Originally Posted by rickboone

Are there stones that should never be lapped?

Two come to mind, and for the same reasons. Barber hones and Spydercos don't dish with use because they are very hard and they both have surfaces that can be diminished with lapping. The only exception for barber hones is if you need to correct damage to the hone.

Originally Posted by rickboone

I plan to get an 8k soon, probably Naniwa. Will the 325 be okay for this?

The 325 is just fine for the Naniwa 8k.

I use the Lapping stone about every 10-12 sessions of honing. Everyone is different, but that frequency works for me.

Pabster

Is the DMT 325 ok to use to lap (flatten) a Naniwa 220?

For some reason it's difficult for me to grasp that concept. Help me comprehend this.

Thanks in advance.

Freehand

Utopian,
Do then you recommend lapping Naniwa Super Stones or refreshing them.

The reason I ask is that I haven't been able to figure out conclusively if these Super Stones are non-wearing ceramics or made to be worn similar to a true waterstone.

(I have read for 'refreshing' ceramic stones a non-scratch kitchen pad like a Dobie works great for this purpose.)