Thread: Lapping between razors?

Just wondering if it is a good idea to Lap stones between razors when honing 2 or more?? I have been, then thought it may be overkill.. I thought starting out with a "fresh" surface for each razor would be better?? Any suggestions from the more experienced would be great... I'm using Chosera 1k, Norton 4/8k combo, Naniwa 12k... having pretty good success for a Newbie...

Thanks... Ron

If you do a fresh lapping, even just a very few light passes to clean the surface, you will find your hones will cut much more efficiently.

If you're using waterstones, yes lap. Necessary? No, but it's like sanding with a fresh piece of sandpaper instead of one that's used.

Out of force of habit, I lap/clean my stones after every use and then they are ready for next time.

Have fun

Thanks for the info guys.. sounds like I was on track.. will continue to lap between razors!

First, let's adjust semantics.

Lapping is done to flatten the hone. Refreshing is done to clear the hone of accumulated swarf, and this provides a fresh honing surface. It also has the added benefit of helping to keep the hone flat.

I don't think it is necessary to automatically refresh between each razor. I do it when it is needed. It depends on the hone and on the razor. Some hones load more rapidly and may benefit from refreshing a few times during the honing of a problem razor. Some hones really don't need to be refreshed between every razor.

I'll just give one set of examples. The Naniwa SuperStone 1k can load fairly quickly and during a bevel set could benefit from a few refreshes during an extended bevel setting. The Naniwa Superstones 8k and 12k tend to be used for many fewer strokes than the 1k and also tend to take longer to load up. For that reason it would not be necessary to refresh them between every razor. I refresh as needed.

The above is just my opinion for the sake of extending the lives of my hones. I am a huge fan of keeping my honing surfaces clean and cutting well, and I recommend that for everyone, however you choose to accomplish that.

I like to clean synthetics after every use, and I usually use that Naniwa "brown biscuit". I'm using Super Stones, a Shapton Pro, and Choseras. I don't lap them after every use, but I'm probably not honing near the number of razors Lynn is in a session, so if you're cranking them out like he is, you may want to lap after every session. Usually I take the dry hone and sight down it at a bright light or a well lit window and look to see if the reflections distort as they move across the hone surface. If the reflections distort more than just a little, they get lapped.

On Japanese naturals, I watch the reflection closely and try to do things to minimize having to lap them as they're expnsive and no two are alike. For example, hones tend to dish in the middle simply because you can't easily use the very ends, so I raise my slurry on the ends of the hone, not the middle, giving the ends a little preferential wear. It doesn't make up for the wear from a razor or especially a knife in the center of the hone, but I can tell it helps.

FWIW, Alex Gilmore sent me a hone he dished on purpose - very uniformly I might add - and the radius was about 540mm IIRC. It was an interesting experiment, and it amounted to steepening the bevel about the equivalent of one layer of tape!

Cheers, Steve