Thread: Arrgh My brains going to explode

Originally Posted by tekbow

what about the lapping stone from the norton kit?

Please be advised that the Norton lapping stone is recommended for use on the Nortons ONLY, and may be very useless on a chinese hone, which tend to be on the hard side. You'd be better off getting a DMT 8C 325 grit, which is likely the best investment you can make in lapping stones.

Yep, this is what i thought, will have to see how much a DMT is now.. that or some 3M low grit wet dry?

Yes, you can go the wet/dry sandpaper route as it definitely works. However, for the amount you will spend on sandpaper over the years it is likely still more cost effective in the long run to get a DMT. I'm not sure how much the cost in the UK/Europe, but their not bad here; I think I paid around $43 CDN for mine (£27.90)

On the topic of shipping: does the UK postal system have an option to have a package held at the local post office? I seem to remember somebody in my family ordering something that was going to be delivered while nobody was home, so they had it held at the post office until it could be picked up. Then again, I'm from a relatively small town (10k) and everybody at the post office knew my dad for some reason. Worth looking in to though.

hey guys cheers for all the suggestions, had a long hard think last night and came up with this.

Going to buy the DMT from SRD because they're ridiculously overpriced here, £70 was the cheapest i found ($112). And seeing as I'm buying the DMT from SRD i'm just going to get an SRD strop, probably the 3" latigo with D rings. Does anyone know if its polyweb on these?

Edit: Hmm have been reading and had recommended to me, the enigmatic "polish dude from ebay". Apparently his C12k stones come prelapped and he does 8 x 3's..

So maybe don't need a DMT as an urgent thing, will prob still get the SRD strop though.

As for post offices in the uk, yes they keep international or signed for packages up to 3 weeks, my usual problem is knowing whether i'll be home in time to pick up. I've managed to get most things first time, but it's a pain. There was a guitar pedal the pond skipped twice though.. luckily the seller was a patient dude who worked the same kind of job as me. That and i didn't argue about paying more postage.

Neil's strops (and Steve's from invisible edge) look amazing yes, but i'm not sure i want to spend that level of money on a strop just yet.

Do you have any friends or family members you could have the stuff shipped to? When I was at university and ordered something I didn't want sitting outside my apartment door while I was at class, I would usually have it shipped to my parent's house. Actually I still tend to do that; they live in a quiet suburb and I live in the middle of the city. Sure school was 200mi away, but it gave me incentive to go home and visit!

Originally Posted by tekbow

what about the lapping stone from the norton kit?

I am a fan of the DMT product but if you have
one use it exactly the same way on all your hones and
you will have the all important same profile/ shape
on all your hones.

I have read posts by some folk that take a steel straight edge, flashlight
and a feeler gauge and find fault with the results. In my reading of
others opinions it is best for the knife sharpening bunch and less
ideal for the razor folk.

I should note that once in a rare while a DMT is not flat and
the folks that make them seem good about exchanges from what
I have read.

If you have a Norton lap keep an eye out for a single granite tile
or the like so you can worry the lap flat on the back of the
flat granite every so often so it stays "true".

The key is that all honing surfaces match....

after reading this thread, I ordered the norton kit, 2 stones and lapping stone... very excited for their arrival!!!

Hey guys, been at work so no posts for a while, but i ordered a bunch of stuff online out here..

Norton kit arrived, i ended up going with a neil miller strop because shipping from the states made an SRD strop more expensive option, ditto the DMT. I'm going to order a Naniwa instead, because a C12k plus DMT is more expensive, ordered a 10x/20x loupe, and have decided to go with making the pins myself, so a couple of 1/16 brass rods from my local hobby shop, some washers ordered from the states, and i took the money i would have spent on the 2 pinning kits and ordered a hobby vice instead.

Just something to remember, the Norton lapping stone is a waterstone itself and usually needs lapping like any other stone. Use the wet dry on the lapping stone first, then use your Nortons on the lapping stone. Once lapped, the lapping stone should stay true for quite a while.