what!? i need to flatten the flatting stone?

bought the norton stone set 220/1000,4000/8000,flatting stone,DVD
not watched DVD yet but the directions say to flatten the flatting stone once every so often and use sand paper and glass

Isn't this ironic, it kind of peeves me off, i could have saved money and just use the glass/sand paper,is there a reason to use the stone instead of sand paper, if the glass/sand paper flattens the flatting stone....oh god i think my head just exploded, could someone help me out? i think i got taken for a 30 dollar ride

I use the DMT 325/1200 to lap my waterstones. I think its 10x4 inches.

I know some guys like their stones flat as flat can be. This means they flatten every single time they hone. This can be tricky if all you have is glass and wet sand paper. I still do my water stones on the glass stove top with some 400 grit paper. Works fine but I find that sheet, after one stone, is pretty much shot for the next stone. In my opinion buying a flattening stone isn't a bad thing.

I have a flattening stone but it only gets used on new hones. I use a DMT 325 to slurry and clean up after each honing and figure this will keep my hones pretty flat.

It's probably because I'm very very naughty, but I've never flattened my flattening stone. Life's too short...

not only do you need to lap the flattening stone first, it is slow to lap the stones.
I use a DMT for lapping.

I have worn out two DMT 325 plates and I now flatten on a DMT 220 and then go to the 325 grit. I sometimes polish the flattened stone on a Norton 1000 grit stone. Polishing the flattened surface of finishing stones like the Thuringian or any stone from 8k on up seems like a good idea to me.

Jerry
____

BlueRain,

I had a Norton flattening stone that I 'flattened' with 160 Silicon Carbide cloth on glass. I never really liked this stone - it was very frangible, so there was always a pile of 'grit' in the water bowl after a lapping session which kind of concerned me.

I saw the Light and got a DMT 8C 325 diamond plate and never looked back :)

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

Flattening stones are great for chamfering edges & corners on your hones otherwise diamond plates are great for lapping your stones. :)

I used the Norton flattening stone when I first got my set. It definitely needed lapping on some sandpaper. It was moderately successful, but doesn't hold a candle to the DMT 325.

I think it was Plato that said it best: "Who shall Flatten the Flatteners?"
... Or something like that(:-).

As was said, DMT D8C (325). Many of us use them, and they work great! Once you get them flat, all you really need to do is run your Norton's over the 8c a few times after you're done using it. Should keep it nice and flat!

Mine (norton flattening stone) was crowned when it was new. I used it way back when I had kings, but I had to gnash it through 60 grit SiC paper before it was flat. It worked fairly well after flattening as long as the stone was a soft stone.

I would consider any norton offering below 1000 grit to be a turd with a capital T (also had the 220, which is perhaps better for razors than it is for woodworking tools where it is far too willing to go out of flat before anything is really completed).

The flip side, though, is that if you turn over the norton flattening stone and use the side with no grooves, it might be a decent coarse stone for damaged knives, etc.