Thread: worn stone

all my hones are worn down and i have no flattening stone i been told that sandpaper works.good idea or bad idea

Originally Posted by metalhead

all my hones are worn down and i have no flattening stone i been told that sandpaper works.good idea or bad idea

Sandpaper works and there are members who will tell you that they have never had a problem. I lapped my Norton 4K/8K with wet or dry abrasive paper (Imperial WOD 600) and ended up with small particles embedded in the surface of the hone. I could feel them as the razor hit them. This may be a problem specific to the Norton but you can't go wrong with a flattening stone like the DMT 8C.

The norton flattening stone costs only 30 $ I think.
It's the best value for money if you only use nortons.
If you also use other stones, then 55$ for a DMT8C is the best investment you'll ever make.

Yes, I know, more stones...
It's not like I want to push people into buying stones, but I've done the sandpaper thing inthe beginning, and it was a drag:
- it takes longer than using a flattening stone.
- you are messing with water, sandpaper and a flat plate (smooth tile, glass, ...) and leave the kitchen sink area covered with slurry, and if you don't clean up, you'll get into trouble with the missus.
- you can get embedded grit in nortons, which can seriously hurt the honing process
- if the stone is porous, then the surface area can clog with grit, and make it difficult to hone.

When I switched to my norton flattening stone, honing razors became a whole lot easier. really.
It was an amazing difference.

And if you use a flattening stone, you just ake it out before or after each time you use the hone, rub it against the stone for a minute under running water and your stones will be in top condition every time you use them. And you won't be wasting your time preparing and cleaning up the sandpaper solution.

thanx. for the info. as far as buying more stones thats not a big deal to me i wana buy more including the flattening stones money is just tight at the moment. stones and steel are my biggest hobby doesnt matter if its razors, swords, or any kind of knife.

It's Stones and Steel for me too! If you take a straight edge with you to a big box home supply store you can get a gray concrete paving stone for just over a dollar. Most of them are amazingly flat.

I was happy with sandpaper for a while, but the longer I did it the more I felt the paper wore out too soon.
For a neglected stone I used the concrete paver to get it flat and then redid it on paper and glass as a double check before I got a diamond plate.

I've never had any particles embed myself but I have had contamination carried on my hands or from where ever that can be washed away after discovery, but it's way better to keep clean and well rinsed

Eventually concrete or a Norton flattening will wear down and itself need flattening or replacing. If only for razoring that could take awhile I guess.

The DMT diamond hone is your best bet for flattening, about 325 grit, and it stays flat .The Norton lapping stone is even coarser and needs to be flattened after awhile. Whichever you decide to use you will find that the "texture" of the hone surface is to coarse. I use a 1000 grit Norton to finish. That leaves a texture that does not "grab" the razor.

I flatten my Thuringens, Eschers and coticules with 400 grit sandpaper. Never had a problem, never one embedded grain of the sandpaper.

I've used sandpaper too (wet and dry) just maker sure you give the hone a scrub with a nail brush or the rough side of a sponge after.

I normally use a ceramic lapstone on a 'use it every time' basis but when the hones get beyond this I use 600 grit wet'n'dry - never had any problems but then I don't use Nortons so maybe the embedding problem is particular to them.

I highly recommend, no I mean really highly recommend that you get a DMT 8x3 continuous coarse stone 325 grit if you're going to restore a number of hones. I've used sandpaper and it made me frustrated. I hone a dozen or so stones a week and would never be without a DMT for that purpose. BTW, the DMT 1200 grit is not good for lapping as it loads too quickly.