Thread: My first honing on coticule

Originally Posted by rickboone

Okay, so forgive my ignorance but what the heck is polishing exactly? Is it literally polishing in the sense it makes something shiny? I don't understand.

Polishing is when you're merely just removing the scratch pattern of the early hones and polishing it out so the edge is sharp but no longer harsh to the skin.
An edge should be shave ready off the 8k but when you move on after that you're just polishing the bevel so the edge shaves still very well but it won't grip your skin and bite as much.

The nortong always need lapping when you buy them new. I would also get a DMT d8c 325 grit plate to lap your stones, it's a very good investment and can also be used to remove chips on razors and restore, etc. Nortons need to be lapped often as they get dirty quickly from removed metal. You will also need to round the sides and corners of the Norton when you get them when lapping them flat, this way the blade doesn't catch on the sides or corners.

Whenever you get a hone in the mail, unless the seller lapped it for you, should be lapped when you get it anyway. Lapping can be found in the wiki. It is actually very easy to do and I wouldn't be too scared of it, it's easier than honing a razor.