Thread: Flattening Stone

How do you know when your hone needs flattening? Are there more ways to flatten it than buying a flattening stone?

i draw a pencil grid on the hone and do circles on a diamond hone. i used to use wet/dry sandpaper for this... maybe 400 - 1000 grit.

residual pencil marks will tell you if you need to lap it.

there are some videos around that show how to do all of this. sorry i can't find them and give you the link.

Here is a little walkthrough that is in the SRP wiki: Hone Lapping 101 - Straight Razor Place Wiki

I used to use wet/dry sandpaper to lap my Norton stones. It does a fair job of keeping the stones flat but I think the results can be a little deceiving especially when using water. A slurry builds up that will erase your gridlines before the stone is actually flat.

Sandpaper is OK until you can get a flattening stone but I would encourage you to get the stone asap. I use the DMT1200. It does a good job and is not too expensive.

Originally Posted by lawman2

I used to use wet/dry sandpaper to lap my Norton stones. It does a fair job of keeping the stones flat but I think the results can be a little deceiving especially when using water. A slurry builds up that will erase your gridlines before the stone is actually flat.

Sandpaper is OK until you can get a flattening stone but I would encourage you to get the stone asap. I use the DMT1200. It does a good job and is not too expensive.

+1, I have the 1200 D8E and the 325 D8C continuous plates. The 12 works but is slower of course. The 325 will take it down quick. The 1200 is also great for bevel setting and removing larger chips.

Doesnt the sandpaper roughen up the hones? I'm looking into hones and read on Craftsman Studio - Blog · Sharpening - Diamond Products that trying to flatten a Shapton hone with a DMT plate is not a good idea, and from my experience with sandpaper, you get an easy material transfer off the sandpaper? So wouldnt you be depositing 1000 grid material on the much finer hone that way?

Originally Posted by canyon289

How do you know when your hone needs flattening? Are there more ways to flatten it than buying a flattening stone?

Most water stones and synthetics, including barber hones, will need some flattening. So many that it is standard practice to assume it will unless otherwise stated (I'd test it anyway).

The DMT D8C 325 (never needs flattening) is fairly popular for this and works on knives too. You can also use wet/dry paper on anything flat. Using a concrete block is controversial , but it still works; as long as the hone is softer than concrete (many are). I use one fairly often, and usually smooth up afterwards with the DMT or 400-1000 wet/dry paper.