Thread: 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?

Can you use the flattening stone with a coticule as well?

I did. My coticule is small (6*1.5) so I just made sure I used the entire flattening surface to prevent uneven wear. I also used very little pressure.

But it worked like a charm as well.
I think you are only supposed to use it with soft waterstones though. Norton, coticules and eschers or thuringers.

For flattening hard stones I think you need a DMT diamond hone or shapton flattening plate.
But then you are talking about 3 - 10 times the price of a cheap 25$ norton flattening stone.

You should be just as easily able to flatten the flattening stone with 1K wet dry on plate glass as you flatten your norton.

i could be wrong but i think the norton flattening stone is somewhere in the range of 220-300ish so i don't think you could lap the flattening stone with 1000 grit paper

I think Eric is right. I recall other guys saying the flattening stone is hard to lap; I've lapped a 220-grit water hone before, and it's tough work.

I don't quite understand why it would be necessary to lap the flattening stone if you're using it with stones that are about the same size. It seems like the wear would be pretty even across its surface. Maybe someone with more experience can weigh in here...

I personally wouldn't use it on a coticule, though. I've had bad experiences lapping hones that were very different in size or consistency. It also seems like lapping a small hone would wear the center of the flattening stone, requiring lapping...

But I could be way off on all this.

Josh

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.

I have four or so barber hones, such as a "Diamond King", a "pseudo-Swaty", and a couple of others. I have found that they are too hard to flatten using the 220-wet-dry-sandpaper-on-glass method. Can someone suggest a better way, that doesn't take several hours and induce repetitive stress injury? Thanks!

-denis

Aside from the traditional wetdry on glass, how about against each other? Lapped my 2 hones beautifully that way.

Originally Posted by grunion

I have four or so barber hones, such as a "Diamond King", a "pseudo-Swaty", and a couple of others. I have found that they are too hard to flatten using the 220-wet-dry-sandpaper-on-glass method. Can someone suggest a better way, that doesn't take several hours and induce repetitive stress injury? Thanks!

Hah! try lapping a translucent arkansas!

These hones are tough to lap, but unlike the norton you don't have to do it very often, so amortized over the life of the hone it's actually not too bad. This is easier to accept once your arm has recovered and the memory has faded a bit though :-)