Thread: 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.