Thread: Naniwa Flattening Stone

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Well, best is a relative term but yes it will stay true. Heavy steel plate covered in diamonds can't lose shape really.
Personally I like the Atoma plates as they don't stick to the stone being lapped but they are a bit more exe.

Hi. Do you have a link to the Atoma plates? what grit do you use and what size? Thanks

Sorry , don't have a link. I bought mine locally but google the word you will get lots of hits.

They are one size 3" x 8.25". I use the 400 grit up to 5k & the 1200 grit for 5k upward.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Sorry , don't have a link. I bought mine locally but google the word you will get lots of hits.

They are one size 3" x 8.25". I use the 400 grit up to 5k & the 1200 grit for 5k upward.

Ok thanks a lot, that has been most helpful, cheers.

I am just getting into straight razor shaving and for honing I decided to go with a Naniwa SS 3/8k combistone. I am thinking about getting a 1k and 12k stone later. I hope I can use this setup to sharpen my kitchen knives too?

My question is about lapping, I have no lapping stone yet and this thread makes me doubt it's a worthwhile investment. But I have a glazed tile I bought in the local hardware store, been using it with sandpaper for when I need a flat surface for other things.

Will this be better than buying a lapping stone, could I embed some kind of lapping media on the tile itself, or should I use sandpaper?

Another thought I've had recently was maybe I was too hasty getting a Naniwa stone, maybe I should have gotten a coticule and learned to use it. Maybe I'll do that after I've worn this one out (assuming thats possible).

Originally Posted by HDS

I am just getting into straight razor shaving and for honing I decided to go with a Naniwa SS 3/8k combistone. I am thinking about getting a 1k and 12k stone later. I hope I can use this setup to sharpen my kitchen knives too?

My question is about lapping, I have no lapping stone yet and this thread makes me doubt it's a worthwhile investment. But I have a glazed tile I bought in the local hardware store, been using it with sandpaper for when I need a flat surface for other things.

Will this be better than buying a lapping stone, could I embed some kind of lapping media on the tile itself, or should I use sandpaper?

Another thought I've had recently was maybe I was too hasty getting a Naniwa stone, maybe I should have gotten a coticule and learned to use it. Maybe I'll do that after I've worn this one out (assuming thats possible).

No you made the right move with the naniwa 3/8k they are much easier to learn on. natural stones vary in there honing ability.

With the Naniwa Chosera and Super Stones, I simply spray them with water until they quit drinking which basically means the water starts to pool on top of them vs. soaking into them. The Naniwa plates and Norton plates work OK on their respective stones, but not so well on any other stones. I prefer the GDLP which is pretty expensive or the DMT 325 or Atoma plates for every day use. I don't obsess over flattening either. Mostly flat is good for me. I use them more for cleaning and the flattening is just part of the process. You can tell however, when you get mostly flat when the color of the stone is consistent vs. some areas of the stone having the dirty color you started with after use. The stones definitely need to be wet when cleaning/lapping them particularly with the Naniwa flattening stone or it will gunk up.

Be careful using the Naniwa's on either heavy knives or tools as they are soft feeling which makes them great for straight razors, but they can be gouged by the bigger knives or tools.

Have fun.

Originally Posted by Lynn

With the Naniwa Chosera and Super Stones, I simply spray them with water until they quit drinking which basically means the water starts to pool on top of them vs. soaking into them. The Naniwa plates and Norton plates work OK on their respective stones, but not so well on any other stones. I prefer the GDLP which is pretty expensive or the DMT 325 or Atoma plates for every day use. I don't obsess over flattening either. Mostly flat is good for me. I use them more for cleaning and the flattening is just part of the process. You can tell however, when you get mostly flat when the color of the stone is consistent vs. some areas of the stone having the dirty color you started with after use. The stones definitely need to be wet when cleaning/lapping them particularly with the Naniwa flattening stone or it will gunk up.

Be careful using the Naniwa's on either heavy knives or tools as they are soft feeling which makes them great for straight razors, but they can be gouged by the bigger knives or tools.

Have fun.

Thanks Lynn. That has been really helpful too. I've decided not to use the Naniwa flattening stone and I'm looking at a couple of Atoma plates as mentioned in the previous reply. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, much appreciated.

The naniwas are quite soft, meaning they will hollow quickly if sharpening tools, chisels, kitchen knives etc. I just went through a new set of chisel and lapped them on a sheet of glass using wet/dry sandpaper. This would work for lapping the naniwas as well but it would be quite messy. Personally I would dedicate the naniwas to your straight razors and buy the combo DMT 325/1200. You can use it to lap your naniwas and sharpen everything else you need sharpening.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Sorry , don't have a link. I bought mine locally but google the word you will get lots of hits.

They are one size 3" x 8.25". I use the 400 grit up to 5k & the 1200 grit for 5k upward.

Hi, you can't buy them here in the UK but there is a website in Germany that sells them for 99euros. ATOMA Diamond Sharpening Stones Actually I got all my Naniwas from here and they are ok. The only thing I wanted to ask you was do they need breaking in? I've read on other forums that brand new diamond plates can sometimes scratch the hones. If so, how do you break them in, is it just a matter of using them? I like the idea you can replace the sheets too. Thanks

If there are no high spots,which will be evidenced by a patch of localized scratches on your first lapping attempt, eg below,they are good to go without breaking in. They will simply be more aggressive at first. I've only had one out of 6 or so that had a high spot & they are very consistently flat too.