Thread: Flattening Chinese 12k

If the glass is harder than the 12K, won't the grinding paste want to imbed in stone? If so, then how do you make sure it is out before using it on your razors?

Seraphim ~

Nope - no more than wetndri paper would which is the same abrasive. You use it with water, rubbing in large circles & figure 8's. The paste breaks down to a slurry. The glass takes on a frosted appearance but the paste doesn't embed in the glass or the stone. Just rinse off and you're good to go.

My Chinese 12K arrived yesterday from Classic Shaving. I lapped it on a marble countertop with 240 grit and 400 grit wet & dry abrasive paper. It took 4 sheets of paper and 2 hours of backbreaking work to get a useable surface. There is a thin edge on each of the ends that is unlapped but they don't interfere with honing and it didn't seem worthwhile to be to go for totally flat because I would have had to remove a lot of surface and I was exhausted. My original intention was to lap 4 of the 6 sides but I settled for 2, 1 long and wide and 1 narrow and wide. It was said earlier that you don't need to draw a grid. The surface of the stone was thinly grooved, making it appear lighter than the lapped area. All you need to do is look for the grooves and its obvious where it's not lapped.

I'm mystified by everyone talking about how hard it is to lap. Perhaps I just got a softer stone? Once the pencil lines were gone, it stuck to a piece of glass really well, I had to slide it off. Or maybe it was already really flat when I got it?