Thread: Swaty hone

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.

Here is what the Swaty hone looks like now. I belive I have taken care of any problematic chipping, but the color is still not uniform. The stone is definitley flat though. Where would you go from here if this were your hone I guess is the question I have. I started on 120 grit paper, used some 220 and a little 600, then back down to the 220.

If that were my hone I would now take a pencil and draw a grid on it. Then lap it on the sandpaper and see if it the pencil marks are all removed. If so then I would finish it with the 600 or finer grit sandpaper and start using it.

Sounds like a good plan to me Randy.