Thread: Where can I get...

...a lapping stone for a Norton 4000/8000? Thanks.

Tom

Vintage Blades has them.

I got mine from Jim at Vintage Blades. I can't recommend him enough. His service was excellent and his shipping was really, really quick too.

There was a thread about how the Norton Flattening Stone left the surface of the 4K and 8K a little rough. Some mentioned how they used sandpaper and glass or marble to lap them. What I do is use the Flattening stone to flatten both sides of the hone because I think it is quicker than the sandpaper, but then I turn the flattening stone over and lay a wet sheet of 800 grit wet/dry sandpaper and finish off the hone on it with the idea of taking the rough off of the surface. I'm assuming that the backside of the Norton Flattening Stone is flat though. I'm pretty sure it is.

Tom; not really an answer to your question but, Norton recomends lapping the 4000/8000 stone with 400-600 grit waterproof paper. I have used a piece of floated plate glass, as thick as I could get, from the local glass shop and used the wet/dry paper to flatten all my stones. Not a lapping stone but works like one. Hope this helps.

Regards,
Zig

I use 1000 grit wet-dry sand-paper as it's even finer and I use it for putting the initial bevel on very dull blades anyways. The surface is a machine-flattened granite tile ($6 at the home depot) 12x12"

sorry for bringing up an old thread but it will save me from making a new thread later. warning there are a lot of questions here!

Is that piece of granite from the home depot flat enough? do they say or guarantee how flat it it? lee valley has a granite plate ($32.50) thats accurate to ±0.0001" overall. they also have a glass lapping plate ($10.95) (guaranteed to be flat enough to allow you to lap a stone to a flatness better than 0.001" per inch of stone length). is the granite worth the extra cost? i like the idea of getting a flatter stone

i was thinking of getting a norton flattening stone until i heard people say it doesn't do as good of a job as paper/grit on glass and that it leaves the surface rough and that higher grit paper is usually needed after

i have also heard of people using a 1000 (or similar) grit stone to lap the 4/8k flat with good results, so now i ask:

what do you think about using a waterstone in the 250 grit range to initially lap a 4000/8000 and then using another waterstone in the range of 1000 grit to smooth the finish? (assuming that all sides have been flattened to begin with)

from what i'm heard the NFS is basically a 220 stone with grooves, so i'd have something comparable. and i'd have something to smooth out the finish. assuming you don't ever use the "truing stones" for anything other than lapping, they should stay pretty flat no? or will they need to be relapped anyways after awhile? if thats the case i think i'd rather go with glass/paper to begin with

or is the the glass/granite/grit/paper just an all around better system? it's seems like either way you go you kind of end up back to it.

speaking of, when using sand paper to lap, how do you make it not move around? is this why i always hear to use wet/dry paper, so that you can use water to create a suction? or do you glue it down or something? i guess you'd probably ruin your surface if you glued it down

how much pressure should be used when lapping? a light touch, like just pushing it over the paper? (kinda like honing where you let the weight of the razor do the work) or do you want to apply some force?

last but not least, how do you clean your stones after lapping to remove the left over grit? just running water, or do you rub it with anything? a small brush perhaps?

that should be enough...for now

okay so after reading through my own post it dawned on me; why would i buy waterstones to use as truing stones and all the gear needed to lap them, when i can skip a step (and save money) and lap my 4/8k stone directly with grit/paper/glass/granite.

so now, is the extra price of the granite worth it compared to the glass plate?

i read on the forums someone recommended using mylar laminate sheets with the glass plate, as grits can imbed in the glass. is that true? would granite be more resistent? that might be a consideration

I highly recommend the DMT Course Diamond Stone for lapping all hones. It leaves the stones feeling like smooth silk and makes maintaining a smooth even stroke much easier. I do have the Norton Lapping stone and don't forsee ever using it again because it leaves the stones feeling like sandpaper IMO.

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