Lithide Hone

Hi there, I picked up one of Tilly's Lithide Hones. Does anyone out there know the best way to lap it first before using. I have tried everything from diamond plates to silicon carbide on the Shapton plate to wet and dry all sorts or grits on glass to no avail. No matter what the surface always looks different colors and it seems allfully rough. I was my thought that it was supposed to be a fine finishing hone. I would think that the surface would come up smoother. Kind of worried about trying it on a razor. Should I use it wet, dry, with lather or what. Is it supposed to be in the 8K to 10K range? Any help would be appreciated. It seems rougher than the GEM and CUSHION STROP hones I got from her as well.

It is possible that it feels rough but is actually a fine cutter. I can't say for sure because I've had some bad experiences with it, so it's collecting dust on my shelf. For fine finishing I use a bench hone/strop (Tony Miller sells them at www.thewellshavedgentleman.com), pasted with 0.5 micron chromium oxide powder mixed in with strop dressing.

Maybe its been picking up grit as you've been going? I lap all my barber hones against each other . . . teaches them who's in charge. Try lapping it a lot on your least favorite remaining barber hone.

I lapped mine on a granite tile with 800 or 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper (the 3M kind in the yellow jacket). The color changed a little, but its still smooth. I follow up with a rub-down under running water with a scotch brite pad to remove any particles.

Jordan

I did the same as Jordan. Just a splash of water and rubbed it in an figure 8 pattern. I like to use water because it helps to keep the paper from clogging, eliminates any dust and give you some tactile feedback.

The surface of my hone was really smooth when I got it and it looked fairly flat, but I lapped it just to make sure. I lapped a small amount, checked for high spots, and continued until I had a consistent color.

Was your hone smoother when you got it? My guess is you either have some grit stuck in it or you've roughed it up with your efforts. Try cleaning it with a scotch brite pad and lapping with wet/dry sandpaper.

I've had a sililar problem with my "lithide" hone, also from tilly.
I actually went to the great length of using a piece of oak to lap it because I thought it was getting grit stuck in it from other hones. :mad:

After 11 hours (thats right) of lapping it was still rough. Closer inspection with a loop revealed little gold colored inclusions. :cry:

I do however have a few "practice" razors, so I tried one on it and the inclusions seemed to come loose. :thinking:

It still works as a finish hone for me :shrug:

I am seeing the little gold colored flecs in my hone as well. I do not think that they were there when I received it or before I tried lapping it. I have another coming from Tilly and am going to try what some others mentioned. Lapping with another Lithide Hone. Will let you know of outcome.

hell, I might have to call email her cause I've just been using it and figured they were all like that. :shrug:
Sweet.

Ok. I just check mine and I'm seeing them too. I did a quick scrub with a scotch brite and they didn't come out. I've only lapped using the black wet dry sandpaper, so I doubt it is something I've introduced while lapping.

I've no clue if this is a defect or by design as I've only the one hone and have only seen pictures of lithide. That said, it doesn't seem to make a difference in how well the hone works that I've noticed. All the same, I'm curious now.

Gentlemen I to have encountered this issue with my Lithide. After some wasted time with some 1200 grit sandpaper I saw no visible improvments. I had a rough surface hone with little gold dots on it. I researhed this websites archives using the key words " Lithide hone" and I came up with my course of action. I lapped my Norton 4/8 combo flat and I lapped the lithide on that. First on the 4k side and then finally finishing on the 8k side. The result was a very flat silky feeling barber hone. It also sharpens my razors as I hopd it would. The hone still does appear to have the afore mentioned gold colored inclusions but I was able to regain the glossy finish by using the high grit norton combo hones to lap. The gold inclusions do not appear to have any negative effect on my razors. At first i thought i had contaminated the hone while lapping but know I feel that the gold flecks are part of the hone and become visible after a good lapping. Be sure to clean your stones good afterward. I use a pumice stone I bought from classic shaving running them under cold running water. You can also lap the Norton combo over again. The pumice works great for cleaning the lithide. In my opinion I think the Lithide needs more that 1000 grit sandpaper to get that smooth surface finish a high grit hone needs. If i had any 2500 grit sandpaper from Hand American I would have liked to have experimented and tried that. If anyone else has had similar experiences with their barber hones and knows a better way to lap please chime in and let us know.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by idaho mike

Ok. I just check mine and I'm seeing them too. I did a quick scrub with a scotch brite and they didn't come out. I've only lapped using the black wet dry sandpaper, so I doubt it is something I've introduced while lapping.

I've no clue if this is a defect or by design as I've only the one hone and have only seen pictures of lithide. That said, it doesn't seem to make a difference in how well the hone works that I've noticed. All the same, I'm curious now.

---

I just got 2 Lithide hones from Tilly, 1 was the larger/normal size hone the other one was the little one that comes in the red box with the concave indention in it.

I used the smaller lithide to lap the larger lithide..I also noticed the gold specs in the larger hone but not in the smaller hone, it must be something that is present within the material of the larger hone. I was able to lap the larger hone very smooth and flat, but will have to double check it.

So, I don't think it's anything thats been introduced to the hone, the specs on mine only seem visible when the hone is wet....:shrug:

Dang it, but lapping the lithide on the Norton does work. I had lapped my lithide forever on 1200-grit sandpaper, and the surface still felt like a piece of sidewalk. I couldn't bring myself to drag a freshly honed razor over that rasp-like surface...

I lapped it for a few moments tonight on my Norton 4000 and it's now really smooth. (I tried the 8K side, too, but it seemed to make things a bit worse for some reason.) It's not glossy like it was when I first got it, but I think I'd be willing to use it now.

Thanks for the tip!

Josh

P.S. If you're really picky, be advised that doing this will turn your Norton black with lithide residue. It mostly comes off with a little scrubbing, but the pores still have some traces in them. My Norton was due for a good lapping, anyway...

Oh, yeah, mine also has gold flecks. I think they're normal. :)

Josh

I don't know if it worth your time to try the 2500 grit sandpaper. I already did and there was not much difference between the 1000 grit sandpaper. I am going to try your suggestion withe Norton 4k/8k. That may be the secret.

So hell, I guess I'll use it.
Oh wait, I have been!

still nice to know they are almost all like that

I too bought the Lithide from Tilly and have the same problems as the rest of you, it doesn't seem very smooth after lapping like the instructions said with 1200 grit wet sandpaper. I bought the lithide in hopes of keeping my Lynn honed razor keen so I could save up for a Norton later. So I was wondering do those of you that said you just lapped it with the sand paper actually use the it to touch up a razor and if it still does a good job even though it doesn't feel real smooth? I haven't needed to use it yet but I will soon...and I hope I can. Thanks,

Michael.

I was not satisfied at all with the honing surface after just the 1200 grit sandpaper. I remember thinking at the time that I might have ruined the Lithide somehow through contaimination from the initial lapping process on the sandpaper before I even got the chance to use it. I know believe that the gold colored inclusions are a normal occurrance in the Lithide and appear after a good lapping. Unfortunately you need to lap at a higher grit than the 1200 grit sandpaper that is currently being suggested. Even after I lapped on the Norton 4/8 I still don't think the surface of my Lithide was as good as when I first got it but at least I had achieved a honing surface that my razors and I could deal with. I would not hone a razor on a lithide that was lapped on just the 1200 grit sandpaper. In my opinion the surface is to coarse but this is just my opinion.

So after the Norton 8k side can you use the Lithide as a touch up hone to keen it up, or is it not smooth enough for that?

Theoretically yeah. I'm still trying to get my lithide to do that.

I feel the Lithide is suitable for use after lapping it with the Norton 4/8. I've already used mine to Keen 2 razors and the lithide has performed as advertised. I keep it by the sink along with a paddle strop treated with chromium oxide. I'm not sure of the grit of the lithide but there is improvement off the Norton 8k with it. You only need between 6-10 strokes with it.

So it's softer than the norton? I don't want to wear a groove in it lol.

Ilija,

I'm not sure, but my lithide didn't hurt my Norton. Everybody says barber hones are really hard, but I found my Swaty and lithide were somewhat softer than I expected.

On the Norton, I just used really light pressure. The lithide worked up a slurry very quickly, and it was black. I did lap my Norton right after, but I'd been planning to do that.

I just did small circles for about three or four minutes per side. It made a big difference.

Josh

Thanks Josh. I'll try it as my Norton needs a lapping anyways.

Well, I've been away from the blade (and SRP) for the last 6 months due to some medical issues and school. I'm finally ready to get back to it, so I started lapping the Tilly hones I bought in June. The lithide is exhibiting the same roughness that others here have noted - It feels about like a piece of chalk. I lapped with 400 up to 1500 grit wet/dry paper...Not much more I can do there. I don't have a Norton and don't really have the funds to purchase one at the moment (which is the whole reason I bought the hones in the first place), so are there any other suggestions on getting it "glassy" smooth? What if I buy another lithide and use it to lap this one?

Thanks for the input.

I tried to link a picture through image shack, but it's not displaying. Their suggestion is that maybe the server is down. We'll see if it comes up later.

http://img226.imageshack.us/my.php?i...img1292ld7.jpg

I lapped my Lithide with another smaller one I got from Tilly, it really did not make that much difference that I could tell and it certainly did not get a smooth as glass finish. Still has a rough texture, although it appears to give a nice edge. It appears that the gold specs within the hone material is very common.

I took my lithide that I had lapped with a fine DMT diamond hone and went to the 4 and 8k sides of my Norton.

The lithide didn't hurt the Norton and I then lapped the Norton lightly to get rid of any residue.

The surface was much smoother than with the DMT hone and I have used it as the final hone for sharpening and to touch up razors with good results.

I find anywhere from 5 to 10 very light, slow laps is all it takes to restore an edge.

I still like my paddle better, but the lithide does work, so is suitable for travel and/or bathroom touch-ups.

And yes, my lithide has gold specs as well.

padron and suzuki - thanks for the replies. I guess I will try using the lithide as is and see how it does.

I find the lithide cuts faster and better when you make a slurry with another lithide

Cheers
Ivo

Ivo,

Do you mean after lapping with another lithide, or make a slurry with a second lithide, then hone the razor?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by senorswiss

Ivo,

Do you mean after lapping with another lithide, or make a slurry with a second lithide, then hone the razor?

---

I mean slurry - I have another broken lithide and can make slurry w/ it

Cheers
Ivo

I see. Thanks.

Heck, I just started to use mine without lapping or any other prep. It has a couple of bumps but is pretty smooth and I had a smooth shave with the razor.

Roger V.A.
Micanopy Beach FL.