Out of Box 4K/8K

[drjay9051]

My Norton 4K/8K and Chinese 12 arrive today.

I did not order a lap at that time. I will have a DMT 325 next week but anxious to hone !

Can I use the 4/8 out of box or should I pick up some wet/dry paper to hold me over.

I have read that the Norton is too rough without prior lapping. If it is produced at a given abrasive level I would think it is good to go from the start ?

Anybody used out of box with good results.

I do not have the patience to wait for my DMT !

 

[Acmemfg]

I use 220 w/d on all my stones to lap them

 

[Alum of Potash]

Nortons out of the box are not necessarily all that flat and the surface may be glazed. Mark out a grid in pencil on the surface and lap on a w/d 220x as mentioned above on a 1/4" thick slab of glass until the grid is gone, or wait until the 325 DMT arrives. Personally, I would not use a new DMT on the Cnat. Use w/d there instead.

 

[fine wine]

I always lap new stones. And I only use 500 grit wet or dry sand paper. Good luck.....................JR

 

[alpster]

I always lap new stones. And I only use 500 grit wet or dry sand paper. Good luck.....................JR

This is good advise. You may get lucky and your DMT will be flat, but mine is not. I use it to fix chipped blades and remove pins. Lap your Nortons with WD paper on a flat plate every time you use them.

 

[drjay9051]

This is good advise. You may get lucky and your DMT will be flat, but mine is not. I use it to fix chipped blades and remove pins. Lap your Nortons with WD paper on a flat plate every time you use them.

Interesting. I thought the big selling point of the DMT is they start out AND stay flat and true

 

[alpster]

Interesting. I thought the big selling point of the DMT is they start out AND stay flat and true

I don't know why they would be any flatter than any other stone you might buy. Mine isn't warped, but it rocks back & forth on my granite lapping stone a little. Yours may work fine for lapping your stones. You can judge it when you have them all together. Sandpaper on glass is cheap and foolproof.

 

[Gamma]

DMTs are guaranteed to be flat to a certain tolerance on the top surface.
I suppose the top could be flat even if the bottom isn't - so there's that.
If the plate isn't up to spec, they will replace it.

 

[Disburden]

The 4000 side needs to be lapped until it is smooth like glass. Out of the box it is rough and not suitable for razors. The 8000 side just needs to be lapped until flat.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I don't know why they would be any flatter than any other stone you might buy. Mine isn't warped, but it rocks back & forth on my granite lapping stone a little. Yours may work fine for lapping your stones. You can judge it when you have them all together. Sandpaper on glass is cheap and foolproof.

Was your granite sold as a lapping surface with guaranteed tolerances or is it just granite tile?

 

[gumbo]

When I lap with my granite tile and then move to my DMT I once again get some variance in pencil mark wear. It's not much but they are not equivalently flat. I tend to think the DMT is flatter as it is guaranteed so. But I stopped using my DMT only because it takes so long compared to SiC on a tile. I've never had a problem - I don't think such small variations in flatness really matter on the hone (I'm talking <1mm).

 

[alpster]

Was your granite sold as a lapping surface with guaranteed tolerances or is it just granite tile?

My granite lapping plate is certified flat 0.0001". Here's a pic.....


It's twice as thick as it appears in the picture. It has a clamping ledge on two ends. Weighs almost 30lbs.

 

[alpster]

When I lap with my granite tile and then move to my DMT I once again get some variance in pencil mark wear. It's not much but they are not equivalently flat. I tend to think the DMT is flatter as it is guaranteed so. But I stopped using my DMT only because it takes so long compared to SiC on a tile. I've never had a problem - I don't think such small variations in flatness really matter on the hone (I'm talking <1mm).

I agree with your thinking, but I can't find anything on the DMT website that guarantees flatness. They tout the flatness of their plates and make a statement that (cut & paste from DMT site) "Like all DMT® sharpeners, the Diamond Whetstone&#8482; (left) proves flat every time. When tested against a precision straight edge, no light appears between the sharpening surface and straight edge."

Although I'm sure their plates are flat for all practical purposes, they don't actually guarantee it. Mine is not "perfectly flat", but I still like it and use it often, just not for lapping.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Can you get a pic of the DMT on it face down so we can see the warp? Is it a steel plate or a Duo?

 

[Slash McCoy]

Don't forget that there is the size thing. You are trying to get your Norton FLAT. Now if you try to flatten it on a stone that is no bigger than the Norton, obviously you are going to run off the ends and sides quite a bit. So the center gets less attention than the ends. Or maybe you concentrate on the ends a little... but too much? Basically you are going freehand with a DMT. With sandpaper you have a much bigger surface and you don't have to runn off the edges at all. And within reason, the sandpaper is as flat as the surface it is fixed to. I like to LIGHTLY spray the back of the paper with 3M or Loctite spray adhesive and then carefully apply it to the plate. You can use water, or leave it dry. To clean up the adhesive residue, use acetone. You can use heavy glass, too, or a polished marble floor tile but the special calibrated granite lapping plate definitely is a good thing to have.