What's new

Need Help

I need help please. I purchased a couple Boker combi stones and also purchased the Naniwa 10k and 12k super stones to hone my straight razors. I need to know which flattening stones to get for these. I purchased a Norton lapping stone and used it once across all stones but it left a very rough surface on the stones. I’ve searched online and can’t find anything that gives me a solid answer on what grit DMT or what grit lapping stone would be best. Also isn’t it true that the super stones come flat from the factory? Any help is here is greatly appreciated!
 

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
An Atoma 400 or 600 would be peachy, especially after they’ve been used a bit. Run a cleaver across them when they are new to ‘knock down’ the odd high piece of grit.

A 325 DMT plate is equally good, and used by many.
 
Super Stones do not come flat.
More importantly, they don't stay flat either.
Those Norton lapping stones are often not flat either.

There are several options for achieving flatness.
My first diamond plate was a DMT 220/325 plate, it worked fine.
 
Inexpensive no name diamond plates also work well for lapping stones in the 300-400 grit range, 600 -1k for maintenance.

If you are in the US, Chef Knives to Go sells a 400/1k diamond plate for $30 that will lap stones just fine.

It is not about getting a stone “dead flat” but about getting a stone face smooth with no high or low spots. Low spots may expose rough grit as the stone wears. Then it is just a matter of removing swarf, keeping the stone flat-ish and smooth.

Do buy a stone that is at least 3x8 inches, small or narrow stones are problematic for lapping.
 
Inexpensive no name diamond plates also work well for lapping stones in the 300-400 grit range, 600 -1k for maintenance.

If you are in the US, Chef Knives to Go sells a 400/1k diamond plate for $30 that will lap stones just fine.

It is not about getting a stone “dead flat” but about getting a stone face smooth with no high or low spots. Low spots may expose rough grit as the stone wears. Then it is just a matter of removing swarf, keeping the stone flat-ish and smooth.

Do buy a stone that is at least 3x8 inches, small or narrow stones are problematic for lapping.
I ordered the DMT combo plate you mentioned. I’d imagine using the 400 grit side for my Boker combination stones and the 1000 grit side for the Naniwa super stones would be best?
 
I ordered the DMT combo plate you mentioned. I’d imagine using the 400 grit side for my Boker combination stones and the 1000 grit side for the Naniwa super stones would be best?
I don't think there will be a noticeable difference. The finer grit diamond plates tend to stick too much to the stone. My DMT 600/ 1200 (green side) is unusable for lapping, while my Atoma 1200 works fine.
 
Yes, get the stones smooth, (no pockets) with the 400, use a pencil grid and remove the grid completely, you will need to remove the grid a few times because slurry will wash off the grid and pockets may remain. You are done, when you can remove a pencil grid completely under running water in 10 laps or less.

Super Stones are notorious for swarf loading up, which can damage an edge.

I keep the stones clean using a 300 or 400 diamond plate to remove the swarf, it can be tenacious. Then smooth the stone face with a few laps of the 1k side.

When using Super Stones, I always get a good edge on the razor, then joint the edge, to remove any flashing and microchips, lap the stone clean and do 10-20 finish lite pressure laps to bring the edges back to meeting on a clean stone.

Super Stones are good, aggressive stones but you must work around the swarf load up to squeeze the best performance from them.

I believe the Boker stones relabled Naniwia stones.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
I use sandpaper over acrylic. I get my acrylic for various honing purposes from TAP Plastics. It doesn't have to be super thick for lapping a stone because you won't be doing it in hand. 1/2" thick works fine though personally I like to go thicker. You can get a 12" x 12" piece and stick a whole sheet of wet/dry on it with 3M or LocTite spray adhesive, or you can do it my way and get a piece 18" x 5" or so, and use 4" wide roll sandpaper. This eliminates overrunning at the end. I do NOT like lapping a stone with another stone that is hardly any bigger than the stone being lapped, when flatness is the objective. For simply clearing swarf when the stone has loaded up or glazed over, I just use the next stone up or down in the progression.

The red resin type sandpaper is best. When you stick it to the acrylic be very careful to get it flat, no bubbles or lint or hair or dust under it. I suggest going a grit finer than you think you need, and hone a stainless steel chef knife or similar implement on it, to knock down the proud abrasive particles. BTW, you can use this same system for setting the bevel on a razor, if you don't want to buy a stone that might only get used a dozen times in your life. 2k grit works nicely for setting a bevel, and you can dip down to say 400 or 600 grit when you need to take off a lot of steel for some reason. Don't go further than you have to, as the scratch depth can be significant at coarser grits, and you are gonna have to hone those scratches out.

If you happen to have a machinist's granite surface plate, you can use that instead of acrylic. Also don't overlook the sink cutout from a new granite countertop. Sometimes those can be had for free, and they are flat enough for lapping your stones. Just chamfer the edges to knock down the chips and good to go.
 
I am still using a cheap 400/1000 Chinese diamond plate I bought on eBay. Works fine. I tend to use the 400 side for stones <= 1000 and the 1000 side for stones > 1000.

One of these days I will splurge on a couple of Atomas.
 
I am still using a cheap 400/1000 Chinese diamond plate I bought on eBay. Works fine. I tend to use the 400 side for stones <= 1000 and the 1000 side for stones > 1000.

One of these days I will splurge on a couple of Atomas.
I only have cheap diamond plates and the ones I have that are double layer/ sided are flat per my straight edge. I think I paid $7 or something for a 220#/1k#
 
Top Bottom