Thread: how frequently do you lap?

Originally Posted by BobH

I rarely lap my Naniwa Super Stones after the initial one. Yea, I know it is contrary to everything but there it is.

Bob

correct sir. very contrary. mind if i ask roughly how many razors youve skipped across those stones so far?

I hardly ever lap my naturals. My nortons when I used them i would lap before each session. My naniwa 12k I flatten every now and then and I will always keep stones clean, so if there are grey marks from razor I was honing I will clean that off before next razor but that is usually just the case for my low get stones. My high grit stones only get built up particicles that I can see/feel very very rarely.

i know some will say 'lap when they need lapping' but thats not too helpful for a beginner (like me) who cant quite recognize when when has arrived yet. ive honed prob around 35-50 razors by now and have been lapping after each razor so far. sure the stones are flat but im wondering if im eating away too much stone too frequently. im a little surprised to see some stones reduced by maybe 25%.

You are going to get a variation in responses

Lap = Remove enough surface to bring back to flat, which is rarely needed or should be rarely needed when honing SR's since we use MINIMAL pressure when honing

Refresh/clean the surface = To expose fresh cutting particles, and that depends on the hone itself, your Naniwa's tend to glaze pretty fast, so a quick 3-5 figure 8's before each razor simply exposes the new cutting particles and keeps the hone in top form

Hence the answers from "Rarely" to "Every Razor"


To give a real world answer, IIRC my Nanaiwa SS set was bought in 2009 I grid lapped them twice the first week I owned them I grid lapped the 1k about 4 years ago..
That was it for "lapping" but I give them a quick light refresh before each razor..

3+ years since I lapped my 12k or really any stone I have, I have a well used DMT325, that I run over the stone a couple of times to clean it, but mostly I just rub it with my fingers under water before putting it away.

If your not honing professionally I can't see needing to lap all the time. It's just washing more of your stone down the drain than is needed. I use my 12k all the time cause I touch up on a regular schedule, every 10-12 shaves, 4-5 laps so that really doesn't seem to be dishing my stone. So to answer your question to Bobh in my house 3+ years every 2 weeks or so has been on my stone. My other stones haven't been used much so can't give you a time frame for them to need lapped again. Tc

Originally Posted by gssixgun

You are going to get a variation in responses

Lap = Remove enough surface to bring back to flat, which is rarely needed or should be rarely needed when honing SR's since we use MINIMAL pressure when honing

define minimal pressure please? doesnt lynn mention applying a decent amount of torque at times? i have been using some pressure, mostly during the 1k bevel set, but even still in lesser amounts with the 3k and 5k. only going to light weight-of-the-razor laps on the 8k and 12k.

Originally Posted by sloanwinters

define minimal pressure please? doesnt lynn mention applying a decent amount of torque at times? i have been using some pressure, mostly during the 1k bevel set, but even still in lesser amounts with the 3k and 5k. only going to light weight-of-the-razor laps on the 8k and 12k.

Minimal Pressure,,, is defined in relation to Knife and Tool honing not between grit during a SR honing session

Torque and Pressure are also two different forces

Pressure = Downward force
Torque = Twisting force toward the Bevel

This is an enlightening thread. I don't lap nearly as much as most people are saying... I'll start lapping more and see if it makes a difference. with most of my naturals they seem to perform better after a few razors have been put to them after a fresh lapping (especially finishers). curious...

Every time that I hone I quickly check the hones I'm using with a metal straight edge. I lap a stone when I can see daylight between the metal edge and the stone.
When I'm finished honing I always flush the stone with water and clean the surface with a slurry stone, then rinse.
This method has always served me well.

Pete <:-}

Originally Posted by Pithor

I only use naturals (Thüringer stones and coticules) and after the initial lapping I would only lap if I'd notice unevenness while honing or by eye.

I say 'would' because in over five years, I think I have lapped my main coticule maybe once, and it probably wasn't even necessary.

I have lapped an unevenly wearing Cretan (bevel work) a few times, when it was visually out of flat. And even before that, it still worked fine. Better after lapping, but not all that much.

This is pretty much my approach to it with any stone.

With respect to Synthetic stones, Gssixgun already hit it. Lapping I've done once on my Norton and Shapton Kuromaku stones. I think my Norton 8K may just now have a slight dish in it due to knife abuse or some other wild @$$ experiment that has nothing to do with straight razors. So it might need a light lapping. My 4K and 1K recently got lapped too, Kitchen knives and natural stones can be a bit unforgiving during the learning phase (applying new knowledge to old cutlery). For the most part I just refresh them both with a few passes of my Naniwa scrubbing stone when they load up. Refreshing is done when I notice cutting action is reduced beyond what a light scrubbing of the surface will restore.

My natural stones? I lapped them once. Each of them has 2 surfaces, one burnished and one that's been hit with 400 or 600 grit sandpaper. The burnished side will likely never get touched with anything but water, shave lather, or oil depending on the stone. The coarse side gets roughed up with sand paper again once it slows. No lapping needed, as Steel said they'll probably be good for life.