First time honing with Shapton 16000 glass stone

[q345]

I sincerely thanks everyone who spent their time to respond and provide me with a huge amount of information. One of the significant benefits of switching from cartridges more than 15 years ago, first to double edge , after few years to single edge (Feather AC/ Cobra) and about a year ago to straight edge) was finding this site and forums and receiving tremendous amount of help. Thanks to everyone!

 

[Gamma]

Thanks so much for your very detailed answer. The blade honed before by a professional and he used 4000/8000/16000 Shapton glass stones ( he also mentioned that he uses for 30000 Shapton for just a couple of passes to finish) , so I got 16000 just to start with, to 'fix' blade each couple of weeks or so. I never honed my razor before so I am starting with the minimum. I also understand that Shapton stones don't require to be soaked, just to put some water from a spray bottle. No slurry either, as far as I understand. Regarding the flatness, I just bot the stone and it arrived sealed, in original package, so I assume it's flat. But I will check with straighthedge, found a few on Amazon so I will order one. I realize I also need a lapping stone in the future.

Good deal, then you can rely on the 16k to perform 'almost' to what you knew the edge to be 'as new'. The 30k will add more to it, so you won't get that. You can sub in the Glass Stone 7 .44 um, same as the full size 30000 glass, but cheaper. Glass Stones can be soaked for a minute or two. Might help. I wouldn't go longer but you can probably get away with more time there. Slurry on synths above 3k or so is counterproductive, so no - no slurry, it will set the edge back. You want a flat, clear stone when honing a razor up past the early stages.
Glass Stones are not usually flat out of the box. I use a Starrett straight edge. Granite tiles, unless they are lapped flat, are usually not flat. Some glass is flat, some is not. Acrylic is supposedly flat but I had some that wasn't flat. So I rely on the straightedge 100% - both ends the short way, and in the middle. Then along both edges the long way, and in the middle too. Then both ways diagonally. 8 axes total.

I don't know if I mentioned it, but do not do a lot of laps on that stone. Keep the lap count low. And watch the pressure too. It's a fussy stone in those ways.

 

[alex1921]

Your first mistake in honing. Never assume. A straightedge is generally not straight enough to check for flatness. Best you use pencil to crosshatch the whetstone's surface and then give it a few laps on W&D on a flat granite tile to confirm the flatness (or lack thereof).

As @JPO says above, your new whetstone will need some lapping anyway. Use 400 or 600 grit W&D wet.

Well, then you are assuming that the granite is flat.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

“Well, then you are assuming that the granite is flat.”

It’s not, neither is glass.

Granite can be flattened and calibrated, but it cost and should be done regularly and NOT used for flattening or grinding.

Dead flat is not critical for honing, flat-ish and smooth, no unlapped pockets is what you want, if a stone is not perfectly flat the razor will just ride on the high spots. You are not a robot running over the same exact spot on each stone with each stroke.

I doubt many Japanese honers are obsessing on the flatness of their Jnat stones or even bother to flatten them, they do smooth with nagura.