Thread: flat as a concrete block

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

... I've always wondered how folks were able to lap barber hones before DMTs came along.

What kind of surface does it leave on the hone?

Josh

The hone surface was a bit rougher than what a DMT 325 coarse leaves. Still tight enough to work ok, since surface finish (or even grooves) on the hone won't effect the actual cutting of the hone's grit much. I also finished up with really light pressure and alternating circular patterns.

I considered trueing up the Dubl Duck on my DMT D8C just for appearances sake, but I already have a second Duck that I lapped on the 325 as a control. I normally prefer the harder barber hones, like Swatys or my treasured Apart; but I'll use these Ducks for a while just to see if anything weird happens. I really want to see what the concrete will do to a Swaty now...

Maybe them old-timers (and woodworkers) ain't so crazy after all.

Edit: I used my concrete block with lots of plain water while lapping. I didn't try to wash all the slurry off the block at each rinse. The two Dubl Ducks I have sure do make a lot of slurry, on both lapping mediums.

I want to bring this thread back from the dead to serve as a possible guide for new guys that need a quick, effective way to lap hones/stones. (and I was a little worried by the ongoing thread about Chris L's GDLP losing its diamonds, so I decided to give this a try, again, as a means of conserving the diamond surface of my DMTs, just in case.)

In my previous posts, I mentioned that my concrete block was a little uneven and that the surface was very rough. But I have since used this method with great success on a handful of barber hones as well as natural stones. It seems that the side of the block is the preferable surface and that running water (garden hose in my case) smoothed things out quite a bit. There were a few scratches from particles that were dislodged from the block, but they were mostly negligible.

This is my new "go to" lapping surface for hones that are anything more than slightly irregular, it works well and fast. I'll most likely refine the surfaces on a DMT, but it wouldn't be absolutely necessary.

Happy honing!

Wow Russel - Sounds a bit primitive but all good if it works.

I've always used the glass & valve grinding paste combo.

Any close up pics ?

Originally Posted by Sticky

I've heard that a Swaty is capable of wearing a Norton lapping stone down. The Dubl Duck is quite soft compared to a Swaty. We'll see how the concrete block holds up to a Swaty as soon as I get an unlapped one to experiment on..

I have lapped a swaty with a norton lapping stone and did not find this.

I'll take some pics next time I have to use it, which should be soon as I'm expecting some stones in the mail any day now.

I repaired the Arkansas Stone I use for re-setting bevels by making a Sandpaper Lapper. I used those self-adhesive 6 inch diameter sanding discs. The brand is Mirka (Finland) Gold P80. I do not know what that translates to in grit (80 grit?). I stuck 3 discs to a flat 2X8 plank and rubbed the Arkansas Stone back & forth with a lot of pressure. After a few strokes, I used a wire brush to clear the accumulated dust from the discs.. I repeated this procedure until the surface of the stone was flat again. What does P80 translate to in Grit? True Grit. Puukko Yall.