Thread: Favourite Final Lapping Grit

I'm thinking of the Norton combo mostly and I'm wondering which grit each of you prefer to use to lap your stone and why. I'd also like to hear what type of material you're using, lapping stone (what grit is that), Wet/dry paper, another stone etc.

X

I lap my Norton 4/8K with my Norton 220/1K.

Just another data point,
Ed

I do wet/dry on marble.

Grit is whatever happens to be available - 1000 is the highest I have used, but usually lower.

This *may* be a bit off-topic but I thought it doesn't matter if you use 200 or 1000 that much because once the stone is flat what matters most=cutting particles in the slurry, which aren't affected by the paper grit. True or false?

Cheers
Ivo

Ivo - that's probably true for Coticules, Eschers and the other natural hones that use a slurry....but for Nortons, it's my understanding that you don't build a slurry on them, and the stone does the cutting, in which case, the finish of the stone becomes more important.

I lap my Norton 4K/8K with a Norton lapping stone.

-whatever

-Lou

I use my Norton 1K for lapping my 4/8K, and I love it. To lap the 1K I use 320-grit sandpaper. The 1K leaves a nice, smooth finish on the combo, and I have to resist the temptation to lap constantly.

I agree that the lapping grit doesn't change the stone's grit size. But I think the smoothness of the finish changes the way the razor travels across the hone, and could potentially affect the outcome. A rougher hone has a different feel than a smoother one, which tends to have more suction. I think either would work just fine; it depends on your preference and touch.

Josh

I lap everything on a 2" granite surface plate with 600 wet/dry paper.

The Norton lapping stone leaves too coarse a surface on the 8K hone for my taste.

800 wet/dry paper on glass - I've tried 1000 too, but I prefer the feel left on the Norton from the 800.

James.

Originally Posted by scarface

Ivo - that's probably true for Coticules, Eschers and the other natural hones that use a slurry....but for Nortons, it's my understanding that you don't build a slurry on them, and the stone does the cutting, in which case, the finish of the stone becomes more important.

I lap my Norton 4K/8K with a Norton lapping stone.

-whatever

-Lou

Hey Lou,

I do build a slurry on the Norton.

Am I the only one who does this? - Don't know

For the record, some of my best results on the Norton came when I used shaving cream to build slurry (gradually thinned with water). I have tried it with Proraso and KMF creams, and maybe LT Shave Lotion. Most times I just make sure there's lots of water - just because using the cream is way messy: hone a bit, wipe, test, hone again, wipe again, test, hone again, wipe... whatever

Cheers
Ivo

I like the feel of my hones after a few passes with the DMT course 325 grit. They feel like smooth velvet which makes it extremely easy to maintain the smooth, consistent, light stroke necessary to achieving a great edge.

I use shapton lapping plate with their medium grit to remove material and the extra fine to polish the stone up. really you can use many things. Levegated alumina in a variety of grades can be used and if you want to really polish a hone to a mirror finish try using cerium oxide as a final polish.