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Just go to the grocery or hardware store and get a couple of those pads. Mine are about 2.5"X4".

No need for a flat plate, just use your kitchen countertop, piece of marble or granite, top of a...

Just be sure to rinse the hones under running water and rub them with a brush or plastic scrub pad. This will remove any embedded grit from the sandpaper.

My question is what are you lapping the hone with? It sounds like you are using a very coarse grit to lap the hone. I finish my hones with a 1000 grit. Then the hone is less "grabby" on the razor.
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