Couple of questions about Nortons

First off, just wanted to say thanks for the site, it's full of great information, quite a resource.

I ran a search, couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, so I started a new thread.

I recently acquired a Norton 4k/8k combo and some wapis. I honed up a wapi using the pyramid. It seems to shave ok, it didn't pull or anything, but the razor wouldn't pass the HHT, is this normal? (or should I look into a chinese 12k or something of the sort, pasted strop, etc?)

Second, the stone seems flat, does it need to be lapped?

Third, can I sharpen my knives on it and not worry about taking away the flatness of the stone? (since knife sharpening is done using a circular motion, not utilizing the full length of the stone)

Thanks!

Yes, Yes, and No.

To elaborate on Alan's correct but brief remarks... :)

The HHT is touchy. Your hair may be too thin to work well for this test. I can get a razor to pass the hanging hair test coming off of the 4K side, but that doesn't mean it's ready to shave with. A really good 8K edge will slice hanging hairs like silent death. :) Even though your razor is shaving well, you might want to get an expertly honed razor just to give you a benchmark. Otherwise you might miss out on a whole new level of sharpness...

Lapping your new Norton will remove the factory surface and improve its honing performance. The hone probably isn't "flat" by straight-razor standards, although I'm sure it seems flat to look at it.

A knife will wear away the stone in odd patterns, making it difficult to use for a razor. You could use it for both, but you'd need to lap it flat after every knife honing session. This will wear out the stone more quickly.

4K is a little high in grit for a knife, anyway. Unless you're extremely skilled at honing knives and you have excellent cutlery, you're probably better off using a 600- to 1000-grit edge.

Have a good one,
Josh

Yea, what he said. :)