Question about lapping the Shapton 15K stone

Hi everyone, this is my first post. I've been lurking for about a year and finally decided to come forward. I already own 4 razors a couple of Tony Miller's excellent paddle strops and and the Norton 220/1000 and 4000/8000 stones. I am thinking of purchasing either a Belgium yellow or the Shapton 15k stone. I hear people say that the Belgium is rated at 8000 grit, cuts closer to 12000. Does this mean that because this is a natural product and not manmade that the grit is inconsistant throughout the stone? Wouldn't this make it very difficult to sharpen a razor?My other question concerns the Shapton 15k. I read up on this stone on their web page and I also went to my local Woodcraft store and they are all very anxious to sell the stone with the iron flattening plate and the array of powder that goes with it. I normally true my Norton's on a granite surface plate and some 600 grit sand paper. The Shapton website says that this is not the best procedure. Does any one own a 15k that can shed a light on this subject. Do I really need to by their iron plate to lap or can i stick with my granite plate and sandpaper routine? My apology's if this material has been covered in past posts. Thank's for your kind attention.

Welcome to the site!

I have the shapton plate and I'll admit its a pleasure to use but like everything else around here its not required. If what you've been using works for you and you don't have 100+ bucks to burn I woudn't buy it.

I think what makes the coticule superior is that as a natural stone those little garnets are very evenly dispersed through it. Of course if you have one and really want to know you could take it to a University that has an SEM and they could analyze it for you.

I sure do appreciate the help with the questions on the hones. I would rather spend the extra money on more straight razors than the accessory items. I've been shaving with straights for a little over a year and have learned a great deal from reading the posts from this site and from the help files. I had been using pastes up until recently but I have decided to give the stones a go. The norton's have been working great for me but I have been curious about some of the higher grit stones. Thanks again for your help.

I can't vouch for the Shapton lapping plate, but I have the 15k pro stone and I lap it with a DMT ultra fine diamond hone, no problems.

Jeff

Welcome! I use a Shapton 15K (pro series) and clean it with Bon Ami and a sponge after it is wet then wash it off under cold water by rubbing with fingers. To true it up I use a piece of plate glass on top of a wet newspaper on a tile counter. Place a piece of wet/dry 600 grit (in the very wet condition) on top of the glass and flatten well. Use a figure 8 pattern in both directions. Follow this by changing to 1200 or 1500 grit for final smoothness. Wash the stone well under cold running water. Save the sandpaper in between a newspaper weighed down with anything flat.
Monte

This was exactly the feedback I had hoped for. As it stands now I'm really partial to the Shapton 15k. I almost bought it last time I visited my local supplier but I opted to get a little bit more info. I guess I just ran into an aggressive salesmen. I am so happy I checked here first.

Hey guys, these are some really good posts!:)

Just to throw another option in here...I lap my stones on a 9-inch disc grinder I've got set up with a foot switch. I use 1500 grit wet or dry paper. Wet the paper and the stone, put the stone on the disc, hit the foot switch. Keep the stone on the disc until it completely stops spinning. Takes about 3 seconds, and gets the stones perfectly flat. Make sure you wash the stone thoroughly afterwards, though.

I have a Shapton 15k pro and the lapping plate. This stone has a tendency to load up and requires regular lapping with extra fine lapping powder (white powder). This is available at shapton web site. DO NOT use the gray fine powder sold with the plate on your 15k.

I am sure that there are ways to duplicate this without spending the money, but I don't know what they would be.

Thanks Korndog. I was hoping to avoid buying the iron flattening plate and powder's and continue with my original system of using just wet/dry sandpaper on a granite surface plate. I do not want to take any chances with such a fine hone as the 15k. If it has the propensity to load quickly and requires regular lapping than I will most certainly go ahead and by the plate also.