Thread: Interesting hone test results.

I've got round to lapping my hones with the DMT8C, and I'm kicking myself hard for not getting the D8XX instead. Lapping 6 hone surfaces takes a long time. In fact I had to leave some unfinished corners, which are low, so I can work around them. It took more time because I wanted to be sure to avoid damaging the D8C - I lapped under water and every 20-30 laps I would run a brush over the DMT to remove any trace of slurry.

The lapped Dragon's Tongue looks greatly different. I imagine it will cut a lot slower and give a smoother finish than the original surface. I have left one side rough, it might come in handy.

I have to give another thumbs up to the DT. It is just so perfectly uniform. There are no defects or variances, it's just a big slab of consistent material. It almost seems too perfect to be a natural stone!

I've been reading some of the other threads on the coticules/BBWs. The more I learn the more confusing it seems, but it's falling into place. FWIW I did the following progression on 3 razors and it worked very well:
BBW+slurry, diluting down to just water
Coticule+slurry, diluting down to just water
Dragon's Tongue + water
Series of diamond pastes on balsa strops.

From what I've read today, I may have been better off skipping the coticule+slurry stage, and finishing with just coticule+water. But the shave was excellent anyway.

I wouldn't be too concerned about not having the D8XX. It's too coarse to leave a good surface on your other hones, so you would have had to use something finer, like the D8C, anyway.

I think I may just get one of the Dragon's Tongue hones now too.

+1 on the DT Ray. Just had mine 'hand-delivered' today. Superbly cut and I'm looking forward to lapping it and giving it a try (I have to confess that it was a sudden manifestation of HAD as I have no problems at all with my new Shaptons). Ahhhh, is it time for therapy?

Originally Posted by xChris

I wouldn't be too concerned about not having the D8XX. It's too coarse to leave a good surface on your other hones, so you would have had to use something finer, like the D8C, anyway.

I think I may just get one of the Dragon's Tongue hones now too.

I'm thinking of getting the D8XX. The rational being that if I do the initial lapping with the XX I won't be risking my D8C wearing prematurely. I can put another pencil grid on the stone and then smooth it out with the C.

Like Rajagra I have also run into stones that have low spots in the corners and I have chosen to leave them and work around them. The pencil grid is still there and I can see the areas I need to avoid. As the stone wears I will eventually lap down to that level. Why take off good honing surface if it isn't necessary.

The XX may work faster. I have a friend who avidly collects hones. He sharpens razors but not often. His thing is lapping. He likes to buy a hone and lap it. Check out the slurry and the surface as it evolves. My least favorite thing in the sport is lapping. If the XX will cut faster it will be worth it to me.

"I grabbed some steel washers and started honing away."

Surface finish mostly depends on its hardness. Hardness of ordinary steel washers is very low. If you use hardened steel washers the results could be different, may be quite opposite. To obtain proper results the experiment should be carried out on the same material the straight razors are made of.

Regards,

Richard

Good point ~ I'd still like to know how quickly these put a final polish on a razor

I'm glad everyone is enjoying my Welsh discovery.
I'm going to give the DT a go after my coticule then, just as a final polish before Cro2 on card.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Good point ~ I'd still like to know how quickly these put a final polish on a razor

I did a pretty extreme test on a spare razor. Abused it pretty badly on a DMT 8C (325 grit) then a D8E (1200grit) then went straight to the Dragon's Tongue.

After 30 laps the bevel already had a nice polish. After 100 most of the DMT scratches were gone, after 200 nearly all were gone. I continued untill 400 but some deep scratches remained. I wouldn't normally run a razor over the D8C!

Using a normal progression you wouldn't need to use many laps on a DT at all.

(Blade was a Joseph Allen non-xxl)

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

...
My least favorite thing in the sport is lapping. If the XX will cut faster it will be worth it to me.

+1 x 10

I have one and it cuts much quicker than the grit rating suggests (XX120 vs. C325). If you've been using a D8C, then the first time you use a D8XX will put a smile on your face real fast.

It's saved me many hours of lapping time on the hard hones. It makes the D8C stage a breeze...

Originally Posted by Rajagra

I did a pretty extreme test on a spare razor. Abused it pretty badly on a DMT 8C (325 grit) then a D8E (1200grit) then went straight to the Dragon's Tongue.

After 30 laps the bevel already had a nice polish. After 100 most of the DMT scratches were gone, after 200 nearly all were gone. I continued untill 400 but some deep scratches remained. I wouldn't normally run a razor over the D8C!

Using a normal progression you wouldn't need to use many laps on a DT at all.

(Blade was a Joseph Allen non-xxl)

Thanx for the road test.

Anyone compared one to an Escher yet ???????