Thread: Hone high spots

I got a starter set of hones from redtrader99 (Tilly) and there are what seems to be high spots in the surface. It's not a big deal, but lapping the stone, as described in the instructions I got, is kind of foggy. Anyone have any input?

Find a flat surface like a counter top, piece of glass. polished marble, top of a table saw, etc . Buy some wet/dry sandpaper in 220, 600, 1500-2000 grit.

Wet the sandpaper and lay it down on the flat surface.
Place your hone on the sandpaper and perform 20 laps . Turn the hone over and see where it is not making contact with the sandpaper.

Resume lapping the hone on the coarse grit sandpaper and check about every 25 laps. Keep the sandpaper wet.
Use an X pattern stroke .When the hone has the same finish and color all over then the high/low spots are gone. Then move on to the finer grit sandpapers for 25-50 laps on each grit.

When you are finished place the hone under running water and use a nylon pad or brush to remove any embedded grit. The first razor you use on a hone will find any loose embedded grit so I always use a junker blade or a knife blade to test the hone.

You might need several sheets of 220 grit. Its been awhile since I lapped a classic barber hone so I do not recall if you need a coarser grit.

Anyone?

Hope this helps,