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Lapping a Chinese 12K

I'm kind of excited to try this all out... There's something about the honing process that's very appealing.
 
I thought about the Spyderco, but for the most part they seemed to be thin and would require an X honing pattern, which I didn't want... I really am coming into honing for the first time though, so we shall see how it plays out :001_smile

And I think I've decided to go the sandpaper route--I know I've been flip-flopping. But it's just more cost effective. My only concern is not knowing when the hone is completely lapped. Is it possible to overlap? For example, if I just keep running the hone over the sandpaper for hours, can I assume it's good to go? I don't mind doing it for an hour a night for a week even before using it :tongue_sm

For honing , Spyderco has a 3" wide stone (306UF) . Priced at $69.95 here .

http://www.wildbillwholesale.com/spbest8x3ulf.html

cityjim
 
So, just to be sure I have this all down:

I get some wet/dry sandpaper, and I have a glass coffee table that I dont mind scratching...so I wet the paper and stick it to the table, then I draw the pencil grid on the hone, wet it, and rub it over the sandpaper until desired lapping is complete?

Word of advice. Surround the work area with paper towels. Its going to get really wet and really messy.
 
Paper towels it is.

OK, OK, final question, I'm almost sure! Am I supposed to round the edges? And if so, does that just mean taking a couple seconds to run the edges along the paper?
 
Basically using a product that doesn't need lapped . Or if it ever does I send it to Spyderco for a free new stone .

And the diamond part , as we all know not much out there is harder . And using it with a much softer material like HCS you get micro chipping . Due to the extreme hardness of the diamond chips used as abrasives . YMMV of course . :001_smile


cityjim

Any stone that can abrade metal, contains particles that are far harder than the steel. The spyderco hone is darn near diamond on the mohs scale, so hardness is a moot point by your own admission.
Have you used a DMT stone? Chinese 12k?
What razors have you honed? Have you compared your honing to anyone elses, that others know can actually hone?

Sorry to snap, but asking about the TiN coated pakistani razors, and the pocket knife that looks like a razor, and that wood inlayed timber rattler, makes me think you have never held a truly shave ready razor.
 
Paper towels it is.

OK, OK, final question, I'm almost sure! Am I supposed to round the edges? And if so, does that just mean taking a couple seconds to run the edges along the paper?

Rounding the edges is like insurance. Keeps the edge from getting dinged from putting the razor down slightly misaligned. I would smooth them down at least till you cannot feel the 90* edge anymore.
 
So, just to be sure I have this all down:
http://straightrazorplace.com/srpwiki/index.php/Hone_Lapping_101


And using it with a much softer material like HCS you get micro chipping . Due to the extreme hardness of the diamond chips used as abrasives . YMMV of course . :001_smile
I don't understand how the hardness of the abrasive leads to microchipping. Perhaps you want to explain the process of the abrading of steel in a bit more detail and walk me through the logic. I am rather interested because as I said it's not something I have observed.
At the very least could you be a bit more qantitative - what hones are you comparing to and how many razors out of how many honed have developed microchipping on diamond abrasive but not on abrasive X, Y, Z. If the ratio is less than one is there any correlation of the microchipping with the type of razors/steel composition/heat treatment?

Perhaps my method of honing differs from your method, but that's why I'm asking questions. You are making interesting claims, so I want to know more.
 
Any stone that can abrade metal, contains particles that are far harder than the steel. The spyderco hone is darn near diamond on the mohs scale, so hardness is a moot point by your own admission.
Have you used a DMT stone? Chinese 12k?
What razors have you honed? Have you compared your honing to anyone elses, that others know can actually hone?

Sorry to snap, but asking about the TiN coated pakistani razors, and the pocket knife that looks like a razor, and that wood inlayed timber rattler, makes me think you have never held a truly shave ready razor.


Fnord5 ,

please send a PM if you wish to remain hostile . Have a nice day partner . :001_smile


cityjim
 
Not to complicate your life too much, but I think you should also lap one of the long sides. The reason is that there are advantages and disadvantages to a hone that is wider than the razor. The advantage is that you don't have to do an X-stroke. The disadvantage is that some razors are slightly warped and don't lay flat on the hone. This could cause the razor not to be sharp at the toe or heel. If that happens, you could do an X-stroke on one of the thinner long sides, which is an easy solution to the problem. Dealing with a warped blade on a wide hone is a little more difficult.
 
Fnord5 ,

please send a PM if you wish to remain hostile . Have a nice day partner . :001_smile


cityjim

Not being hostile at all :wink:
I am just trying to figure out how you have come to the various conclusions that you have, and trying to prevent some of the newbies from getting the wrong idea about certain things.
Given your taste in straights(the ones you have made public) I can't see how you could have gotten a good shave.


And a +1 on the skinny side lapping. Will be good if you come across a warped blade.
 
OK, so I will also lap a skinny side of the hone. Haha, this whole honing business is pretty complicated but fun to get started...

All my razors are professionally honed and I think I can keep them going with the 12K for a while and since I don't have money to throw around I might as well hold off on a second hone. But is there a more affordable alternative to the Norton 4/8k? The logical step back for me seams to be to those two grits, so I guess the Norton makes the most sense, or is there something I'm missing that's affordable and offers something similar? Maybe something that performs at 4 AND 8K with just slurry use or something...
 
Lapping films are cheap, and depending on the condition of the bevel, will either last for 5+ razors, or just one. but at $5 a sheet you can burn through a ton of them before spending the same on a hone.
 
I'm not sure which is more affordable, but I use a DMT EE 8k instead of a Norton 4k/8k. The EE doesn't need lapping. Mine did need to be "broken-in" (an old plane blade works well).

The diamond and Norton have a very different feel when honing. Many users will have a distinct preference for one over the other. The only way to tell is to actually try it, unfortunately.

I have never had any micro-chipping problems with my DMT diamond hones. Some very hard razors are known to be prone to micro-chipping. It is often caused by a new honer when they drag a razor over a hone's sharp corner(s). That's one reason why we round/chamfer a hone's corners.

Honing razors is a lot of fun, enjoy.
 
I used norton wet/dry 320 grit sandpaper to do mine. I have a 2' square piece of granite countertop leftover from my installation. It was the sink coutout made into a cutting board. I used the standard pencil markup method and did both sides in about 30 minutes. No elbow grease was required and the volume of water was not so much as to require heavy prep or cleanup work.
 
I used norton wet/dry 320 grit sandpaper to do mine. I have a 2' square piece of granite countertop leftover from my installation. It was the sink coutout made into a cutting board. I used the standard pencil markup method and did both sides in about 30 minutes. No elbow grease was required and the volume of water was not so much as to require heavy prep or cleanup work.

Please tell me you didn't just say you use a hunk of granite for a cutting board.

Those poor knives:frown:
 
Please tell me you didn't just say you use a hunk of granite for a cutting board.

Those poor knives:frown:

No, I do not. Havent you seen my speakeasy pics? They always show my cutting boards. It doesnt get used at all actually. It sits on top of an armoire in my dining room and gathers dust.
 
Okay, so I may have went a little overboard and bought a Naniwa 3K and Naniwa 8K. Can I just do the same to lap them? And use roughly the same 200 to 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper?

Second question, can I just hone with all three of my stones by only dampening them as I hone, not actually soaking them prior to use?

Again, everyone's help has been much appreciated (and I'm sorry for any scuffles that have arisen from this thread :tongue_sm)
 
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Okay, so I may have went a little overboard and bought a Naniwa 3000K and Naniwa 8000K. Can I just do the same to lap them? And use roughly the same 200 to 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper?

Second question, can I just hone with all three of my stones by only dampening them as I hone, not actually soaking them prior to use?

Again, everyone's help has been much appreciated (and I'm sorry for any scuffles that have arisen from this thread :tongue_sm)

Yes. But at this point, you might as well buy the Nani 12k. :001_tt2:
 
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