Chinese 12k: Good vendors?

[Synack]

Inspired by a post by Samouraï, I'm seriously contemplating picking up a Chinese 12k for my first stone.

I've noticed a few on eBay sold by open_razor; Looks like it would be $40 ($20 price, $20 shipped from Poland. Also claims to be pre-lapped.

Woodcraft.com has a slightly bigger stone for $20, shipping would probably be cheaper, but it would need to be lapped.

Any opinions or other suggestions? Would you trust the eBay stone to be truly lapped? Or should I just get the bigger one and lap it myself. (I wouldn't be looking forward to it; I've read how much fun it is .)

One of the big selling points for myself is that fact that hopefully I won't ever have to lap it again...

 

[leighton]

I don't trust other people to lap my stones.

Except the Spyderco UF. If anyone wants to lap another one for me, I'd pay them to do it. Those stones are a too much of a ***** to lap.

 

[Leche]

I'm with Leighton on this. Lap your own hone. Woodcraft is the best price for that hone that I have ever found.

 

[Hanzo]

I bought the 12k from Wood Craft for $40. You might see if there is a Wood Craft store in your area and call the local store to see if its in stock . I did and made quick work of getting it.

This week Lynn Abrahams posted at SRP suggesting that the ideal of the perfectly flat lapped hone maybe overdone. He seemed to say he relied on lapping more to clean up his hones. So lapping perhaps should not cause you such a panic.

Good luck with your purchase.

 

[gugi]

i wouldn't worry about it, it's $5-$10 difference no matter where you buy it from.
i'd get it lapped if i can. but i lapped mine and would not like to redo it.
(actually i check every hone i get, but spending 2 minutes lapping is definitely better
than spending 2 hours)

 

[Chimensch]

The Chinese hone has to be lapped the first time because, in the condition it comes in, it is absolutely unusable. Mine took several hours and has a usuable surface that doesn't fully extend to the edges (which are lower) so it doesn't matter. Once it's lapped, you shouldn't ever have to do it again.

 

[professorchaos]

Open_razor on EBay used to carry them at a great price. Shipping from Poland is cheaper and quicker than you'd expect.

 

[pmast]

I bought on from Open_Razor and it was lapped. The shipping was pretty fast, about 1 week, if I remember correctly. I checked the lapping with a pencil, fine grit sandpaper and a piece of glass and it seemed fine.

 

[Synack]

Thanks everyone. I'll make a post when I eventually pick one up. Might have to be a little while; Just had our first baby here. RADs will be on the backburner for a bit .

(I do wonder what the nurses thought of my Shavette in the hospital bathroom .)

 

[Samouraï]

Yeah, I am picking one up when I get back to school. I would really prefer not to have to lap it myself (though it might be a good learning experience). Let me know what direction you choose (what website you settle on).

 

[mainaman]

Lapping hones is really necessary for sharpening knives, a razor pretty much fits very well on the width of the hone. The razor is moving and following the hone surface and at each point it is pretty much leveled with it.
For knives things are different, the full blade is swept on the stone at an angle. You do not want to hit uneven surface with different parts of the blade that leads to uneven ground and birds peak.
Another point if you do not apply pressure on the stone while sharpening your razors, it will take a lot of time until you need to lap, other than deglaze the surface.

 

[gugi]

Lapping hones is really necessary for sharpening knives, a razor pretty much fits very well on the width of the hone. The razor is moving and following the hone surface and at each point it is pretty much leveled with it.
For knives things are different, the full blade is swept on the stone at an angle. You do not want to hit uneven surface with different parts of the blade that leads to uneven ground and birds peak.
Another point if you do not apply pressure on the stone while sharpening your razors, it will take a lot of time until you need to lap, other than deglaze the surface.

have you honed a razor to shaving yet? a 100 of them?
some things translate between razors and knives, others don't.

 

[huracan]

Lapping hones is really necessary for sharpening knives, a razor pretty much fits very well on the width of the hone. The razor is moving and following the hone surface and at each point it is pretty much leveled with it.
For knives things are different, the full blade is swept on the stone at an angle. You do not want to hit uneven surface with different parts of the blade that leads to uneven ground and birds peak.
Another point if you do not apply pressure on the stone while sharpening your razors, it will take a lot of time until you need to lap, other than deglaze the surface.

Lapping hones is actually really necessary for razors as well. I am far from being an expert, but people here and other forums with years of experience honing have found with razors what you already have found about knives and hones.

Here is a good post, written by Joel, about the subject: {link}