Thread: if you had to keep it down to... 3...

Heres a question in regards to the Norton and the Chinese 12K.

I just obtained a 4/8K Norton and a few razors to learn on, (the 12K will come later). Do I need to build a slurry on the Norton to get it working, or is it just soak and go to work? And if i do need to make the slurry, can it be done with a fine grit sand paper?

I am trying to keep cost down at this point. My next purchase just might find me shaving in the mirror of someones vehicle in the parking lot of walmart....if you know where im coming from.

Slurry is for Belgiums, not Mr. Norton.

Yea for the money Alan's suggestions are great. I would just replace the .25 paste with CrO. If you have more money to burn I would get a coticule instead of the chinese though.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Yea for the money Alan's suggestions are great. I would just replace the .25 paste with CrO. If you have more money to burn I would get a coticule instead of the chinese though.

Ah, the coticule... but there are 2 types, right? Blue and yellow... what's de difference?

Ok... I see the idea.
This what I came up in my investigation - no prices nor budget so far... this just a prospect, ok?

1) For basic honing - Norton 4K/8K combo
2) For finishing a blade and touching up - something in the grit area of 12K
3) Some pastes for the basic touch up to keep the edge in tip top shape
4) For harder work like removing a chip and resto work - something around 1K

But there's the lapping issue? Don't I need something to lap the stones?

I'm very confused, guys... er... help?!

For lapping a hone, you have various options. Essentially the goal is to ensure the hone is perfectly flat.
To this end, there are commercially available lapping plates, such as the ones by Norton or the much more expensive Shapton. Then there is the option of using a fine grit diamond bench hone (also super flat) from DMT as a lapping surface, or even lapping one hone against another of the same type. The idea is to draw a grid on the hone with pencil, rub it on the lapping surface, be it a plate, a hone, or a piece of glass and a piece of wet-dry sandpaper(also a popular method) until the pencil lines disappear evenly. Keep redrawing the lines until they all disappear at once, then you are done. Prior to this, one portion or other of the grid will disappear first, indicating unevenness.
Clear as mud, I'm sure, but hope this helps.


John P.

From everything I have read, the coticule is an 8K, not a 12K. If this is the case, why the coticule in place of the 12K chinese? Isnt the 8K Norton enough?

Sorry fpessanha, not trying to => , im just in the same boat as you at the moment.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Yea for the money Alan's suggestions are great. I would just replace the .25 paste with CrO. If you have more money to burn I would get a coticule instead of the chinese though.

Originally Posted by Basher052

From everything I have read, the coticule is an 8K, not a 12K. If this is the case, why the coticule in place of the 12K chinese? Isnt the 8K Norton enough?

Sorry fpessanha, not trying to => , im just in the same boat as you at the moment.

No problem... if this thread is helpful for me, there's no reason why it shouldn't be for you as well! Ask away! Chances are that you will ask something that I meant asking and forgot!

The coticules, being natural stones, are not quite the same as say, a Norton, and perform differently. Often a coticule produces an edge much finer than that possible on a Norton, possibly due to the shape of the particles, not how many of them there are...
Hope this helps.


John P.

edit: thought I would add, there is absolutely nothing wrong with shaving off the 8k of a Norton. It is something I and many others have done and often still do. This sight and this hobby however entice one to buy more toys and newer interesting hones. Doesn't mean they are necessary at all.

Originally Posted by JohnP

The coticules, being natural stones, are not quite the same as say, a Norton, and perform differently. Often a coticule produces an edge much finer than that possible on a Norton, possibly due to the shape of the particles, not how many of them there are...
Hope this helps.


John P.

edit: thought I would add, there is absolutely nothing wrong with shaving off the 8k of a Norton. It is something I and many others have done and often still do. This sight and this hobby however entice one to buy more toys and newer interesting hones. Doesn't mean they are necessary at all.

For the record, this kind of talk could get one blugened with his paddle strop should the wife ever come to this conclusion.

Thanks for the reply. I was just thinking today about how far this hobby has come since the days of Marshall Dillon. Im sure the stones of yesteryear are nothing like we have today.

Well...
They did have Belgian hones, Eschers, etc etc back then....
So I'm sure they got their stuff sharp also....

John P.

and what was I thinking. Of course we NEED all these different hones, etc etc anything less would be uncivilized, like making us shave with a shard of glass, no doubt !