Thread: Scratches off a 16k?

the grit does seem a little worn down on the sandpaper... and the scratches on my razor seem to be about the right size for to be in the 1k to 1.5k range... and my shaves have been less than great lately... !@#$ this is starting to add up.

I can't afford a dglp, nor do I want to spend lots of money to get my stone in working order. what should i do!?!?

A DMT continuous 325 plate would be just fine. The GDLP isn't necessary.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

A DMT continuous 325 plate would be just fine. The GDLP isn't necessary.

42 bucks is still a lot for me these days.... anyone know of a good sandpaper that won't contaminate the surface?

FWIW, the Norton lapping stone (I think it's black Silicon Carbide) doesn't seem to leave any deposits. Certainly when I finish using it on the 4000 grit side, it looks a clean and milky white colour.

That said, I realise it's obviously more expensive than sand paper. It also needs occasional lapping itself, especially if using it on a stone which is quite a bit harder than the fairly soft norton stones.

Ok...

I can confirm that the gs16k is leaving a deeper and wider scratch pattern than my 6k japanese stone. My shaves have been such crap lately that I need to fix this asap, as shaving off the 6k is like asking for razor burn.

Does anyone have a handle on some lapping film? I may use it to lap my shapton, or just use the film instead. If possible I'd like to get 5 micron, 1 micron and .5 micron (a few sheets of each) and maybe a 30 micron for lapping.

You can also get the 6 inch DMT, which is much less expensive. Or, if you only need to remove a little bit of material from your Shapton to get out embedded grit, you could try with some other, finer nonporous stone. I've used barber hones to remove scratches left in hones I've lapped with my DMTC, maybe something similar would get the grit out of your Shapton. Just don't use anything that might pick up the grit itself - use something that is nonporous and very hard.

if you are just concerned with contamination, you could use your sand paper to flatten all of the stones first....rinse them all thoroughly, wiping them with your hand to make sure you get as much contaminant as possible.....then use your newly flattened 6K stone to "refresh" the surface of your newly flattened 16K stone.

This might not fix the problem, but it would be a bunch cheaper if it does work....I would try it in your position before I spent any extra money.

EDIT - Just noticed that holli4pirating already suggested this....I clicked post after reading just the part about the 6" DMT.

Actually, I just refreshed the stone with the same paper, and very little pressure. It seems to be ok now. Thanks for all your help.