Thread: initial prep of new hone

i have a norton 4k/8k on the way. what do i need to do to 'prep' it for use? is there anything i need to pick up for maintenance of it?

I noticed on ClassicShaving that they sell a nice square, flat pumice stone. That should work well to lap a Norton I would think. A small piece of plate glass can be used to check flatness. There's a good Brian Donofrio video that shows it quite nicely.

There has been some debate about the need to prep a Norton.
Some guys do and some don't. I do because I want to make sure its flat.

Find a flat surface, counter top, piece of glass etc. Purchase some wet/dry sandpaper, 600 grit. Wet the glass or countertop and the sandpaper. Place the sandpaper on the glass. Now place the hone on the sandpaper and use an X pattern for 10 laps. Turn the hone over and look at the wear pattern. The hone is flat when the color and wear pattern are uniform over the entire length of the hone. The next issue is the edges of the hone. It is possible for the edge of the hone to chip the blade so what I do is round over, smooth over, the edges of the hone with sandpaper. The goal is no sharp corners.
After the sanding place the hone under running water and rub it with your fingers or a nylon scotchbrite pad. the goal here is to remove any embedded particles leftover from the sandpaper.

Now your hone is ready to use,

Great! so i move the hone over the sandpaper, not the sandpaper/glass over the hone..i figured you moved the glass over it somehow, like you would with a smaller hone if that is how you were going to level it.

I got a norton 'shaper' or something, a $10 3 inch by 1 inch square artificial stone used to create a slurry, I figure I can use that to go around the edges to round them off.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

There has been some debate about the need to prep a Norton.
Some guys do and some don't. I do because I want to make sure its flat.

The Norton is as flat as it can be leaving the factory cutting (or leveling) machine. The only problem might be the surface, which is not smooth enough for putting a razor on it. If you think that's the case, there is no need for lapping (and possibly screwing up the factory flat) surface, but simply smoothing it, which can be done with pumice stone. No hand lapping process can trully "true" the stone...

Nenad

I didn't lap my Norton for months and it worked very well the whole time.

X

what about working up a slurry, do you have to do that for both the 4k and 8k side before you sharpen or just go at it? I figure it might be a pain if you are doing a pyramid and flipping it a lot.

do you keep it in a dish/tray of water when you are honing? what about when you are storing it?

I do that with my 2 sided belgian with a bit of wet/dry sanding paper. I don't do pyramid though.

No slurry necessary, just soak the 4k side for about 15 minutes and go at it. Flipping isn't such a pain. You'll get used to it.

X

should i rest it in a tray of water? what is the best way to set it up on your table?