I have read a lot about lapping water stones, coticules, Arkansas stones, but I have not read anything about lapping old barber's stones. Any recommended procedures for doing this?--i.e., for a barber's hone with surface scratches?
Lapping an Old Barber's Hone?
- Thread starter Alum of Potash
- Start date
I can tell you about the time I tried to lap a 3 line Swaty on a DMT325. It put a totally ugly brown stain on the DMT.
After that incident, I went back to lapping the Swaty with the Carborundum 118S which was originally provided for that purpose.
Fast
After that incident, I went back to lapping the Swaty with the Carborundum 118S which was originally provided for that purpose.
Fast
- Thread starter
- #3
Yes, please do go on! I'm ready for more bedtime stories!
Edit: BTW, welcome to B & B, FE!
Last edited:
I've done one (it had deep scratches where someone was probably sharpening darts or similar). I did it on wet/ dry, 220, then 1000 grit. It worked, but it was a chore, and I went through a lot of paper.
Not a job you would choose to do unless it was absolutely necessary.
Not a job you would choose to do unless it was absolutely necessary.
Depends on the stone.
I did a number of swaty's on a 320 grit DMT. Takes awhile, but it gets done eventually. If I had a 220 or 120 I'd have used those instead and then just polished their markings out with the 320 (or with some 400-800grit sandpaper on a pane of glass).
I also did a Frictionite 00 on a belt sander. It took a dozen Norton Silicon Carbide 4x24" belts and about four hours. I'm pretty sure frictionite 00's are a basic element and are in fact harder than diamond.
I did a number of swaty's on a 320 grit DMT. Takes awhile, but it gets done eventually. If I had a 220 or 120 I'd have used those instead and then just polished their markings out with the 320 (or with some 400-800grit sandpaper on a pane of glass).
I also did a Frictionite 00 on a belt sander. It took a dozen Norton Silicon Carbide 4x24" belts and about four hours. I'm pretty sure frictionite 00's are a basic element and are in fact harder than diamond.
welcome back Ian!
I have found that lapping the barbers hones is not the hard part but getting the surface texture right for the cutting speed and finish is. Swaty recommends scuffing the surfaces with different grit emory paper on each side if they become too smooth.
Thanks. Hey maybe that's why I never was too impressed with barber hones, mine were all too smooth. I never bothered trying to tune their surfaces in. I just assumed smoother would always be better.
Yeah I have done a couple including a frictionite00 that I wish I left alone and ended up selling in frustration. Now if I want one I look for a nice barely used one and don't do anything but use it.
Have done a pike ... cross hatched with pencil and then 220 water paper on glass and a lot of water and time.
- Thread starter
- #10
Thanks for the advice guys. I find the remarks about finding the right kind of roughness very interesting--how to know, really? In my case, I have a Pike Ezy-Edge and a Pike Sapphire, the latter being one I just picked up. The Ezy-Hone is very smooth and is not the one I have been thinking to lap. As I bought it from a knowledgeable used razor dealer, I have sort of assumed that it was supposed to be smooth like that--like a finishing stone. The Sapphire I bought off the 'Bay, thinking it might be a bit coarser, but circular scratches are quite visible on the full face side. Interesting remark about using a Carborundum stone to lap it with--sort of reminds me of the current Norton flattening stones. Think I'll try 220x w/d sandpaper for starters and see what happens, then moving up (or down) as needed.
Last edited:
Here is the Swaty Instructions. They are a single grit hone with a sharpen and a finish side. It says you can use rough emory or a flat pumice stone and plenty of water.
View attachment 259324
View attachment 259325
View attachment 259324
View attachment 259325
Attachments
- Thread starter
- #12
That's great. Thanks for posting. I didn't know the two sides were to be surfaced differently. Most interesting. Now to equate "rough" and "fine" emery paper.
Note to myself: think I'll try 150x w/d for "coarse" or "rough" side and 320x-400x for "fine" side. Never tried emery cloth rather than w/d sandpaper; perhaps the former is more efficient.
Last edited:
Your welcome and generally the the side with the name is the finish side. 
- Thread starter
- #14
As a follow-up, I have further researched "coarse" and "fine" emery paper to find that they may currently equate to around 50 grit and 150 grit wet-dry sandpaper respectively. So I picked up some 50 grit and 150 grit emery paper at the local hardware store and had a go at things. Lapping time involved did not seem all that long here, as compared to say, lapping an Arkansas stone. The backside (50 grit) has been roughened considerably, almost looking like sandpaper or pumice in texture. Looking at it under a lamp, there is no direct reflection, apart from isolated garnets on the surface. The front side with the Pike notation is far smoother, reflecting the lamp light in a hazy fashion--although certainly not as dark and smooth as the sides, which are a rich navy blue in color. Rather, the front (or finish side) is now more like a faded steel blue-grey.
Last edited:
