Thread: Lapping Flim Questions...

One type of honing I have never tried, and I would like to do some experimenting with..

Some questions for those of you that have tried it Successfully

Ordering from the US any favorite links I should look at ???

Differences bewteen the two types ???

This is an experiment so costs are not as impotant as results (within reason)

Glass base or Granite base

Keeping in mind I live in the boonies does Home Depot carry something I can use for a granite base???

I have a friend that owns a glass shop so a piece cut how I want would be easy

Have you tried the sheet of paper under the finishing grit

What grits do I need for all 4 stages of honing (Bevel, sharpen, polish, finish)


TIA for the answers

Glen, I know you like Woodcraft and if there is one near you check for the "granite surface plates". A little pricey and quite large for honing use but they are flat. I haven't used the lapping films but I thought you might be interested in the granite plates from Woodcraft since you like them. I would think twice before shipping one since they are 26 lbs so hopefully there is a store near you if you're interested.

I think many buy them from Thor Labs: Thorlabs - Your Source for Fiber Optics, Laser Diodes, Optical Instrumentation and Polarization Measurement & Control.

I have a sheet each of the black, brown, green and white, which I guess is similar to 4,8,16 and 30k.

I just put them on top of my C12K. Use water with a drop of soap in it.
I haven't tried doing bevels.
And yes I've used wet paper underneath the 0.3u film for the finishing and to be honest I gotten great results from them!
Fabulous sharp yet smooth edges. Doesn't got the sexy hone feel of real stones and not as much feedback, but the results have been great so far.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

One type of honing I have never tried, and I would like to do some experimenting with..

Some questions for those of you that have tried it Successfully

Ordering from the US any favorite links I should look at ???

Differences bewteen the two types ???

This is an experiment so costs are not as impotant as results (within reason)

Glass base or Granite base

Keeping in mind I live in the boonies does Home Depot carry something I can use for a granite base???

I have a friend that owns a glass shop so a piece cut how I want would be easy

Have you tried the sheet of paper under the finishing grit

What grits do I need for all 4 stages of honing (Bevel, sharpen, polish, finish)


TIA for the answers

I haven’t used this for straights, but I used to use this method for woodworking. Use a piece of thick (about ⅜ inch) plate glass. It’s perfectly flat, and avoids the weight and expense of granite. I used to have a piece 3 feet long by 1 foot wide to flatten the soles of my bench planes. You can use spray adhesive to attach silicon carbide paper to it for long-term use, or just spray it with water and then lay the sheet of abrasive on top of it for short-term; or when you need to change the grit often. You can get silicon carbide paper at your Home Depot. For really fine, finishing grits though, you can go to an auto-body store. They carry really fine grits used to smooth the finish on cars. I have some from 600 grit all the way up through 1500 grit. I coold send you some sheets if you would like me to. Hope some of this helps. Good luck.

I use a marble tile I bought at Home Depot for about five bucks as a base, it works great. The lapping film is really easy to use and has put nice edges on the handful of razors I have tried on it. It does lack the romance of natural stones but it sure seems to work.

I was looking through my old woodworking stuff and found a few boxes of ‘micro mesh’ abrasive sheets. They can be used for anything, but the boxes I have mention using them to smooth marred windows on airplanes. The grits in my packs go up to 12000. So I did a search and found them here <http://www.sisweb.com/micromesh/>. You can buy different size sheets starting at 3X6 inches, and 9 grit ranges from 1500 to 12,000. So these sheets could be used after the auto-body sheets I mentioned in my post above.

Ok gents I am not seeing the Micron or the Grit ratings on these things


Also I am seeing different thicknesses I thought this stuff was super thin ???

Diamond or AlOx ??? the price is miles apart

I think they have these in the US as well, just not 100% sure. There are stores here in Canada called "Lee Valley Tools". They have some stuff there:

Diamond Lapping Film - Lee Valley Tools

I haven't used it personally, so I can't comment too much. Just wanted to help and to follow this thread as well.

Are you posting your results here or on a new thread when you do try them?

One one of the producers sites there is a comparison chart and I think I made a copy. I will search. I bought a piece of 12" square tile at the Habitat store for .25 and it works fine. I think Lowe's and Home Depot have open box pieces that they sell inexpensively. Both ALOx and diamond work well but diamond lasts longer but not enough to justify the price difference in my opinion. I haven't tried a piece of paper for cushioning the fine grits yet but my understanding is that it works very well.

No experience with lapping films but points re micromesh, which I'm sure Glen knows so just for anyone else reading. It is a 'cushioned' abrasive so will 'give' possibly altering your bevel if set with wetndri. Also the grit rating is different as is the finish.
http://www.sisweb.com/micromesh/conversion.htm