Thread: Nortons not cutting it

I have a couple razors that have lots of chips along the blade, or have an uneven blade (warped, not smiling). My norton 220 and 1k don't seem to be evening things out. Is there a different type of stone that would work better? I think some have mentioned a DMT diamond stone. Can you get those at Lowe's or Home Depot? What grit is good? Or should I just stick with the norton?

The DMTs referred to on this site are often 325 grit, so less aggressive than the 220 Norton. I have rarely gone below my 1K Norton and usually don't even use that. The Nortons should be working for you. What kind of negative results are you getting?

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.

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.

I've varied the pressure from light to firm, but not mashing the blade into the stone. I think I'll do a video tonight and link it, might be easier than trying to explain. Would that be helpful?

Originally Posted by ace

The DMTs referred to on this site are often 325 grit, so less aggressive than the 220 Norton. I have rarely gone below my 1K Norton and usually don't even use that. The Nortons should be working for you. What kind of negative results are you getting?

The edge of the blade looks rusted and kinda serrated. I've spent time on the stones, expiramenting with different pressures. 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.

I don't think you should breadknife. You're in for serious honing pain if you do too much.

Hone with with spine off the stone at a 45 degree angle. get the gunk off the edge. Drop to three layers of tap, then two, then one. Then set the bevel properly.


That's my advice.

Originally Posted by Maxi

I don't think you should breadknife. You're in for serious honing pain if you do too much.

Hone with with spine off the stone at a 45 degree angle. get the gunk off the edge. Drop to three layers of tap, then two, then one. Then set the bevel properly.


That's my advice.

Thanks for the tip. I'll try it tonight.

On a side note, another question.
I heard that when honing you want to keep going till the lines that appear on the bevel dissapear. Once the lines are smoothed or polished away then it's okay to move to the next stone and repeat, not moving off each stone till the lines are gone. Not sure how sound this is, but is that a good idea?

The scratch pattern needs to be even, it will never be gone...

When you look at the bevel under Magnification you look to make sure that the pattern is even from the bevel to the edge, don't get to hung up on the bevel though it is the edge and how it feels that is important... The scratch pattern is good for finding spots you are missing, a Black magic maker also helps

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.