Thread: Just ordered a hone

I have two razors now and another on the way so I'm going to need to learn how to keep them sharp. The Norton 4000/8000 seems to be a favorite around here, so I looked around for one and Howard seemed to have the best deal on them so I bought one from him. Is there anything I need to know about keeping my hone working good?

Originally Posted by FLYBYU44

I have two razors now and another on the way so I'm going to need to learn how to keep them sharp. The Norton 4000/8000 seems to be a favorite around here, so I looked around for one and Howard seemed to have the best deal on them so I bought one from him. Is there anything I need to know about keeping my hone working good?

The Norton needs to be lapped fairly often. You can use wet or dry abrasive paper but it caused me a lot of problems because some abrasive grit can get embedded in the stone and contaminate it. I recommend that you get something to flatten it with, like the Norton flattening stone. The Norton prep stone also helps raise a slurry.

Slurry isn't really needed on a norton. But yeah, they need to be flattened regularly, and I've never liked using sandpaper. The norton flattening stone is good value for money.

The best tool for flattening the Norton is a diamond hone, like the DMT. Ask Howard, he has them. Sandpaper has been a problem for a few people but not for me. Now I use a diamond hone, it is faster.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

The best tool for flattening the Norton is a diamond hone, like the DMT. Ask Howard, he has them. Sandpaper has been a problem for a few people but not for me. Now I use a diamond hone, it is faster.

Wholeheartedly agree here. I have the norton lapping plate but did not care for the surface it left on my hones. So now I lap with a 600 grit DMT which can also set a bevel or hone out a chip on an EBay special. If I have some major lapping to do, I break out the norton lapping plate for the heavy lifting and finish with the DMT.