Thread: Lapping a lapping stone - ceramic tile?

Just make sure the tile doesn't have texture. I have a 16" x 16" tile of faux marble that has a flat, smooth surface that does quite well.

Instead of 220, pick up some drywall screen to flatten your flattening stone. It won't load up like wet/dry will.

Come to think about it, you might want to use the tile and 220 grit to flatten all your stones instead of the flattening stone.

Originally Posted by jdto

I am trying to get my Norton Flattening stone flat, as last night I ended up with a slightly uneven lap on my Norton 1k.

I picked up a ceramic tile and I was thinking about giving the flattening stone a go on that with a low grit paper like a 220. Would that work? Is the ceramic tile going to get it flat enough? The tile sure seems flat, but you can't really tell by eye, I suppose.

Has anyone tried this? My guru is reluctant, as he hasn't heard of anyone doing this, so I figured I'd ask opinions.

I am going to go for a marble/granite tile or a piece of glass, just to be sure. Also, if I'm going to use that stuff to flatten, what's the point of the flattening stone, then? Just for touching up before a honing session? Cleaning off the hones?

@ Johnus: I do use the grid method.

Originally Posted by jdto

Also, if I'm going to use that stuff to flatten, what's the point of the flattening stone, then? Just for touching up before a honing session? Cleaning off the hones?

Actually, Norton makes the prep stone for that purpose. When I had my Norton combos, I lapped on a DuoSharp, but used the prep stone to keep the surface clean.

If you have a good surface to lap on, then a flattening stone is just a matter of convenience.

Sounds good. I think that, eventually, I'll end up with the DMT, but for now the granite tile/piece of glass with sandpaper will be my solutions

Ceramic tile isn't flat enough.

Granite tile, or marble tile, is much flatter. I got a piece of granite tile at Home Depot for about $10, and it seems to work OK.

Charles

Not to beat a dead horse, but I can tell you my experiences.

I flattened my Norton 1K with 220 grit sandpaper on a ceramic tile left over from when they built my house. I drew the grid on the hone, and flattened until the grid was gone. THEN, without honing any razors, I got my DMT8 and flattened the same Norton 1K and the grid didn't come off evenly at all. This tells me that the ceramic tile was nowhere close to being as flat as the DMT8.

IMHO there are so many variables to properly honing a razor, that if you can eliminate one of them, you're that much more ahead of the game... My advice is to get a DMT8 and don't ever worry about whether your stones are flat or not.

Remember also that REAL hard stones such as Arkansas or Swaty's (Barber Hones) can kill a DMT. DMT's work just fine with Norton's though and natural Thurigian's and Coticules along with other softer man-made waterstones.

Originally Posted by rodb

Remember also that REAL hard stones such as Arkansas or Swaty's (Barber Hones) can kill a DMT. DMT's work just fine with Norton's though and natural Thurigian's and Coticules along with other softer man-made waterstones.

I have a Chinese 12k and an Ebay Thuringian inbound. So the DMT might be a good idea, I suppose.

Originally Posted by jdto

I have a Chinese 12k and an Ebay Thuringian inbound. So the DMT might be a good idea, I suppose.

It will work fine for those two, the C12K is pretty hard but will lap on the DMT. I made the bad mistake of using the Norton lapping stone for other stones (C12k) and wore a slight groove in the Norton and it took lots of sandpaper and work to get the NLS flat again, now it's used ONLY for the 4k/8k Norton!

Which grit DMT? The 325 or the 220?

DMT 325 is what I use/suggest.