Cleaning & Lapping a Swaty

[Mr. Scruffy]

I picked up this Swaty over the weekend and I need some direction and advice for cleaning and lapping this hone.

Although both surfaces are shiney it doesn't appear to have been used with oil, so I don't think I'll need to use soap and water.

I was going to use the 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper and glass method mentioned here in other threads. Then I came across a thread on another forum where someone posted that they had used a Carborundum 118S to lap their Swaty. About two weeks ago I also pick up a 118S along with another well worn Swaty.

Questions:

1) Do I need to do a soap & water cleaning or will simply lapping be good enough?
2) Given the chips on the edges (see photos) would I be better off using the 118S or the sandpaper?
3) Would I need to lap the 118S prior to using it on the Swaty?
4) Do I need to lap the entire surface of the hone down to the depth of the chips or can I just lap the surface down to a "clean" layer and then round off the edges of the hone?

Any and all advice and comments sought and welcomed. I'm not trying to become a honemeister, I just want a stone to go along with my hard wool felt strop and diamond spray for touch ups.

 

[Chimensch]

I think lapping a barbers hone is a waste of time. I would use oven cleaner to clean it and hone on it with water mixed with a drop of liquid soap.

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

I think lapping a barbers hone is a waste of time. I would use oven cleaner to clean it and hone on it with water mixed with a drop of liquid soap.

Should I worry about the chips on the edges?

 

[mparker762]

Chips are not good, but I'd worry more about the decomposition of the hone.

 

[sproosemoose]

I read somewhere barber hones never need lapping.

Does anyone know if it would damage it to use a DM8C to lap?

For the edges you should rounded them usinig a hone so the razor doesn't get caught on them

 

[GsSixgun]

I use a DMT 120 followed by a DMT 325 and smooth and round the edges...

But as Mparker just posted these hones can decompose you will find the out really fast, as you lap them there will be tiny cracks all through the surface of the hone...Sometimes you can lap past this, other times you can't and the hone is trash...
These take a lot of lapping, and a lot of elbow grease...

 

[FiveOhNine]

Took me about 6 hours to lap an Apart recently. Miserable experience, but a nice hone....now.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Swaty's are a big Pain to lap.

Get a flat surface (glass pane) and a LOT of ~100 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Then get a few sheets of ~200, 400, 800.
Draw a crosshatch on the surface you're lapping.
Get ready for 30-90mins of laplaplaplaplaprinselaplaplaplaplaprinsechangepaperlaplaplaplaplaprinselaplaplap...etc

Do this until all the pencil is gone. Then go to 200 for a few minutes, then 400, then 800.

 

[ambrose]

I would hit that on a belt sander first then finish by hand.

 

[LessLemming]

a belt sander would be a nice option to save you some time.
Lapping a swaty (and of cours it needs flattening, when it is not flat...) is a very hard task.

People over at SRP do recommend to NOT use Dmt for lapping swaty,
as there are reports of worn out or even damaged Dmt from lapping swatys.

Use sandpaper on glass, maybe you can get some loose abrasive in ~180 and 400 grit, that you can add to the sandpaper.
This will speed up the process.
make sure the chips get extra attention, round the edges of the chips,
so they are well below the hones surface and they should not cause trouble.

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

Thanks for the help, gentlemen.

Maybe I'll start easy and just clean up the C-Mon and Dubl Duck hones I found last month. The other Swaty isn't thick enough for lapping, I think.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I would hit that on a belt sander first then finish by hand.

If you have a belt sander this should work great. I wish I had mine back when I lapped my swaty's.

 

[oldshaver.org]

I read somewhere barber hones never need lapping.

Does anyone know if it would damage it to use a DM8C to lap?

For the edges you should rounded them usinig a hone so the razor doesn't get caught on them

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I can tell you from bitter experience that lapping a 3 Line Swaty with a DMT 8C is a big mistake. It leaves a nasty brown spot on the DMT 8C hone.

I am totally pee'd.

 

[holli4pirating]

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I can tell you from bitter experience that lapping a 3 Line Swaty with a DMT 8C is a big mistake. It leaves a nasty brown spot on the DMT 8C hone.

I am totally pee'd.

I never had that problem, and I've lapped two normal ones and one long one. Lap under running water, and, if necessary, scrub with ScotchBrite or similar when you're done.

 

[mrmaroon]

The problem with lapping a swaty with sandpaper is it loses that glossy finish. I would lap it flat on 200 grit, finish it out with around 800-2000 grit, and then rub it on another barber hone dry to get that high gloss finish back. It works very well. Some older barber hones have to be lapped dry or they just degrade. The swaty can be lapped with water though.

 

[Utopian]

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I can tell you from bitter experience that lapping a 3 Line Swaty with a DMT 8C is a big mistake. It leaves a nasty brown spot on the DMT 8C hone.

I am totally pee'd.

Sorry, but DMT specifically states that the C hone should only be used for lapping water stones. Only the XX should be used for barber hones or natural hones.

 

[danjared]

Sorry, but DMT specifically states that the C hone should only be used for lapping water stones. Only the XX should be used for barber hones or natural hones.

Sure, that's what they state, but that doesn't mean that their "course" hones haven't been successfully used. That said, I'd recommend doing the bulk of the work on an XX or X first. Or sandpaper.

 

[mrmaroon]

Sure, that's what they state, but that doesn't mean that their "course" hones haven't been successfully used. That said, I'd recommend doing the bulk of the work on an XX or X first. Or sandpaper.

Ive used a cheap 750 grit diamond hone to lap barber hones. I have not used any coarser DMT. The 750 worked ok, albeit a little slow. Just keep it flooded with water.

 

[danjared]

Also, one thing that can't be overstated, especially for DMT hones, is not to use more than the weight of the hone when lapping (and have the DMT on bottom with the stone you're lapping on top). Pressing can cause the diamonds to dislodge from the nickel substrate on these hones.