Thread: Lapping Flim Questions...

Mine is Alox, it works just fine.

Many thanks to the responses , I found the links I need... I will talk with my glass guy on Monday and get a thick piece at 4x10 so I can lay down of 3x8 easily, and mess with it a bit...

Looking forward to finding out what you think of the films. I look at as another option. I have used it on a couple of razors that were giving me fits and it squared them away in a hurry.

Glen, the 3M diamond films are the most even quality I've found. You can get them pressure sensitive so they'll stick to the surface. I like this better than the method which advocates using water to stick the paper to the base. As far as bases go, a surface plate will give you the flattest surface and that's what I use. If Home Depot is your option, check out their granite tiles which are used for flooring. They're not certified flat to a specification across the whole surface like a surface plate would be but they're flat enough. Float glass would be flatter, plate glass is good too. Like any honing process use a progression of grits. If I'm remembering correctly the finest I've gone is .1 micron. I do have to say that although I keep a surface plate with film permanently mounted in my shop, I'm not crazy about films as there's too much variability in the process. You can get bubbles under the film, it can easily tear, and the water attachment type can move around. I don't like any variability in honing as it reduces the ability to get consistent and repeatable results. But, do have fun! Would like to hear your impressions.

Been a few years since I've played w/ films, but I do remember that when I put a piece of paper under the 0.5 film (the finest I've gone on films), the edge was really nice. If I didn't use the paper underneath, the razor didn't like it--probably the give from the paper imparted a slight convexity would be my best guess. The reason I quit using them was the bubbles underneath would accumulate swarf in those spots & contaminate the surface & I was too cheap to get a roller to lay them really flat. Also used a drop of soap in the water, which for me, improved feedback. Still a fun trick to try & can give very nice edges.

So far, I have mostly use lapping films for polishing steel surfaces, after a good honing (stones), the 1 micron diamond 3M film is the fastest and last. The green 1 micron AlOx film looks like it doesn't work at all for hardened steel, but for softer metals and alloys like bronze and silver it's good. Regarding honing razors on lapping films, I'm very satisfied, and I don't use pieces of glasses or marble or granite. I glue it on my cheap IKEA desk, and it does fine job. 50 pieces of green 3M lapping discs 1 micron AlOx for 30$ or so, and they leave one of the finest and smoothest edges for a good shaving. It works pretty much like stropping.

Granite tile -12" x 12" Absolute Black Natural Granite Floor Tile
Item #: 118439 | Model #: 20-632. At Lowes under 10$ it's polished so it should be flat. Would these work?