As Snoop Doggy Dog would say, "Dis stuff is da SHIZZLE!" A complete honing kit in my briefcase. Films in a manila folder. 4" x 12" marble floor tile in a pocket. No multiple stones. No stone lapping. No worn stones. No slurrying, no soaking. ONE lapping plate, costing $4 or so at home depot, easily replaced if it breaks. Great edges, well up into the "scary sharp" range, with extraordinarily consistent results. Only hassle is after a while a piece of film wears out. I get about 15 razors from it. That's mostly because that is the most I like to hone at one session, and it is convenient to just toss it, but I am sure I could get more. The abrasive seems to be deeply matrixed into the plastic substrate. But 15 is a reasonable limit. I like to use damp paper under my final finishing film. Then follow with CrOx on a paddle. A Gold Dollar honed with this method is an utter delight to shave with. I think a group buy would be a good thing.
3M aluminum oxide lapping films
- Added by Seraphim
- Create date
3M aluminum oxide lapping films.
I've long been a fan of lapping film, as it was the first "hone" I ever used. They can be mounted on a thick piece of glass or a precision granite plate. the flatter and smoother the substrate, the better the results you will get.
The films are available in a variety of grits. from heavy-duty 12um, 5um (black), 3um (grayish), 1um (green, my favorite finisher), to super-fine finishing 0.3um (white).
It comes in 9x13" sheets, which I can then cut down to four 3 1/4" x 9" honing sheets as pictured above.
They cut through pretty much any steel with ease. Carbon, stainless, you name it, it will hone it.
It also has a very nice feel to it, very velvety.
The downside? The downside is that the stuff wears out pretty quick. You can get maybe a solid 6 razors out of a film, with it loosing it's bite over that period. It will still be working, but not nearly as aggresively as it did to begin with. This can result in a smoother finish for a given grit, but will also require many more passes.
I have never actually tested to see how long I could go with a sheet before it was completely "shot", as I choose to get a fresh one to know what I'm dealing with, so 6 razors a film is an estimate of reliable use, I'm sure it could be pushed further than that.
Available at Japanese Woodworker, or Thorlabs.com, amongst other places.
Anyhow, I like the stuff!
I've long been a fan of lapping film, as it was the first "hone" I ever used. They can be mounted on a thick piece of glass or a precision granite plate. the flatter and smoother the substrate, the better the results you will get.
The films are available in a variety of grits. from heavy-duty 12um, 5um (black), 3um (grayish), 1um (green, my favorite finisher), to super-fine finishing 0.3um (white).
It comes in 9x13" sheets, which I can then cut down to four 3 1/4" x 9" honing sheets as pictured above.
They cut through pretty much any steel with ease. Carbon, stainless, you name it, it will hone it.
It also has a very nice feel to it, very velvety.
The downside? The downside is that the stuff wears out pretty quick. You can get maybe a solid 6 razors out of a film, with it loosing it's bite over that period. It will still be working, but not nearly as aggresively as it did to begin with. This can result in a smoother finish for a given grit, but will also require many more passes.
I have never actually tested to see how long I could go with a sheet before it was completely "shot", as I choose to get a fresh one to know what I'm dealing with, so 6 razors a film is an estimate of reliable use, I'm sure it could be pushed further than that.
Available at Japanese Woodworker, or Thorlabs.com, amongst other places.
Anyhow, I like the stuff!
- Quality
- Efficacy
- Ease of Use
- Overall Value
- Resistance to Wear
