Honing Aid

[HoustonianYankee]

I watched Lee's DVD which includes a piece on honing. He used a substance called "Rottenrock) to build up a slurry. Question I have is whether this is needed.

Second question: Do you need to "prep" your Norton 4/8k before using it? I read some piece that said you needed to sand it using a piece of plate glass with some sandpaper on it, to make sure it's flat. Is this necessary?

Thanks for the help, because my first hones miserably failed the HHT!!!!!!

I am going to send a couple of razors to Lynn to get a basis for comparison as well as get his DVD as well.

This is a bit of work but I am challenged and will not give up until I can do it myself!

Thanks for your help.

 

[JBHoren]

I watched Lee's DVD which includes a piece on honing. He used a substance called "Rottenrock) to build up a slurry. Question I have is whether this is needed.

Shhhh. Don't say that "rotten-stone" word too loudly. I mentioned it several days ago, on a thread about honing in this forum, and it wasn't pretty.

 

[Howard Newell]

If you own a waterstone, chances are that you'll need to lap it periodically to make sure that it's completely flat. Using the sandpaper and adhesive is pretty simple and very effective. Is it necessary? Well, if you want a really nice edge, yeah, it is necessary. For the longest time, I was using my dad's Japanese water stones and wondering why in the world I couldn't get a good bevel with my razors. He uses them for chisels, and when I put a metal ruler to them to look for any gaps and cupping, all I could see was a large U shaped groove running through the stone that was probably screwing my edge up. I used a small plate of glass and coarse sandpaper to quickly get rid of the groove, and then switched over to higher grits to remove the scratches.
I have no experience with rottenstone, but I've never really been concerned with raising a slurry with water stones. They cut pretty quickly and you continually remove old abrasives.

 

[HoustonianYankee]

If you own a waterstone, chances are that you'll need to lap it periodically to make sure that it's completely flat. Using the sandpaper and adhesive is pretty simple and very effective. Is it necessary? Well, if you want a really nice edge, yeah, it is necessary. For the longest time, I was using my dad's Japanese water stones and wondering why in the world I couldn't get a good bevel with my razors. He uses them for chisels, and when I put a metal ruler to them to look for any gaps and cupping, all I could see was a large U shaped groove running through the stone that was probably screwing my edge up. I used a small plate of glass and coarse sandpaper to quickly get rid of the groove, and then switched over to higher grits to remove the scratches.
I have no experience with rottenstone, but I've never really been concerned with raising a slurry with water stones. They cut pretty quickly and you continually remove old abrasives.

Do you need to prep a new Norton or just keep one that has been used flat? I would think it should come ready to use. If not, I need to do some prepping before I do more honing!

 

[ouch]

When sharpening knives, it's common to use a piece of "nagura" stone to build a slurry. It's a good idea for medium grit stones, but neither necessary nor advisable for polish stones.

 

[Howard Newell]

Well, it only takes a minute to check whether the stone's flat or not. I used a metal ruler and looked for any cupping by continually checking for gaps from one end of the stone to the other. And to see if it's dished, I put the ruler lengthwise on the stone and looked for any clearance. But if you don't have a metal ruler, you could also use a taut wire.
I'm sorry I can't be more of a help with your stones; I usually just use barber hones for my straights.

 

[HoustonianYankee]

Great idea. I'll give it a try.

 

[AFDavis11]

Yes, lap it. I lap mine before every use. Overkill? Not to me. Once completed I put the stone against a flat surface to ensure it sticks hard.

 

[Steelforge]

I would always lap a new stone before use. Regardless of how flat it looks or what the company promises it probably won't be ready for honing razors on straight out of the box. My Norton 4K/8K certainly wasn't ready, it did more harm than good and felt horribly rough

All you need are a sheet of 1K grit wet/dry paper and a piece of plate glass(mine is about 6mm thick and 3" longer/wider than my 4K/8K) from your local glazing store. You'll be amazed at the difference a properly lapped stone makes.

 

[Laager]

When sharpening knives, it's common to use a piece of "nagura" stone to build a slurry. It's a good idea for medium grit stones, but neither necessary nor advisable for polish stones.

Well, I guess that redefines yellow coticules and Eschers as non polish stones.

Somehow, I think there will be a bit of opposition to that paradigm shift.

 

[mparker762]

You must flatten your norton before your first use, and really should flatten it before each use or at the very least every other use just to be sure - it wears pretty quickly, and even a little bit of dishing can make it difficult to achieve a good edge.

 

[BOGARTUS]

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and get a 12/12 piece fo tile works great as a flat surface for lapping with wet drysand paper