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How often do you need to lap a Norton hone? How many times do you use the 4000 side before you lap it again? Same goes for the 8000 side.
I'll also ask my question about the Chinses 12K here to prevent starting another thread.
Using sandpaper to lap the hone, would you finish with a higher grit sandpaper compared to the Norton because it's a polishing stone? What sandpaper would you finish with? How often does the Chinese 12K need to be lapped?
Here is my method.
I always tape the spine with electrical tape. The electrical tape comes off faster than steel, so play with the pressure you apply to the razor so that you are actually removing the steel and not just honing electrical tape.
When the face of the stone becomes so full of stuff that it no longer cuts then it is time to lap. I spent 3 hours honing yesterday and lapped once before and once during. This was for the 4000 stone. I wet the stone often and then will vigorously rub the stone under running water to unclog as much of the stone as possible.
Basically, when the stone is black, lap it again. Don't remove too much of the stone though, you just need to remove a little.
YMMV
I take a pencil and draw a grid. Kind of like the tic tac toe game but more lines. I lap the stone until the grid is gone. If you hone enough you will feel the difference between a flat stone and one that isn't through the razor. Seems to me like more resistance in a truly flat surface. Some guys do half a dozen razors between flattening ( I have read) I am in the camp that flattens before every honing session. It's hell being a perfectionist but that is probably why I like honing razors.
Does the Chinese 12K need lapping too?
Yes sir, all of mine and all of them I've heard of.Quote:
Originally Posted by GuybrushThreepwood
Lapping does more than just keep the hone flat, it also cleans the hone of accumulated swarf . When we refer to lapping before each honing session
it is a light lapping.
The primary guide is your sense of touch. When the hone feels like its cutting much less than when you started or it looks dirty then lightly lap the hone. My personal preference is for a 1000 grit finish texture on the hone. I usually use a Norton 1000 to finish lapping all my hones. Nortons, TAMS,belgians, eschers, chinese 12K etc.
Just my $.02,:)
I would take what Randy just wrote and read it once again, because what he said works...
You really can't even count how many razor's... If yer honing wedges less time, hollows more time between lapping....
If you tape the spine on every razor like some of us do, the time between lapping will be reduced just because your only honing the edge and not the spine...
Also a little written about system of lapping is always lap the highest grit to the lowest grit... This minimizes the effect of any grit transfer...
Hone Lapping 101 - Straight Razor Place Wiki has it all. And pictures, too.
I lap all my stones after every session with them.
It keeps them clean and flat for the next session.
Lynn
Thanks for all the help guys!:rock:
For me sandpaper lapping was just too much trouble. I just didn't fit with the rest of my sharpening. It was too much a separate operation. A diamond plate has no set up or different requirements from my simple sharpening station.
Previously I would put off lapping for too long; leaving a lot of material to be removed. I found this to be no good for sandpaper, and sandpaper no good for this.
With a plate waiting right beside you it is no bother to give the stone a few light strokes. There is no set-up. nothing to change, no need to cross the room, etc. That is just my laziness, but I am sure that over the last few years I have saved the cost of several books of sandpaper, and it is still cutting. More frequent lapping, i believe, causes less surface wear than restoration type work required when things are obviously out of true
For me, I don't have a bunch of straights that need honing (not at the moment at least, it may very well expand into a collecting thing), so I'm not going to be using the hone everyday. Using anything other than sandpaper, seemed to be money that could be spend well elsewhere (for me anyway). I could easily just send my straight (about to become two when it arrives in the mail) out to honed when it needs be, but I really want to learn everything, to be independent.
But if I was using a hone a lot, I'd most likely step up from sandpaper rather quickly.
Same here. Doing it after every session means it takes onyl half a minute. Waiting until it is noticably dished means you have to spend much more time. And the other benefit is that you always have a clean and consistent surface to work on.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lynn