Thread: Introduction and question about grits

Hello all,

As you can see my name is Andrew, I am posting from England. I've been shaving with a Dovo Blackstar for a couple of years now. I bought it from Geo Trumper in London, some of you may know of Trumper. I had a shaving lesson at the same time.

You may be horrified that to date I have only ever stropped my razor, never honed it. I went back to the fellow who taught me a few months ago about honing and he said I just needed a 1k grit stone, which seemed too low to me.

So after reading a few things, (though not this site, which I only just found) I received a Norton 4k/8k stone in the post.

My question is, (of course a dumb one), the Nortons baffle me a bit as to the touch they are rougher, much rougher than my King 1k waterstone, is that right?
I am being very unscientific, but the Nortons feel to the touch like aluminium oxide paper of about 240 and 600 grit, which is very confusing, the King feels like 1k grit paper. Is this just because the Norton's are brand new and unused? I remember the King, which I use for a kitchen knife feeling the same as it is now, when I first bought it.

Maybe it's just a difference of material between Japanese and other stones? I read that the US and Japanese grits match just at 4k and 8k.

I have read some of the Library posts from Lynn and others on honing, by the way - but still have the newbie question.

Thanks for your patience folks,
Andrew

They may feel that way because they have not been lapped :<0) I have the King1k and the Norton 4/8 and the progression in grit does feel smoother as you go up. All new hones should be lapped.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...ne_Lapping_101

Lap the Nortons flat before use this will take a lot of the coarseness out. It may still appear to be course but it will hone quite nicely. A lot of the pros here cut their teeth on Nortons and they are still considered to be the go to hone.

Welcome to SRP Andrew. Cool that you've already read material in the SRP library. In addition to the aforementioned articles by Lynn you'll also find articles about lapping (flattening) waterstones. This can be done with sandpaper on a piece of glass or tile, a flat surface, or with a DMT or Atoma diamond plate. Usually a 325 grit is used if it is a DMT or sandpaper. The Atoma is capable of flattening with a higher grit because of its design and construction.

I know that Lynn has said the Nortons benefit from a preliminary lapping of a few MMs of surface. Particularly the 4k. I've never felt them with my fingers to gauge grit so I don't know about the feel compared to the king 1k. I would advise flattening them, draw a pencil grid to gauge progress, and then try a kitchen knife on them to see how they feel. They were designed to sharpen plane blades and chisels so you won't hurt them. Finally, flatten them again and give the razor a go. At least that is what I would do.

Thanks for the quick replies already. So next question, about lapping. I bought a Norton Flattening Stone with the 4/8, I'm not sure if Lapping and Flattening are one and the same? Can I just use the flattening stone to lap?

Yep and you might want to lap that too . I did mine.

Jimmy, thanks for that detailed reply. What an amazing forum!

Thanks 10Pups, ah yes I read about lapping the thing I lap with on another thread, I think I understand now. Going to have a lot of fun when the Christmas lunch has gone down.

Don't be afraid to get it all wet :<0) and don't forget to run the lapping stone on the corners some. You don't want sharp corners on your stones.

Originally Posted by andrewlindsay

Thanks for the quick replies already. So next question, about lapping. I bought a Norton Flattening Stone with the 4/8, I'm not sure if Lapping and Flattening are one and the same? Can I just use the flattening stone to lap?

Originally Posted by 10Pups

Yep and you might want to lap that too . I did mine.

10 pups is giving good advice as usual. You may get lucky and the norton flattening stone may not need it, but I'd check it with a straight edge if you have one. Lay the straight edge up on it and look at it with a light behind it. I believe the norton lapping stone is a 120 grit so if you find it too needs to be flattened/lapped you'll be well served to get some sandpaper that is coarser. Maybe 80 grit or so.