Thread: Swaty hone

I just got a swaty hone off of ebay and it looks like I made a good buy. There is some chips at the corner of the hone some minor discoloration in parts but that is about it. I am not sure exactly how to proceed from here though. I do not know the coarseness or grit of either side and have never used a stone before. Is there anything I need to know before I hone on this? I noticed a chip on the side with no text. It is on the left edge of the stone halfway down on the long side. What kind of problems may this present and are there any fixes?

The minor discoloration is probably dirt so clean it off. Oven cleaner works really well. Use sandpaper and sand out any chips and gently round the edges. Put a pencil grid on the hone and lap it with 600-1000 grit sandpaper to see if it needs some serious lapping.

Is this a 2 line or 3 line hone?


Just my two cents,

The minor discoloration is probably dirt so clean it off. Oven cleaner works really well. Use sandpaper and sand out any chips and gently round the edges. Put a pencil grid on the hone and lap it with 600-1000 grit sandpaper to see if it needs some serious lapping.

Is this a 2 line or 3 line hone?

it is a 3 line.
I am not sure this would be dirt. It looks silvery like a stain. I will post some pics of the hone just for the hell of it. You can probably see the chips in the corners, but the couple on the sides of the stone are very small I doubt you can make them out.









I have never lapped a stone, so I need the wet dry sandpaper and then what??? I am not sure how long it will take with sandpaper to sand out these chips but the rest of the stone is nice and smooth already. Should I lap it anyways? There are some pretty hefty chips on the corner of this thing. The seller said If I see the hone is not to my standard I can send it back. Should I do this and avoid the hassle, or try to fix this stuff? Would a flattening stone help at all?

btt

That stone needs to be lapped on wet/dry sandpaper until it is a uniform color and texture. Use 120-220 grit sandpaper for the bulk of the work.Just soak the sandpaper in water then lay it down on a hard, flat surface. It will create its own suction.
This may take some time and several sheets of sandpaper.
After you have a uniform color and texture then switch to 600 grit then finish with 1000 grit.

Any chips on the edges have to be sanded down and the edges must also lose the sharpness.

Okay, SO will a surface like my kitchen counter work well? I hear people talk about using a sheet of glass. Also, the edges I am sure I can sand down, but those chips, I doubt If they will be perfect. I caught a sampler of wet dry sandpaper on ebay for 20 bucks that Contains 3 sheets each of 120, 220, 320, 400, 500, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500 grit.

So my plan of attack will be to start with 120 for most of the work, 220 after I am seeing results, 600 to finish it off and 1000 for a polish. Sound right??

Sounds like reasonable plan!

The kitchen countertop should be just fine.

One of the skills of a honemeister is stone restoration. Stones chip and it doesn't matter if they're natural or artificial. If the chip doesn't extend into the surface of the stone, don't worry about it. If it does, chamfer (round) the edge of the stone so the razor has no possibility of catching on it and chipping. The discoloration you see on used stones could be anything. I never assume that the last person who used the stone knew what they were doing! They could have been sharpening fish hooks or arrow heads for all you know. Discoloration could be metal, oil, dirt, or even something coming to the surface from the manufacturing surface. Not all stones out there are number 1 grade! Stones that were rejected by the manufacturer may be out there. They're not always marked but sometimes they are. DMT for instance, drills a tiny hole in the surface of the stone to indicate a quality rejection. The stone is still good for honing but it's not their number 1 grade.

My suggestions to you are these. Get some experience working with this stone and a used razor that you don't have a lot invested in. Then, when you're ready to move on, get a DMT Diamond 8" Coarse hone and you'll be lapping easy for the rest of your days. It's a WHOLE lot easier than using sandpaper. The Norton flattening stone is good for Norton waterstones and at $25 will get you flattening pretty well. At $55 the DMT is twice as much but you'll have a high quality tool that will give you predictable results and quick results! Of course you can also use it for other blades as well which is not true of the Norton flattening stone.

Well I still see alot of grey in the stone after working on it for another 45 minutes or so. It is definitley flat it suctions to the counter top heavily. I guess I will go at again tonight and if I can't get it try the emery paper.