Hone lapping 101

[JoshEarl]

Most hones don't come with a flat honing surface. Vintage hones are usually worn from use; new hones aren't flat because of the manufacturing process. Before you use any hone for the first time, it's a good idea to flatten it. This is called lapping the hone.

You can do this with minimal investment. I lapped my hones for a long time with just a piece of wet-dry sandpaper and a flat surface to stick it to.

For this tutorial, I'll be lapping a Belgian yellow coticule. This is one of my main workhorse hones, and it hasn't been lapped in a while. I don't have a Norton 4K/8K combo hone, but the procedure is pretty similar with all hones.

To start out, I have collected a pencil, some 320-grit wet-dry sandpaper, a glass of water, and my hone. We're going to use a smooth countertop as the lapping surface.

It's important to get good quality sandpaper. Norton and 3M are good brands. Cheap sandpaper could leave particles embedded in your hone.

The first time you lap your hone, I'd suggest starting with sandpaper in the 320 to 400-grit range. This coarse paper will flatten the hone quickly. If you'd like, you can experiement with finishing the honing surface with paper between 600 and 1000 grit. Some guys find that the higher grit papers leave a smoother honing surface.