Thread: Norton vs. King

Well I bought a norton 4k/8k and a flattening stone yesterday. I have them soaking so I can lap it. While I was at it I pulled out my king 1000 and 6000 stones to lap them at the same time. I noticed immediately how much rougher the norton felt than even the 1000 king. I mean way rougher. Granted I havent lapped it yet, so they may smooth out. But I have never lapped the kings either as they were for kitchen knives and I hadn't even heard of lapping til I got a razor. So, really I'm just wondering why such a noticable difference in the textures?

You have to lap quite a bit of the 4k norton i noticed mine was a bit grainy but now i have lapped so many times it sounds and feels smoother and realy good hone the 8k side is very silky i still think its an exallant hone never tryed the kings my naniwas feel differant defanatly softer but still like my norton

As far as i know, Norton is a synthetic stone. If King is natural, then it might explain the difference between smoothess of those stones.
Even with the same grit size natural and synthetic stones do not feel the same.

Mine felt rough but once I lapped it it was nice and smooth.

The 8K of Norton side is very easy to lap and smoothen. I use 320 grit sanding waterpaper. However, I found that that for 4K side the initial lapping is quite laborious because the smooth layer is hidden deeper then for 8K side. Once you are done lapping, the subsequent lappings are easy & quick on both sides.
Correct me if I am wrong but I think the difference in textures between Norton vs King is probably because the Nortons were designed with a bias towards sharpening some heavy tools/chisels. Thus they need some preparatory work to be used for more delicate instruments such as straight razors. And from the experience of users on this forum we know that once they are properly lapped they also work for straight razors very efficiently.

Thanks guys. That's what i was wanting to know. I lapped it and it came out pretty dang smooth. It is a huge difference. Then I dropped my flattening stone. but I guess if you gotta drop one, drop the cheap one. So now I guess I'll get a dmt for lapping. What's the recommended grit?

Norton also does not match JIS with their grit ratings. The 4/8K would be 2.5/4K according to micron size of abrasive particles.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is JIS? Assuming it is the rating on the Japanese stones, that would mean that the 6k king is finer than the 8k norton? Or am i way off?

You may find these two charts useful...

WOW!! Thanks! That grit comparison chart helped a ton. I wish I had seen it earlier in my hone quest. It would have cleared things up a lot! I do wish it had the Naniwa and the Chinese 12k listed, but oh well. It is still a great resource!

To you my friend!