Thread: Lapping hones, A day well spent!

Lapping hones at Randy's
I was able to arrange a meet for lapping some of my hones with RandyDance. I just never got around to it before! So; finally, today was the day. I got a fairly early start and and had a pleasant hour's drive over there. Well worth the time spent! It was a bit warm today but the wind was fresh and I was comfortable while working.

Randy looked at the pile of rocks and said "You ready to spend the next 6 days lapping??"

We sat and chatted while I was lapping. About three and a half hours spent and 20+ hones lapped flat at DMT 220 grit.
The Geezer at work! Two fingers at the center of the hone for the last light passes will assure a flat stone.

A stack of assorted hones on the table. Fortunately they were fairly close to flat and only took about ten minutes or less each.

Mark the hones with X's and with lines near the edges. Lap a dozen figure eight strokes or less; dip the DMT in the water bucket to slosh off the slurry; dip the stone into the water bucket to slosh off the slurry. Repeat till all the marks are gone. Re-mark the hone with pencil and repeat with zero pressure and two fingers at the center of the hone. That will tell if the hone is flat because the figure eight will tell you it is not when a part of the hone is catching on the DMT

All I have to do now is lap them at home to a finer surface texture. Randy suggests that all the hones you use be lapped to the same grit. that will allow you to have a better feel for the entire series. Meaning that each hone's surface will give the same feel during the honing.

Randy is, to say the least, a very accommodating fellow. His DMTs, his coffee, and his wonderful brain to pick for honing knowledge and useful ideas. He has been honing a lot of years!!

I had a warped DMT 320 and all the hones that I used it upon were not flat, but cupped in the center. Some of them I used the Wet sandpaper on a flat surface top improve the flatness.. I figured that it was time to really get them flat!

No, I do not have HAD!! I like to experiment! Squeaky Pen / magic marker does stain the Shaptons!! Even though the surface is flat the marks soaked into the surface. It worked well on the other hones but a pencil is better for me. I thought I would try the marker suggestion that was posted to mark the Xs' and lines.
~Richard
PS, Anyone going to St Paul/ Minneapolis would be well advised to contact Randy!

Sounds Like my kind of a fun day, way to go fellows!!

Originally Posted by tinkersd

Sounds Like my kind of a fun day, way to go fellows!!

What I forgot to mention...do not use your bare hand to wipe off the DMT plate on the table. After a few dozen wipes, the skin gets really thin!
A bit tender today! I would love to do the get together again! A few good folks around a nice big table would be a gas! Cooler weather would make it better though!
Indoors would require use of a big shower stall. I think that doing the lapping indoors would have taken about twice as long and another couple hours to do the cleanup!
Think about doing a lapping get together in your area if one of you has a DMT.
Thanks for the pleasant comments!
~Richard

Hey Richard,

Great idea for a get-together, sounds like a great day. I hope to move back to your bit of the Mississippi valley in a year or two.

By the way, ​I think you have HAD. But your secret's safe with me. And anyway, there's no shame, man!

Best wishes

The Rest of the Story!
Home again! The next day a short time was spent outdoors lapping the hones upon 800 grit wet/dry paper to have all the surface textures the same across all the working hones. About 1 hour was all it took . 86ºF 30C and a 15 MPH/10kph wind was comfortable in the shade of the house.
The substrate was a quite flat (tested on a machinists bench plate) Piece of granite tile. The wet / dry paper was 3M though there are equivalent brands around the world. The bucket served so well yesterday that it was again the hone soaking and water source. The curling of the paper was not a problem as the strokes pressed it down well. The arrises /edges of the hones were softened a bit.

My advice...If you are restoring many ebay and junque shop razors or like honing an awful lot, then many hones could be a solution. And a source of pride/madness! If you have only a few razors to keep in shape, then a single hone may last your life's time. Get trained "with your own hone" by someone using that type of hone. Above all; have fun!
~Richard

Oh, is THAT all you've got for hones? Sorry to suggest you've got HAD, man, you're perfectly normal! ;-)

Richard,

You most certainly have a mild case...lol.

Now my question is about your decks construction. I've never seen a deck where the planks didn't run past the rim joist. That's really great looking! Did you build it, or have it built?

I think you got the right idea Geezer. Keep it outside where all you need is a garden hose to clean up.
Well done!!!

Originally Posted by regularjoe

Richard, snip....Now my question is about your decks construction. I've never seen a deck where the planks didn't run past the rim joist. That's really great looking! Did you build it, or have it built?

The planks end at the rim joists which are doubled internally with a 2x4 but a trim piece was added afterward. And I had a local contractor do the job. The deck is still good after almost 15 years.

And yes, I do most of the grimy and dusty work outdoors when possible. I have taken a belt sander into a snowy day to trim and contour bone scales to shape.
Thanks guys!
~Richard