Norton 4000 x 8000

Just got my Nortons in and the store forgot to mail me my Norton flattening stone :aargh:. They said they would mail it out to me as a resend so i won't have to pay double customs... thank god that 25$ was unexpected on top of the already 30$ shipping fee they charged. Could of ordered a 3/8 naniwa from fendrihan with free shipping for 112...no flattening stone though... but still save me 20-30$.

Anways I'm surprised to feel how course the 8k is un-flattened. Hope flattening helps this but I'm brand new to honing and have only felt a 12k naniwa. Was expeting something a little smoother for polishing.

Thanks for all your responses.

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Originally Posted by LikesBBS

Anways I'm surprised to feel how course the 8k is un-flattened. Hope flattening helps this but I'm brand new to honing and have only felt a 12k naniwa. Was expeting something a little smoother for polishing.

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This is a known issue with Nortons & may need some serious lapping but is fixable. Some times the 4k side needs work too.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...-problems.html

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I don't take a razor to a higher grit finisher until I get a DFS at the norton 8k level. There were, and probably still are, members who leave it at that (8k) and say they are very happy with their shaves. As a friend of mine used to say,'it ain't the arrow, it's the Indian.' So if you have the skill the 4/8 will deliver the goods IME.

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I definitely agree, I am shaving off an 8k and I get great shaves.

I found the whole thing felt coarse when I got my Norton. Once lapped the 8K side feels like glass, the 4K side not so much.

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Originally Posted by LikesBBS

Anways I'm surprised to feel how course the 8k is un-flattened. Hope flattening helps this

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It will. You have to remove the orange peel-like coating on the 8k & when you do it'll feel very smooth...

Once u lap it u will.b fine.. i believe gsixgun has a video out there on lapping.. i shave fine right off the 8 k side.. i set bevel on 1k king then pyramid on 4/8 the pyramid just works everytime..after my last stroke on the 8 k i put the blade to my premium leather strop about 20 light strokes..im gonna buy a 12 k eventually to go.just a bit smoother but the 8 k works just fine

Here are some tips when using the 4/8 that I use everytime I hone on it:

Make sure it is lapped and clean.
I do not go to the 8K level until I know I am done on the 4K side. To know this you move to the 8K and if you see black build-up forming on the 8000 side then you moved up too early and need to go back to the 4K level.

When you move to the 8000 side and you are done on the 4K side you will only have water on the 8K, no black build up on the edges and surface of the stone.


Sometimes I finish on a drier 8K when I am silently cutting arm hair above the skin.

For example: I finish on the 8K side and test on my leg hair, the hair cuts silently mid length and just falls without a grab and pop, then I know I am done. I will then sweegy off some water from the 8K and hone on it 5 more laps or so with super light pressure.

The shaves are great, and do not bite.

If you go to the 8000 too early and have black on the stone and do not go back to the 4K side you will have a harsh shave.

have fun, it's a GREAT hone.

Got my flattening stone in with no customs *yay* and it didn't do a good job lol. I drew the grids for some reason even after 10 minutes of scraping i couldn't get the pencil marks to disapear on the corner about an inch in. feels very smooth now but little grittier on the corners... anyways i honed off it regardless cause i really wanted to get back to SR shaving and the blade was sharper than I've had it before.... just wish the hone was pencil free lol.

I'm unsure if i was right to use the 8k after reading the above post as I did have small amounts of black build up (very faint) but i also used electric tape on the spine so i assumed it came from that since the blade made almost no noise when gliding across the rock...

needless to say i had alot of fun my first hone trying all the different teqniques X,circles,straight and found myself trying diferent methods to remove some scratches from the bevel. All in all the blade has a fairly smooth finish at the moment (would prefer mirror but all in due time) and I'm more than happy with the sharpness. It won't cut leg or arm hair the way you describe disturben but it passes the HHT with flying colours (parlor trick i know but still fun) :D

GIVE ME FEEDBACK SO I CAN BECOME STRONG!!! lol thanks

also like to add the circle method was my favourite. Not boring and tedious like the straight up and down and no worries of pressure/angle with the x... just fun tight lil circles :D THANKS LYNN!

I do lots of circles on the 8k also. its more of a polish than sharpening. I usually end up with some black buildup due to the circles. I haven't shaved off the 8k in a while. I always got to the 12k naniwa and then pasted strops or film.