Thread: Shapton Glass stones vs.Traditional or "Pro": What's the right choice?

Get the 4 Shaptons you have already mentioned and you would be fine, you can lap them on wet and dry automotive sandpaper, no need for expensive plates. You will get more consistency out of the Shaptons, naturals are very inconsistent with their ability, each one is a completely different critter.

Thanks! Just to be clear, I don't need to use the Shapton Lapping plate for $320? I can use auto wet/dry sandpaper on a flat surface? Would you go with glass stones or the Professional? I think they are both synthetic. Thanks again for the fast reply.

You don't need to spend $320 bucks on a lapping plate man. And wet/dry sandpaper rubber cemented to a piece of glass is a mediocre substitute. I would go on ebay and try to find a diamond DMT plate for lapping, You can find them for $10-$20 most of the time

I would suggest checking out Bladerunner001's recent honing experiment thread.
He sure seems to get some super results with the Shapton Pro's.

I'll check out that thread. I am always leaning in the direction of the more expensive things in life! Why should my Straight Razor obsession be any different?!

Originally Posted by Rojo

I am always leaning in the direction of the more expensive things in life! Why should my Straight Razor obsession be any different?!

Dude, it's like we are best friends already

Hi All,
Please excuse my ignorance, but are the Shapton Glass stones that you are discussing also known as Shapton Ceramic stones?
TIA

Yes, they are one in the same. Great stones, but if you are looking to get into honing your razors I would recommend the Naniwa Superstones as they are more forgiving. I have both & use both.

I paid for a setup of Shapton GS literally 5 minutes ago, 2-4-8-16, a DMT D8C and Shapton glass holder, got some great help from Glen choosing that setup. I think it will be allright...

Marvellous as the currently available diamond products are for so many purposes, I am a little wary of them for lapping sharpening stones. My reasoning, which could be mistaken, is that something only a little harder than the grit of the stone (or equally hard, in the casew of disposable paper) is more likely to expose fresh grains where diamond would blunten them but leave them in place. It isn't like razor sharpening will require you to flatten a deeply hollowed stone in a hurry.

I wonder if you can still find old televisions with a front of thick, very flat plate glass? Most I've seen lately are either flat-screen or have a bare, convex cathode ray tube.