Thread: Woot! Finally ordered my stones!!

Originally Posted by Quick

That was my original plan too but since I am starting with zero I needed a lapper. I figured if I was getting a lapper it should do double duty as a bevel setter. So I went DMT D8E, Shapton 2K, 4K, 8K, 16K. Should get here next week

Since I already had the DMT 8E, Glen suggested that I get the 2k instead of the 1k, too. It was a tough decision to make, but since I've had a few problems with some razors micro-chipping on the DMT8E, I decided I better have a more gentle bevel setter than the DMT. It probably wouldn't be a problem with a DMT8E that is *really* well broken in, but apparently mine still isn't. It's still microchipping some blades.

They arrived last night!

I lapped them with a DMT8E, fighting the stiction the whole while. The Shaptons came pretty flat. It only took a few minutes to lap them and round off the edges.

One thing that kinda surprised me was the factory-new surface of the Shaptons wasn't very smooth. All of them were quite rough. After lapping with the 8E, they were all extremely smooth. The 16k is so smooth that it's hard to imagine it having any bite at all.

But enough of all this yapping. I gotta go sharpen stuff.

Are you done yet? Are you done yet? Are you done yet?

How did it go?

Originally Posted by Quick

Are you done yet? Are you done yet? Are you done yet?

How did it go?

After just doing one razor, I'm just gettting started!

I definitely understand why these stones have such a reputation. I'm able to get a *much* smoother edge off of the Shaptons than I can from the DMT's. The Shaptons don't cut as fast as the DMT's, so you do have to get used to the fact that it's going to take about twice as many strokes on the Shaptons as the DMT's. Not a bad thing, just different.

The way the razor feels on the Shaptons is sooo much better than the DMT's. The "feedback" is great; you can tell that the razor is done on that particular stone just by watching, listening, and feeling the razor as it goes down the stone. Really cool, because it allows you to stop at just the right point, instead of just doing a few strokes and guessing on the DMT's. I'm removing much less metal with the Shaptons so far do to this.

I haven't shaved with the blade I sharpened yesterday yet, but it looks very promising. After the 16k Shapton, I didn't even bother with any diamond pastes. Just went straight to the leather for 100 laps.

Under the microscope, I can't see any hone scratches or microchips. It looks completely smooth. For you HHT fans, it passes the entire length, with no sound or pinging of the blade when the hair cuts. It also shaves arm hair every bit as comfortably as a new DE blade in an adjustable safety razor set to least agressive.

Oh, btw, this is on the second-best shaver I currently have: a Puma 85.

The blade is definitely *very* sharp. I just hope that it's as smooth as it is sharp.

That's what I've loved about my honemeister honed blades: they are extremely sharp without being harsh.