Thread: To splurge or not...

Yea, using the Norton flattening stone is a bit tricky. I had one I used to flatten a couple of pocket knife sized Arkies. Before I realized what was going on the center was dished. I was using a lot of circles at the time, or a straight back and forth push.

At any rate, the thing certainly wears faster than naturals. Might be less of a problem on synthetics, but you still need to prep the flattening stone surface because it's basically the same as any other man made hone - comes with a rough surface. 320 grit sand paper or loose SIC on a ceramic slab from the hardware store.

I put my flattening stone in the bottom of the sink and use figure 8 motions. Remember to flip both the hone, and the flattening stone 180 degrees every now and then.It will stay in flat, or at least flatter longer, if you change it up so that both stones get even wear across the surface. You want to avoid what I did with my first flattening stone lol.

Or you can avoid it all together with a diamond lapping plate. I think the most common suggestion I see is a DMT 320.