Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 14
Like Tree8Likes

Thread: Chinese Natural

  1. #1
    Senior Member Mephisto's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    1,408
    Thanked: 126

    Default Chinese Natural

    I lapped my Chinese Natural awhile back using Norton 220 Wet/Dry Sandpaper. Afterwards the performance dropped and I did not use it for a bit. I was feeling a bit impetuous last night and used my Norton 4k/8k to smooth it up a bit.

    I am guessing I did not screw it up because I shaved with a razor finished on the Chinese this morning with good results.

    Anyway, are there any side effects lapping a Natural stone with a synthetic?


    Secondly, should one even lap a natural right out of the box?

    Thanks for looking.
    From their stillness came their non-action...Doing-nothing was accompanied by the feeling of satisfaction, anxieties and troubles find no place

  2. #2
    Senior Member ccase39's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Slidell, La
    Posts
    570
    Thanked: 43

    Default

    Good question. I have one too. I did not lap out of the box and it seems to do fine, but I am a beginner. My razors shave great coming off it though.
    Mephisto likes this.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Mephisto's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    1,408
    Thanked: 126

    Default

    bump, ditty, bump, bump
    From their stillness came their non-action...Doing-nothing was accompanied by the feeling of satisfaction, anxieties and troubles find no place

  4. #4
    At this point in time... gssixgun's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    North Idaho Redoubt
    Posts
    27,029
    Thanked: 13245
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    Lapping is another one of those topics that gets a ton of airplay...because there are many different opinions

    There was a time when I lapped into the Stratosphere, going way up in the grit range to achieve really smooth stones...
    Then I bought the Shaptons, if a proved 30k stone should be lapped with a 325 grit plate then I figured heck with it a 325 is good enough, haven't had any issues since..

    Exceptions to that rule, Any stone that uses oil or an oil substitute get lapped to a very fine finish first...

    As to your exact question, I doubt the the very soft Norton did to much of anything to the very hard Chinese stone, there are also a few different types of the Chinese naturals one of those types is pretty soft, so if there was a ton of Grey slurry while lapping with the Norton I would guess yours is one of the softer stones, which is actually not a bad thing as the softer ones give pretty good edges

    ps: I lap every new stone I get for flatness first right out of the "box"
    Mephisto likes this.

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to gssixgun For This Useful Post:

    Mephisto (12-19-2012)

  6. #5
    Senior Member Mephisto's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    1,408
    Thanked: 126

    Default

    Thanks for the reply Glen, I definitely do not want to start a long drawn out post. I am trying to figure out why the degradation occurred in the stone after lapping. I would use the Natural after the Norton 8k and the edge would go way down hill. That is why I stopped using it. Maybe some of the grits from the sandpaper got lodged into it. Btw, it does produce a near milky white slurry.
    Last edited by Mephisto; 12-19-2012 at 05:32 PM.
    From their stillness came their non-action...Doing-nothing was accompanied by the feeling of satisfaction, anxieties and troubles find no place

  7. #6
    The Hurdy Gurdy Man thebigspendur's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    New Mexico
    Posts
    33,038
    Thanked: 5020
    Blog Entries
    4

    Default

    Are you sure it was lapped flat. Maybe some unevenness in the stone?
    Mephisto likes this.
    No matter how many men you kill you can't kill your successor-Emperor Nero

  8. #7
    Senior Member Mephisto's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    1,408
    Thanked: 126

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by thebigspendur View Post
    Are you sure it was lapped flat. Maybe some unevenness in the stone?
    Fairly sure, I did a 'tight' grid pattern and lapped it until the grid was gone. I put the sandpaper on top of a piece of glass as well.
    From their stillness came their non-action...Doing-nothing was accompanied by the feeling of satisfaction, anxieties and troubles find no place

  9. #8
    At this point in time... gssixgun's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    North Idaho Redoubt
    Posts
    27,029
    Thanked: 13245
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    I saw that you had found the one thread I did on the Chinese stones before I started testing them, in that thread is a link to the "After" testing conclusions..

    Basically without going into a ton of detail here (It is all in those threads) there are basically 4 types of Chinese stones that have crossed my path from super soft to super hard and scratchy. Some can be used to improve the edge after a Norton 8k (My definnition of a finsher) and some can't... These are Natural stones and every single one is different.. I have said this over and over "Synthetics are an exact science, Naturals are a romance".. Make sure you want to get involved with her
    Natural stones really can be as frustrating as any woman, you hear people talk about this "Awesome" edges yet you have to understand what their stone is doing even if it is the same kind of stone you have, might not relate to what your stone is doing
    It really can be the same as saying all Redheaded women act the same, we all know that just isn't true, and let's not even talk about Blondes
    Last edited by gssixgun; 12-19-2012 at 05:52 PM.

  10. The Following User Says Thank You to gssixgun For This Useful Post:

    Mephisto (12-19-2012)

  11. #9
    Senior Member Mephisto's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    1,408
    Thanked: 126

    Default

    So they are hard to understand and sometimes you wonder if they are worth the trouble. What have I done to myself.
    From their stillness came their non-action...Doing-nothing was accompanied by the feeling of satisfaction, anxieties and troubles find no place

  12. #10
    Senior Member jeness's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Hungary
    Posts
    797
    Thanked: 219

    Default

    Naturals can be really frustrating sometimes, I know. I lap all of them with my 400 Atoma, and have no problems with them. I mainly finish on naturals, but I confess that sometimes it just doesn't happen like I want it to, than I go back to synths, and it usually solves my poblem
    Mephisto likes this.

  13. The Following User Says Thank You to jeness For This Useful Post:

    Mephisto (12-19-2012)

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •