Thread: First set of stones, questions and advice

After a long wait and collecting razors for a while I picked up a used set of shapton glass stones and kit. But with this comes alot of learning to now figure out what I can do and what I have.

The set as far as I can tell was used, not much, but not well either. Many of the stones were put away with swarf on them, questionable if they were flattened that often, but don't look like they were used heavy.

Where I am, is figuring out what my steps are to move forward with them and then actually start honing some of the old razors I picked up.

I have taken 3 stones 1k,2k and 4k and did the pencil grid on them and lapped them on the DGLP using lots of water and a figure 8 motion. They seemed to clean up very nice, removed all signs of use. the 4k may have been used less as it seems the chamfer areas were larger on it than the 1k and 2k stone. I had a 1k and 4k separate from this kit with little to no use. And they are quite white. The stones I lapped seemed to have very tiny black specs in them, that seem to be part of the material and is definitely left over swarf. The newer stones seem to appear more white, but I have not lapped them yet.

Now before I jump into the other stones, Is the technique correct for flattening these stones?
And a concern with the DGLP it "looks" like it is more worn all over the plate then right on the edges. Is this normal? Its just that the edges of the plate seem to have a slightly different hue than the edges. Or how does one tell if it has been abused? I can see tiny bits of sparkle all over the plate so it looks like it does have the diamond coating covering the entire plate.

The Kit I picked up used, has. Pond, Stone Holder, DGLP, stones 220,500,1k,2k,4k,8k,12k,30k
I have extra 1k and 4k stones in addition to the above equipment. the 1k stone as a tiny chip in it that would take a VERY long time to lap out. (Photo Link)
Can this stone be used for razors? Or is there something I can do to smooth out or fix that chip so it will not be a problem. Or set it asside and use the other 1k and keep this one for kitchen knifes.

I am looking at getting all of the stones lapped and ready so I can start learning to hone. Another note is, one of the original papers says to not use any stone on the DGLP that is less than 500 grit. I have only used the one 1k stone on it thus far and would prefer to avoid the 500 even though it says it is ok.
But what does one use to flatten the 220, and 500 stone then? And is it worth picking up the 320 grit as I plan on doing old antique store finds to fix up and use. I had 4 razors here honed by Lynn recently for comparison when I start honing.

I was going to take a photo of the DGLP to show its condition but the battery in my camera died. Have to wait for it to charge.

- E

Originally Posted by Charon

...Can this stone be used for razors? Or is there something I can do to smooth out or fix that chip so it will not be a problem. Or set it asside and use the other 1k and keep this one for kitchen knifes.

Yes that stone can be used either with some care or by expanding the bevel on the side of the stone.

But what does one use to flatten the 220, and 500 stone then?

I have used my 600 grit eze lap continuous diamond hone to work on low grit stones but, I would think wet and dry sand paper on glass would do well.

And is it worth picking up the 320 grit as I plan on doing old antique store finds to fix up and use.

I would not get it as you have the others.

What you should do is lap them all and get to honing. You already have more stones than necessary, get to practicing.

Jonathan

I agree the jump from 220 to 500 is easy enough . Don't see any benefit in the 320 so long as it is not a totally different abrasive. I don't have the DGLP & just used my Atoma 400 to lap my 220 but for the price I understand not wanting to damage the DGLP. As mentioned above wetndri on a flat surface will see you thru at that level.

I didn't know there was a 12k in the glass stones . Is it one of the grey ones for carbon steel ?

As for the 1k with the chip just flip it round & hone on the good side. If you can't avoid it that way you can chamfer further but if you have 2 why not use it for knives alone ?

Originally Posted by Datsots

Yes that stone can be used either with some care or by expanding the bevel on the side of the stone.



I have used my 600 grit eze lap continuous diamond hone to work on low grit stones but, I would think wet and dry sand paper on glass would do well.



I would not get it as you have the others.

What you should do is lap them all and get to honing. You already have more stones than necessary, get to practicing.

Jonathan

Ok, sand paper on glass sounds like a plan. And do want to get to practicing just wanted to check up that I am going to get them prepared properly first.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

I agree the jump from 220 to 500 is easy enough . Don't see any benefit in the 320 so long as it is not a totally different abrasive. I don't have the DGLP & just used my Atoma 400 to lap my 220 but for the price I understand not wanting to damage the DGLP. As mentioned above wetndri on a flat surface will see you thru at that level.

I didn't know there was a 12k in the glass stones . Is it one of the grey ones for carbon steel ?

As for the 1k with the chip just flip it round & hone on the good side. If you can't avoid it that way you can chamfer further but if you have 2 why not use it for knives alone ?

Sorry the 12k was a typo, its a 16k glass stone. And can use the 1k just for knifes but if it can be used.. why not

I can try to expand the bevel and see how it goes. might remove too much material or not be worth it and just assign it to knifes as you said.

I use the Shapton GS stones pretty much religiously. I like them. Once properly lapped, they clean up pretty easy after use. Normally, under running water with a rub of your fingers will work. I can tell you they don't respond to tape very well, at least with me, it leaves a lot of residue. Some guys tape the spine of the razor to prevent wear while honing.

As far as the grits below 1k, I can't remember the last time I had to use them. I usually start with the 1k, and work my way up. I even remove chips with the 1k, but they are good to have, you never know. I wouldn't bother with the 320g, the difference between that and the 220g is negligible imo.

You can most definitely use the one with the chip, If you hone right handed, keep the chip to the left. When you do your x stroke, you should avoid it all together.

FYI, I use 320 grit wet/dry sand paper on glass. it works very well and I use it for 220-12K stones. Matter of fact it works faster and better than the DMT I have.

What type/brand of sandpaper do you use? Do you get adhesive backed? Glue it to a glass/flat surface? Or just wet it and it sticks by itself well enough?

I did manage to lap and then chamfer that chip out of the 1k stone, has a very slight pronounced camfer on the edge but most would not notice it unless you pointed it out.

While lapping my stones I did manage to slip and drop the 30k stone into the pond when picking up off the lapping plate, the corner got a slight chip on it . But managed to chamfer that out as well. It was small so it wont affect the use able area of the stone.