Thread: Now I should be set.

Originally Posted by flyboy

I went to Home Depot today and got some stuff for the lapping. A polished stone tile and some sandpaper. I already had some Norton 400 wet paper at home that I used to sand a model airplane, so I figured the only paper I would need was the 1000 grit. But they didn't have anything over 600 so I just bought that. Will 600 be ok for the lapping if I finish off really light or do I need some higher grit?

In a brochure that came with my Norton single grit stones they recommended 600 grit for the 4 & the 8. You can usually find higher grit sandpaper in large auto parts stores.

Do you mean I should get something higher for the 12k?

Originally Posted by flyboy

Do you mean I should get something higher for the 12k?

To be honest with you until I got the Shapton GDLP I lapped darn near all of them with a D8C which is 325. Feels plenty smooth to my fingers and blades. I only read the brochure the other day and I have a D8F coming. That is the 600 grit plate.

I have never lapped with sandpaper but plenty of guys do it. If you do a search in basic honing with sandpaper as the key word I bet you will come up with all kinds of info.

Originally Posted by kahunamoose

Yeah, right. I have the same stuff you have, plus a few DMT Dia Sharps from before my straight razor days, and all I can think of now is Shapton. I never thought it would get to this point.

Same here, man. I'm also in SLC. It's a good thing there's not a store in the valley that sells stones. I'd be more broke than I am!

I would love to get Shapton's 2k, 4k, 8k, 16k, as well as a BBW and Coticule. *Then* I'd really be set. Uh huh.

Today I got the Chinese stone and the paste. So I started lapping it and it seems to go fairly well, just a bit left now.
So now I only have to wait for my Norton and I can start honing my own razors

Now the stone is lapped up to 1200 grit sandpaper and I tried to do some polishing on it, but the razor didn't really react in any direction. Think I will wait for the Norton and see how it works out then.

i have your exact set up and it works great. i also have the 220/1k norton for bevel setting. i really like them and i am like you in that i feel like i am set now.

so what razor kind of razors are you getting ready to touch up?

if it were me i give the 12k a try and then hit the 8k, if it is just a touch up then you shouldn't need to go to the 4k. check out the wiki article on pyramids as a mild pyramid would probably work too.

good luck and i hope to hear about your progress.

I have a Dovo "best value" and a Razor I bought here on site, it is a Walter&co, solingen that I absolutely love!

I Went another 150 laps on the stone tonight and a bit on some balsa with chrome (the Dovo). I actually think it is slightly sharper, but I still have to have a bit of a brisk movement on the HHT test to get the hairs to pop. The goal is to be able to just bring the hairs down slowly. But I guess the real test comes tomorrow when shaving.
I found out there is a tiny chip on the edge of the Dovo from it hitting the scales, but I have shaved with it a few times after that and couldn't even feel any difference. That will be my pet project when I get the Norton, it would be nice to know that I did it by myself

When I honed I tried to only use the weight of the razor and think I did that part fairly well. It helped a lot to watch the wave and use that as a confirmation that the razor was level at all times.

I am thinking about cutting off a bit of the end of the chinese and make myself a slurry-stone. Do any of you guys know a cheap way to cut it off? (I am a student and live 4000+ miles from home, so all my tools are left behind)

Originally Posted by flyboy

I am thinking about cutting off a bit of the end of the chinese and make myself a slurry-stone. Do any of you guys know a cheap way to cut it off? (I am a student and live 4000+ miles from home, so all my tools are left behind)

i will say i have a slurry stone for my 12k and i do use it but wouldn't say it is essential. for the effort you would go through to cut it i doubt you would notice a huge need for it. this is just my opinion though. the thing is you would need either a stone cutter or a bunch of hack saw blades and then you still have to lap one of the sides at least a little. again i do use mine but wouldn't say it makes or breaks my shave in any way. you could ask ChrisL for info on cutting them as he is who i got mine from and had a pretty good thread about it if you search in here.

Try taking it to a floor tile dealer. They have all kinds of wet saws, etc. for cutting hard stone. They probably wouldn't even charge you to cut a piece off. Just look up "Tile" in your yellow pages.