Thread: lapping

i was wondering how often you should relap a stone i heard after about 200 laps or so but wanted to make sure if this is a repost please direct me to the other thread/s

thanks

I re-lap every ten razors, somtimes more often if I am doing Wedge honing...
oh Shaptons BTW

ok great i have plenty honing left then

thanks alot

I think the Nortons need to be lapped more frequently. You can easily check for yourself if you are wondering if your stone needs to be lapped. Draw a grid with pencil and then lap it. If grid removal is uniform, then you did not need to lap it and you can wait longer next time. If removal is first on the ends and progressively more delayed in the center, then you were due for a lapping and there you go you just did it!

The advantage of frequent lapping is that you remove the swarf that embeds in the stone.

I have gotten into the habit of lapping less frequently on my Nortons and instead rub two similar grits hones together before just about every lapping session. This has three advantages. 1. It keeps the hones flat. 2. It keeps the stones clean like new by constantly removing the swarf. 3. It creates a bit of a slurry for the initial honing on each stone. I'm not sure that the Norton slurry actually helps with the cutting. I think it does but I suspect that I might just be projecting my coticules onto my Nortons. If they resent it, they haven't mentioned it--at least not to me.

Please realize that the necessary frequency of lappng is dependent on the individual hone. On the Nortons, the lower grits need to be lapped more frequently, both because they are softer and because they tend to be used for more laps per razor.

I lap my Shaptons before every honing session. It's as much to wake up the surface of the ceramic as to flatten the stone. I do just a few strokes with running water.

bj

I have a Starrett machinist's straight edge and I check mine with that when I go to them. If it looks like they need a lapping I do it. With the Shaptons they recommend lapping every time you use them because the polymer moves a bit even when they aren't used so I hit them a lick every time.

Does the Norton 4k/8k need to be honed when its 1st bought? I recently bought the Norton waterstone kit and it comes with a lapping stone -

eBay.ie: Norton Waterstone Sharpening Starter Kit (item 110326849240 end time 14-Jan-09 16:27:39 GMT)

Originally Posted by Bones

Does the Norton 4k/8k need to be honed when its 1st bought? I recently bought the Norton waterstone kit and it comes with a lapping stone -

eBay.ie: Norton Waterstone Sharpening Starter Kit (item 110326849240 end time 14-Jan-09 16:27:39 GMT)

Draw a grid on it and use the flattening stone to take the gird off. When the grid is off the stone is flat. By using the grid you won't take off more material then necessary. I do mine in the kitchen sink under running water.

Originally Posted by Bones

Does the Norton 4k/8k need to be honed when its 1st bought? I recently bought the Norton waterstone kit and it comes with a lapping stone -

eBay.ie: Norton Waterstone Sharpening Starter Kit (item 110326849240 end time 14-Jan-09 16:27:39 GMT)

I have 7 Norton hones and every one of them needed lapping. For that reason, I would say the odds are good that yours will need it.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I have 7 Norton hones and every one of them needed lapping. For that reason, I would say the odds are good that yours will need it.

Ya Think ????

I would bet those odds