Thread: Barber Hone Problem

since your hone is different, I dont know if this applies, but a swaty I bought recently was very, very course, the seller stated he lapped it with a DMT, the surface had some pits similiar to what you describe.

I re-lapped it (not much fun) starting at 220 and working up to 2000, on each grit I started with 25 dry laps and then went wet, after all that the finish came out just a smooth as my other swatys, only time will tell if it lasts, but the lapping method does make a difference IMHO

Are the pits catching the blade at all? If they are not projecting up, and only extend down, they should be irrelevant. A lot of hones, natural and sythetic, have pitting, but of course most of them are only visible under the microscope!
Honestly, I have no freaking clue why the pits are growing. If I understand what you described, the pits grew without using the hone but did not get worse when you used the hone with some stainless steel. Is that correct? Did the pits grow without any exposure to water???

Originally Posted by Utopian

Are the pits catching the blade at all? If they are not projecting up, and only extend down, they should be irrelevant. A lot of hones, natural and sythetic, have pitting, but of course most of them are only visible under the microscope!
Honestly, I have no freaking clue why the pits are growing. If I understand what you described, the pits grew without using the hone but did not get worse when you used the hone with some stainless steel. Is that correct? Did the pits grow without any exposure to water???

Utopian, the problem is that the pits grew/appeared IN USE, and the material that used to be in them was released into the lather I was using on the hone and scratched up my blade. The stainless I tried polishing did not have any problems with this phenomenon.

Currentman, I actually did the majority of the lapping on this with a diamond plate, and just did final polishing with sandpaper...So that's an odd coincidence. Hmmm...OK, back to the papers for a (LONG) while, I guess.

Fun time!

Thanks for the advice, guys.

Wow, that's too bad. Of course if it's damaging your blades you can't use it. I guess all you can do is either lap it further or use it as a paperweight.

OK, so I FINALLY got around to lapping this guy again. I ground it down flat on wet/dry sandpaper on glass, then polished up through 1500 grit. It is silky smooth, not a pit in sight, but not glossy--is that ok?
I'll give it a few tries with my DA, the brunt of my abuse at this point, and see if it gives up any particles. I have a feeling it won't...but that may just be wishful thinking. It was really hard to lap, which I take as a good sign....

Thanks for your advice guys, and I'll let you know how it goes.

Good luck!

Glad it worked out for you, I agree lapping these little hones is a PITA but well worth it

I would also add that if you use lather on it, after you touch up a few razors you will see the shine begin to return, it wont be exactly as it was when new, but it will be enough to make you happy