2 Questions For the Guru's

Although I have come a very long way in a short time in my straight razor Journey, I still have a couple of questions.

1. Where is a good place to get the flattest hard surface for lapping all of my stones on?

2. As I have found, the measurements associated with straights are the measurement from top of spine to the cutting edge? So I am looking for a nice and thick spine and heavy blade as these seem to work best for my face. I also like the wider blades as well so can anyone give me some suggestions of razors with both qualities? A thick spine and wide blade?

Sincerely;
Nate

Buy a 12x12 piece of marble from a hardware store... Has to be marble not a composite

2 a good thick spine and heavy and wide blade can be found in a lot of old Sheffield blades like a wade and butcher celebrated 1" or wider but you'll be paying a premium... A Joseph Rodgers or large Franklin Reynolds is a good choice too... But wide blades are pricey

A basic hart razor fits that reqt

global_dev said:

A basic hart razor fits that reqt

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+1

Thank you both so much, I saw one item I was considering for a flat surface, it was a Grizzly Granite plate. Looked pretty solid although a bit pricey.

I have one Wade & Butcher 11/16 in my lineup and another one due in the mail tomorrow. They are both 3/4 inch wide blades so a 7/8 or 13/16 would be the next two largest blades to get as I can see that the budget does not allow for the ones I REALLY want, the full 8/8 or 15/16 size or larger, they are way up there on price LOL

I would personally get a DMT diamond plate stone for lapping.

Devonmoonshire said:

Thank you both so much, I saw one item I was considering for a flat surface, it was a Grizzly Granite plate. Looked pretty solid although a bit pricey.

I have one Wade & Butcher 11/16 in my lineup and another one due in the mail tomorrow. They are both 3/4 inch wide blades so a 7/8 or 13/16 would be the next two largest blades to get as I can see that the budget does not allow for the ones I REALLY want, the full 8/8 or 15/16 size or larger, they are way up there on price LOL

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The marble slab should be no more than 5-10 dollars

Isaac said:

I would personally get a DMT diamond plate stone for lapping.

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The problem is they range from 30 bucks for the sharpeners to over 200 for the actual diaflat lapping plate, would the Sharpening stone do the trick??

Heespharm said:

The marble slab should be no more than 5-10 dollars

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This plus some lapping film is starting to look like the cheaper route. Especially since I use Hard and Black Arks for finishing and they too need to be flattened now and again to expose new material, clean and flatten them. A Norton lapping plate for like 18 to 20 bucks would be fine for my #1200 Naniwa, heck Wet Sand Paper and the kitchen counter do a great job on that stone. The Arks take a bit more work to get them in shape.

Check your marble tile with a straight edge. I just checked a piece of it that I have and it is pretty far from flat.

^
Good call - always check - never assume.

bluesman 7 said:

Check your marble tile with a straight edge. I just checked a piece of it that I have and it is pretty far from flat.

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+1... Just walk over to the ruler department at the hardware store, pick up a metal ruler then walk over to the tile department... Pick up whatever is flat... U can even have them cut the tile for you to a custom size

and don't forget to walk all the way back to the ruler dept. to return that metal ruler, or if too lazy buy it.

Devonmoonshire said:

The problem is they range from 30 bucks for the sharpeners to over 200 for the actual diaflat lapping plate, would the Sharpening stone do the trick??

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A D8C Continuous (coarse 325 grit) diamond on 8″ x 3″ x 3/8″ steel plate. is being sold for $45 on various sites

Marble, tile, or plate glass with sandpaper work very well.

For a thick spined, heavy blade, the cheapest is of course, a Gold Dollar! Many of the Japanese razors are half or quarter hollow.

Cheers, Steve

Thank you so very much everyone. I am going to start the hunt for the perfect combination at the best price I can find to make sure these stones are as flat as I can get them for the truest blades I can get.

Has anyone ever tried a machinists lapping plate for their stones?? Some of those look good and burly and the cost is pretty comparable to my tried and tested options.

The granite plates are great, but I use either glass or a marble tile. Most window glass is very flat, flat enough for lapping stones, for sure. Don't try to use lapping film. Save that for honing razors with. For lapping a stone, use wet/dry sandpaper. Sandpaper sometimes curls when it gets wet, so stick it to your plate with some spray adhesive. Just the faintest lightest application is what you want. Make sure there are no humps, bumps, bubbles, debris, etc. This setup also works great for setting the bevel on a razor, or repairing a frown or a ding in the edge.

I like to use a full size sheet of sandpaper for lapping a stone, so it doesn't have to run off the edge. Better results, IMHO, than trying to lap a stone on another stone that isn't any bigger than the one being lapped. YMMV cause some people do just that.

I went to a custom cabinet places. They gave me a piece of granite, flattened and beveled it. It just cost me a dozen donuts.

imatabor said:

I went to a custom cabinet places. They gave me a piece of granite, flattened and beveled it. It just cost me a dozen donuts.

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Better living through pastries!

imatabor said:

I went to a custom cabinet places. They gave me a piece of granite, flattened and beveled it. It just cost me a dozen donuts.

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Nice. A lot of granite countertop sink cutouts get tossed, yeah. Hurry and get your granite plate before somebody finds a profitable use for them!

Heespharm said:

+1... Just walk over to the ruler department at the hardware store, pick up a metal ruler then walk over to the tile department... Pick up whatever is flat... U can even have them cut the tile for you to a custom size

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Plus One