Thread: How crucial is hone flatness to honing success?

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I've always felt I did better, as in faster/efficient with a flat stone. To the point where I make sure before I start now. YMMV

Great Jimmy! I have long pondered why the water wasn't going over the blade with a straight blade and my supposedly flat hone. Now I think I may have found the culprit. Though a $200 + lapping plate has calmed my worries and eliminated a variable in my honing journey. A DMT 8C would have been more then enough. I just wanted the most expensive and the flattest haha.

The water over the blade is a trusted indicator of blade to stone contact as well as edge setting to me, gotta have a reasonably flat stone for that. I know guys who lap their stones after every blade, unnecessary IMO but to each his own. You will know when it needs to be lapped, can't get a damn thing sharp.

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

They were off both long and short due to the small dmt contacting the stones at different parts

Yup ideally the lapping medium should be larger than the stone for that reason.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Yup ideally the lapping medium should be larger than the stone for that reason.

And if the hone is yellow it will probably be better .......

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

And if the hone is yellow it will probably be better .......

Seeing a theme here Jimmy

Whenevr I get honing.... I will draw the cris-crossing slanted lines with a pencil on my hone and then rub a DMT 325 plate lightly on it. If it is flat the lines go away fast..... IF it has a few low spots.... I keep at until the lines are gone. More times than not only takes a few swipes with the DMT and all is flat again. I might redraw the lines just to make sure that I didn't miss any spots. Then I know it is all ready for next times honing session.

I lap my stones after every session, just so I know that its the razors that are not true not the hones.

To determine if your stones are flat enough, take a razor that you know is straight and lay it on the stone. Hold it in place with one finger on the spine in the middle of the blade (length wise) and hold them up to a strong light. A good ceiling light, door, or window will do, look for any light coming under the blade and/or spine. That will tell you if the blade has proper contact with the stone before you start your honing. Once your stone is flat you can use it to judge razors before you set up to hone. Knowing the challenges of your work before you start will save you time and effort.

This true. I don't have this problem anymore, my stones are always flat to within 0.0005". I strongly agree with knowing the challenges of your work before you start will save you time and effort. Very wise words.

Well I made a thread about flatness of hones a while back. My point is that hones needs to be flat. But when someone make a statement like that someone else is taking it literally down to 0.00001 micron.

I don't own a diamond plate. I use a large flat metal plate and put sandpaper on it. Then lap my hone in great figures of eighth.

I lap them after 10 razors or so.