Thread: Do I need a lapping plate?

Howdy: I'd like to start refreshing my blades as needed. I was thinking of buying the Nawina 12k stone, but not sure if I need to get the lapping plate along with it. Thoughts?

If you end up buying more hones, you'll want a lapping plate. I'm fairly certain in six months I've spent more than the cost of a lapping plate on sandpaper. I should have bought one. But I do find myself buying more than the necessary amount of hones. What's that saying about a fool and his money?

Just cut to the chase and get a DMT Coarse (325 grit) 8-inch plate. Sandpaper seems cheaper but is more time consuming. You want to spend your time using the tool (the razor), not assembling a tool to make a tool useful to make another tool useful.

The DMT will need a little prep work once in its life to knock off the excessively large diamond bits, otherwise it'll always be ready to go.

Need no. But as the above replies indicate you will want one.

Originally Posted by Ecl

Just cut to the chase and get a DMT Coarse (325 grit) 8-inch plate. Sandpaper seems cheaper but is more time consuming. You want to spend your time using the tool (the razor), not assembling a tool to make a tool useful to make another tool useful.

The DMT will need a little prep work once in its life to knock off the excessively large diamond bits, otherwise it'll always be ready to go.

Any reason I should go with this over the nawina lapping plate?

It is more maintennance friendly and what I'v heard there is now DMT manufactured larger lapping plate rather than hone used as lapping plate.

I have never read anything good about the Naniwa or the Norton lapping plate. The DMT is very useful. If I quit straight razors and sold off all my stuff I would keep the DMT.

I bought the Norton plate when I first got into this. I wasted about a quarter of my 4/8K (and at least 2 hours) before I wised up to the fact that my lapping plate was nowhere near flat. I got the DMT, used the Norton plate to knock off the big crystals, and got what was left of my 4/8K into perfect shape in about 10 minutes.

The Norton flattening plate's only true function is to get a real lapping plate -- like a DMT -- into prime shape to do its work. Oh, and you can squash injured wasps with it. But I wouldn't use it on a hone. Waste of time, money and energy.

Thanks everyone for the great advice so far. I think I will spring for the DMT. What can I use to knock off the large diamond bits?

I've heard that the shaft of a screwdriver will work to knock off the larger diamond bits. Someone more knowledgeable will be able to verify this.