Thread: Hone lapping on a glass plate with silicon carbide powder - pictures

You don't even need glass (see my earlier thread). I used a granite floor tile and it worked just fine.
I don't think the grit size is especially critical either - I used 220 SiC and 500 SiC. What is interesting is that you get a different kind of surface (more 'matte') because the grains are cutting by tumbling, rather than scraping).
What surprised me is that amount of difficulty that some reported on chinese 12ks - I had the saw marks out in less than 5 min.
This, really, is the way to go.

Do you do this for each grit of the powder?

Think about it exactly like razor honing. When you have to make initial honing - you are using lower grit and than move up. If you need to just refresh the hone - 1200 enough.

Originally Posted by rickboone

Do you do this for each grit of the powder?

hi Rick.

this is how i sharpen my stones. i started off sharpening my japanese kitchen knives, i have shapton glass stones 1k and 4k. i lap on a piece of glass, and put the glass inside of a cookie sheet to contain any spills. i put one of the rubberized shelf liners inside the cookie sheet before i put the glass in. keeps the glass from sliding around. i put another shelf liner on the table under the cookie sheet so that doesn't slide around. no taping. works great. i put pencil grid lines on the stones to see when i'm done. use only a 220 grit silicone carbide for everything from 1k to 12k. i paid $5 bucks for a pound of 220 grit on ebay. i bought the naniwa ss set, the 5k, 8k, and 12k. they lap nicely too. i got the idea from the guy who invented the edge pro knife sharpening system. he even sells a silicone carbide and glass lapping kit. if you go to his website, he has a video of him lapping a stone with it. i have used my home made version to successfully hone my first few razors, after watching a lot of videos, and reading a lot of posts. success! anyway, i'm starting to ramble now. try it, you'll like it.

shave on,
pat

Originally Posted by invention13

I used a granite floor tile and it worked just fine.

Sure it worked. Soon or later you will have mat spot on the floor which will not looks nice. Piece of glass will cost you about 2 bucks, and you can change it any time. A little more difficult with the floor...

With hard varieties, lapping is a hopeless chore. Especially Rozsutec, Charnley Forest and Arkansas are very hard hones. Lapping them takes considerable time, not to mention muscle ache. Perseverance in this case may result in lasting damage to both health and hones…

Given the considerable amount of hones yet waiting to be flattened, I had to come up with something to spare my not-quite-so-young back and muscles. After some thinking, I came up with an old bicycle wheel mounted in a steel frame.

The wheel is used with silicon carbide of grit K220 - K600. As it dusts easily, the latter can only be used whet, and that's why I made the outer rim. It keeps the water on the plate and thus prevents any messiness. The upper fork is hinged and fitted with a leaning rake to rest the stone unto. Therefore, little force is required during grinding. Dry the plate after use with a cloth to prevent oxidation.

See for more details Grinding and Honing part 2 Index website Henk en Ge Bos page 40

Margeja

Great site, too bad I don't speak and can't read the language, just lurk

Grinding and Honing 1 and 2 are translated in English to. Henk

I once had an antique 4’ marble dresser top refinished. They had a setup just like yours except it was about 10’ in diameter. It was a wet process and made a mess.

The top was a beautiful grey & black figured piece. Turned out when I got it back it was milk white with grey & black figuring, dramatic. I had them cut a hole in it for a hammered brass sink, and re-enforce the edges with steel rods.

It was interesting to watch them polish large slabs. Very ingenious setup, you must be an interesting fellow. Is the plate glass?

Originally Posted by Traskrom

Sure it worked. Soon or later you will have mat spot on the floor which will not looks nice. Piece of glass will cost you about 2 bucks, and you can change it any time. A little more difficult with the floor...

Uh.... A floor tile, not the floor. I'm married and not crazy. At least where I live, a granite tile is a lot cheaper than a piece of 1/4" thick glass.