Thread: Nortons not cutting it

Also if the edge is rusty you won't be able to accomplish much until you hone past the rust to good metal.

Originally Posted by Maxi

Hmmmm, this is interesting.

At first thought, no offence, it may be the honer and not the hones. The Norton's are versatile, and by using slurries you can alter the grits of the 1k fairly easily.

I've done lots of major work on the Norton 1k. I don't particularly like the 220 because I find it cuts much too aggresively for my tastes. I will run a thick slurry on the 1k before I go to the 220 or a DMT.

Are you using any pressure? Are you using a variety of strokes to remove metal at a faster rate?

More information would be very helpful here.

Thanks.

Sorry if this is a bit off the OP and not trying to hijack this so feel free to move if need be.....but.......

Maxi, what's the thought/why use slurry on the 1k drop DOWN to a 220 or DMT to return to the 1k (I assume) can the same not be achieved by diluting the slurry on the 1k? or is there an added advantage to starting with a slurried 1k then going lower as opposed to just starting lower?

I think what he meant is that he tries a heavily slurried 1k to see if that will work before resorting to coarser stones.

Oh, sorry....I should have clarified.

Some guys look at the edge and their stones, and start at the 220.

I don't like the Norton 220. I look at the 1k and try it, with or without slurry.

What I meant was "I use the 1k, and a the 1k with slurry (add emphasis in voice here) BBBBEEEEFFFOOORRREEE I even LOOK at the 220."

Originally Posted by Maxi

Oh, sorry....I should have clarified.

Some guys look at the edge and their stones, and start at the 220.

I don't like the Norton 220. I look at the 1k and try it, with or without slurry.

What I meant was "I use the 1k, and a the 1k with slurry (add emphasis in voice here) BBBBEEEEFFFOOORRREEE I even LOOK at the 220."

Cool thanks for the clarification! This make TOTAL sense!!

I've used the 220 , but I only use it if the blade needs some serious metal removal . No matter how lightly I hone on the 220 , the edge is always rough as a corn cob .

Originally Posted by salazch

... It was recommended that I try to bread knife the blade to wear the edge down a bit and get rid of the rough edge, but that will eat up my stone.

Others are doing a good job advising you, and I won't add anything about your razor. However, in the future when you do need to breadknife, I suggest you use a plain old Ace Hardware rough grit whetstone. Most often, they carry a two grit Norton whetstone, the type used to sharpen axes and hoes. And, yes, your blade will cut grooves into the whetstone. But, at $10... who cares! Use it for awhile, and then buy another one.

When breadknifing, alter the direction of your blade often, and the whetstone will last longer. But, don't make the mistake of continuing to use the whetstone after it is no longer flat.

Thanks for the help guys. Gonna give it a try this weekend.
I'm still struggling with how much pressure to use when setting the bevel though.

That depends on how much work you have to do, IMO.

If the bevel is "relatively close", them maybe you can get away with very little pressure. If you're just coming off the buffers and your edge looks like a U instead of a V....heavy pressure.

Evaluate your edge with your thumbpad or thumb nail before you begin. Those to things are valuable tools.

While we're in the topic of nortons, I can't seem to get my 8k completely flat. I make a grid and use the flattening stone that came with the kit but it's still not evenly taking off the grid. Does anybody have problems with the flattening stone that comes with the kit. I'm sure I just need to lap it for a while longer. If I do end up wanting to try a different stone for lapping, what's a good stone to get? I see a lot of people using DMT's.