Everybody should have a flattening stone
Today I finally got to use the norton flattening stone I bought from howard.
O-M-G
This is just so much better than messing about with sandpaper.
My stones are much flatter than they used to be.
I can now easily do one-handed honing. I used to use 2 hands. I know this sounds really crazy and I can't explain it, but I have no problems anymore, honing with one hand. The stones feel totally different now.
I also get a much better result in much less time.
This is the best 25$ I've ever spent on razor related stuff.
question: on the paper it says that if you use them a lot, the flattening stone itself needs to be flattened. Has anybody ever had to do this?
Flattening a flattening stone
Yes, I have! I flatten all manner of stones on a DMT Coarse or DMT Extra Coarse diamond stone. In truth you shouldn't have to flatten a Norton flattening stone very often but I, as always, recommend checking the stone with a straightedge every so often. I use a machinist's rule for this as they are precision straightedge tools made by Starrett. A good thing to remember is that "flat" is a specification and not a state of perfection. "Flat" is just a question of money as any metrologist will tell you.