Thread: Lapping Barber Hones

Okay, after hours of searching I have given up. I just recieved the starter set of hones form Tilly, and as we talked about, she included a little devil for lapping the others. I believe she knows what she's talking about, but I thought you had to use like on like. Am I going to ruin the little devil (or any of the others) in doing this?

Thanks

Oh, I've got the Cushion strop hone, the Gem, the Lithide, and the aforementioned little devil.

Use a high grit sandpaper to flatten the hones on a hard flat surface. Two like or similar grit hones can be used to lap together to make a slurry. I personally do not use this method to hone a razor. Feel free to pm me if you need more information. Glen

Thanks for the response. I am trying to avoid the sandpaper method if possible. I have read a lot about it, but this would be much more convenient for me if it's "safe". I emailed Tilly after posting here, but haven't gotten a response yet. It's the first time a response from her has taken more than about 2.5 minutes.
Maybe she's just out today. Is this kind of a gray area that people are unsure about (hence the lack of responses)? If so, I'll post whatever Tilly tells me.
Hell, I'll probably post it regardless.

-Take Care

Sandpaper is common method for lapping the hones. It can be used to lap barber hones, as well as waterstones (Norton). I lapped my Barber hones (lithide and itsapeech) on sandpaper on thick glass plate, starting with 320, 400, 600 and whatever highest grit available. Just be carefull not to take too much material unnecesary.

Lapping the Norton is reccomended when you get it new, to remove the factory finished surface, but be carefull to use high quality sandpaper, as the particles can remain embedded in soft stone surface. It won't take long, and use only 800 or 1000 grit. All laping is done with water.

After that, there is no need for lapping the Norton again with sandpaper. You can use pumice stone and rub with circular motions across the surface of the Norton. When it gets filled with metal particles (becomes black and shiny) you can first try washing it off with hand soap and boar bristled brush. It works wonders...

Nenad

I am not sure why you would not want to use sandpaper. It's not like they are all warped or anything. I take sandpaper to every hone I get to dress up the surface for use. Try starting with 600 grit if you are concerned about excessive wear. It will show on the face of the hone how much work is needed to get it flat. I like to finish with 2000 grit to get a nice smooth surface. Then take a practice razor and work it over the surface first.

Glen

Hi,

I got exactly the same package (aside from the Devil) and am quite happy with it.

I lapped all hones with 1000 grit sandpaper sticked to a thick glass plate, but I finished the Lithide by lapping it on the glass plate alone without any abrasive.

-Axel-

You won't hurt it. You can use your "Little Devil" to lap most other barber hones, save for those few that are of a harder composite, in which case you'd end up lapping the Little Devil instead of the other hone. However, you may still need to lap the little Devil before using it on other hones. If so, you're still going to need to use sandpaper as Glen has recommended. When you finish lapping the hone, scrub it with a Scotch brite bristle pad in order to remove any sandpaper particles that may have got lodged in the working surface of your hone.

Don't underestimate this little hone. A well lapped "Little Devil" is a good hone to use for setting an edge.

Hal

Hal, Rex here. I have an older reddish pike hone that when I tried to lap with my Little Devil became rougher instead of glassy like my Itsapeech, Lithide ,Etc hones. What do you suggest? It's driving me nuts for 4 months, just thinking about it. I tried it wet, dry,I used another Pike, the Itsapeech, a couple of combo-hones that I have and nothing seems to work. After this I'm thinking of just using glass plate and water. Has this worked for you? Any ideas from the 'master of barber hones' would help. Thanks

Rex

Hi there Rex. I'm not sure what type of Pike hone you have. I have a brownish Pike Swaty, but ceramic hones of this type usually don't require much in the way of lapping. That you have lost the original glossy finish on your hone doesn't mean you have spoiled it, however. For example, the instructions I have for one of my Franz Swatys recommends that "if the rough side by long use gets too smooth rub it when dry with rough emery paper or with a flat piece of pumice stone and plenty of water." A rougher surface on your hone resulting from lapping it with a coarser grit hone will afford a coarser grit result. This is why a polished surface is desirable for your Itsapeech or Lithide: it optimizes the extra fine grit properties of the hone. This may not be so much a concern for medium grit hones, where a coarser grit result may be more desirable. Whatever type of surface you obtain, when you finish lapping your hone, it is important to let it dry and check to see that it has a uniform quality. If not, more lapping is required.

If you have had no luck with the hones you currently have, then you might try using some wet and dry sandpaper on a flat surface, lapping it with progressively finer grit sandpaper until the original surface is restored. I have never thought to try using only a glass plate. I can rely on a wide selection of barber hones when lapping my finer grits, so I am not too experienced with using finer grit sandpapers. However, Glen Glockner could offer lots of help in this regard. If he doesn't post a reply here, I'd recommend sending him a PM.

Hal