Thread: the correlation between stone's surface polishing degree and the honing it offers

i lapped my c12k out to 800wet or dry and now i use it almost exclusively with .5micron diamond slurry..... the stone has taken on a almost "mirror" like smoothness and altho it is slower than christmas it produces very very fine edges......

Do you use the stone without the 0.5μm diamond slurry? If yes, do you think it's finer than before? I usually lap my C12k with 600 grit diamond plate, and regardless how fine it gets after with honing, I don't see noticeable difference.

I use one of my phig's to lap most of my stones. Leaves them nice and smooth.

Originally Posted by Vasilis

Do you use the stone without the 0.5μm diamond slurry? If yes, do you think it's finer than before? I usually lap my C12k with 600 grit diamond plate, and regardless how fine it gets after with honing, I don't see noticeable difference.

i used it before with plain water... i tried it with the little slurry stone but it always seemed to leave debris that a. scratched the stone... or b. assed up the edge of the razor.....

now i will make ~20ish passes with water... then i put 3 or 4 drops of the diamond slurry and make ~50-100 passes or till the edge looks polished sufficiently... i honestly believe the diamond slurry is the reason the stone looks so polished now..... i was looking at it a minute ago and you can see a very good reflection in it....

I used the C12k with a C12k slurry stone, with or without slurry it still gives a polished marvel like reflection. But it becomes even slower.

Just some points to ponder, any media with use will get polished and shiny. A strop will develop a shine over use but I don't think that affects the job it does. In theory a rock has a certain hardness and whether it is polished or not will not change that hardness. I know with my hones I lap them to a shine and they work better in the sense that they seem to almost have a lubed surface but I have never noticed them to work differently as in a better edge whether they are polished or not. Now when I say polished as opposed to not polished I don't mean a hone that comes from the factory with a really rough surface I mean a good working surface and a truly polished one.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Just some points to ponder, any media with use will get polished and shiny. A strop will develop a shine over use but I don't think that affects the job it does. In theory a rock has a certain hardness and whether it is polished or not will not change that hardness. I know with my hones I lap them to a shine and they work better in the sense that they seem to almost have a lubed surface but I have never noticed them to work differently as in a better edge whether they are polished or not. Now when I say polished as opposed to not polished I don't mean a hone that comes from the factory with a really rough surface I mean a good working surface and a truly polished one.

but a polished surface is much less abrasive.... therefore... as the stone becomes shinier it slows its cutting and is able to polish the steel leaving less scratches.....

There's more to it than the surface. The abrasive grit is usually suspended in a media, and it is how easily this media releases the abrasive particles, and what those particles do when released, that determines things like cutting speed and polishing ability. Sure, if you are talking about a tightly bound grit, then surface texture can play a role, but in my experience most stones release grit into the water.

James.