Thread: Shapton 16k oops!

Ditto on the figure 8 laps between honing sessions, I always do this on my stones except for the Eschers and other rarities.

Thank you for the input everybody!

Now, what kind of techniques should I use to lap Shapton stone with a DMT?

Do I place the Shapton on top of the DMT and "sand de floor" or what?

You may find everything you need to know about lapping in the Wiki

I couldn't find any specific info on the Wik wikidy.

Try klicking on my link

Hone Lapping 101 - Straight Razor Place Wiki

That helps, although I still am uncertain of how many passes I should make on my Shapton, and how often ?

I don't want to over lapping of the stone. Do you lap the sides of the Shapton too?

I do see some glue residue or something on the sides of the Shapton.

So....do you lap them frequently or not? Some say yes...some say no.

Originally Posted by rickboone

So....do you lap them frequently or not? Some say yes...some say no.

I find that with most razors, I can get away with lapping once every 3-4 razors. Doing it that frequently means that all I'm really doing it removing any steel that's in the surface of the hone and refreshing it a bit.

If I've just honed a really stuborn edge like the rogers I've spent 4 hours with in the last week, or a really hard razor like my FR Wedge, then I'll lap my shaptons before and after.

Originally Posted by VeeDubb65

I find that with most razors, I can get away with lapping once every 3-4 razors. Doing it that frequently means that all I'm really doing it removing any steel that's in the surface of the hone and refreshing it a bit.

If I've just honed a really stuborn edge like the rogers I've spent 4 hours with in the last week, or a really hard razor like my FR Wedge, then I'll lap my shaptons before and after.

Will this not shorten the life of the hone, or not really that much at all? I just wonder from my experiences using my DMT on my 16K shapton it seems a lot of white slurry is there after I'm done.

As far as lapping these, are you doing a pencil grid and going until the pencil marks go away or do you just do a refreshing type ordeal?

With stubborn edges on Shaptons you're not spending a lot of time on a 16K or higher grit as such, are you?

Originally Posted by rickboone

1. Will this not shorten the life of the hone, or not really that much at all? I just wonder from my experiences using my DMT on my 16K shapton it seems a lot of white slurry is there after I'm done.

2. As far as lapping these, are you doing a pencil grid and going until the pencil marks go away or do you just do a refreshing type ordeal?

3. With stubborn edges on Shaptons you're not spending a lot of time on a 16K or higher grit as such, are you?

1. I don't think it really shortens the life very much because while I'm lapping more frequently, I'm doing VERY little lapping each time. I would say that I'm talking about 30 seconds to a minute on my DMT to lap them this often. The only time I have to do more than that is after dealing with a really difficult razor as mentioned above.

2. Just the refreshing type. I don't wait until they're dished. Think of it like vacuuming the carpet. If you do it every single day, a very quick half-hearted pass with the vacuum will suffice. If you only clean the rugs every couple of weeks, you have to spend a lot of time making sure you cover every square inch. I used to do the same with my old barber hone. The only time I ever did the hokey pokey with a pencil grid was when it arrived from ebay terribly dished AND glazed. Once it was back in line, just lite, periodic lapping was more than enough. I don't look at lapping as a project. I look at it like gentle regular maintenance. Others may disagree, and are perfectly welcome to.

3. I don't spend any great deal of time on the 16k, but I also find that at the 16k level, it's even more important to have a flat and fresh surface for honing.