Thread: Lapping a Chinese 12K

Originally Posted by Swink

Marshmallow ... what's the grit on that?

It's funny. I've read a lot of the posts about the 12k. Some folks say it laps fast, others say it takes forever. Joel on B&B said it was 'a bear' to lap. But mine lapped in about 4 minutes. I was surprised and so redid it, but the second time it took only 1 minute. I wonder if there are variations in hardness and if that would affect grit rating or not.

That's a natural stone for you! No two will be exactly alike. Yours may have lapped easier since it was cut cleaner. It could also be 'softer'. Mine took about an hour on each side with a DMT8C under running water. Maybe another half hour to bevel the edges.

Looking at it under a 200x scope, I could not detect any difference in the surface after using finer grits.

I'm pretty sure that the guys who lap their stones with higher grit diamond plates only do it after the initial flatness has been "set" on the course plate. Like setting the bevel on a razor, start low and work your way up.

But the only thing that really changes is the feel of the stone while honing, and even then it's only slight. The stones perform the same whether the surface is course or 8k smooth.

Originally Posted by Russel Baldridge

I'm pretty sure that the guys who lap their stones with higher grit diamond plates only do it after the initial flatness has been "set" on the course plate. Like setting the bevel on a razor, start low and work your way up.

But the only thing that really changes is the feel of the stone while honing, and even then it's only slight. The stones perform the same whether the surface is course or 8k smooth.

Exactly. Your response makes more sense to me. Thanks for explaining what I was trying to say

Originally Posted by Russel Baldridge

I'm pretty sure that the guys who lap their stones with higher grit diamond plates only do it after the initial flatness has been "set" on the course plate. Like setting the bevel on a razor, start low and work your way up.

But the only thing that really changes is the feel of the stone while honing, and even then it's only slight. The stones perform the same whether the surface is course or 8k smooth.

I absolutely agree. I apologize for not being more clear on that. When I referred to using the higher grits, I only meant after the initial lapping was done with a lower grit plate. I also agree with Russel about the final surface of the hone. I have compared hones lapped with the 120 grit DMT and the more standard 325 grit DMT and, though the hone surface is not as shiny, the performance of the hone is unaffected as far as I can tell.