Thread: Does a rough stone mean a bad finish?

Hello All,

I have a quick question regarding stones which I hope will have a quick answer. I just received my Norton 8000 grit stone in the mail the other day. I already have a Pike hone and a Japanese 6000 grit stone (Suehiro). The question is this;
I was expecting the Norton 8000 stone to be smoother than the other stones that I had, and yet when I run my fingers across the stones surface it feels significantly rougher than the pike hone and a lot rougher than the Japanese 6000 grit stone. I have read the posts on differing grit sizes for different nationalities;

1. Does the smoother feeling stone mean that I will get a smoother finish on the razor edge, or a finer edge?


Any info would be gladly received.
Thanks
Peter

The roughness doesn't mean much, actually. The razor will only hit the high points of the stone anyway, and the real abrasiveness comes from the abrasive particles embedded in the hone which you can't see or feel.

This is one of the reasons you can get away with lapping an 8k norton on a piece of 600 grit sandpaper.

I actually find that strange because my 8k feels smoother than my Japanese stones. Try lapping it first, just in case. Smoothe out the edges, while you're at it.

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

I actually find that strange because my 8k feels smoother than my Japanese stones. Try lapping it first, just in case. Smoothe out the edges, while you're at it.

I agree with this 100%. The process of "cooking" the hone leaves a surface finish that will change after lapping. Use a fine grit wet/dry sandpaper and use it wet. 600-2000 grit. Draw some pencil lines on the hone and lap it on the sandpaper until the lines are gone. Then lap it 20 more laps.
Rinse and rub the hone under running water to remove any grit that been imbedded from the sandpaper.

Hope this helps,

Thanks,
I lapped the stone as per the instructions and now it has a really smooth surface. Strange how such a simple piece of advice can help so much.
Thanks again
Peter

It wasn't free

The going rate for the advice is for you to use the hone, get at least one razor shave-ready, shave with it 5-15 times, touch it up, shave 5-15 times and repeat the process for the rest of your life

I am sitting here with the smoothest checks I have ever had thanks to your advice. I had previously been using an old hone I got from my grandfather with what I thought was good results. The japense 6000 seemed to make them blunter???

Use the Norton 8000 for the first time and the razor is popping hairs along the edge for the HHT every time. Have been shaving semi exclusively with the cut throat now for about a year and after that magnificent shave will never go back. In fact….

I plan to escalate this hobby. A few months ago I purchased some ivory to make some scales with and have been slowly getting together some razors to restore. Have been collecting Bengal razors by T Cadman and Sons for the project as this was the first razor I got (2 short on what I need). 30 minutes ago I got some African ebony for the spacers (sorry I don’t know the terms). And will start the project of getting five restored razors into an ivory and ebony case.

I have purchased the straight razor CD of one of the members here and have found it to be immensely informative.

Thanks for all the info, this is a great site.

Regards,
Peter

Check this file out, you mind find it helpful, at least for the razor terms...:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/compo...nload/gid,136/


cheers,
Nenad