Hi,
sure, like most stones, its a two step process
, 1) make it flat/flatten it,
2) then "condition" the stone so it cuts again
1) to flatten it you need a flat surface,
some pavement/concrete ,
or a flat piece of glass,
or a flat tile,
or another sharpening stone (like a dollar tree or other one dollar stone)
and rub the stone you're flattening (your lansky stone) using figure eight movement
however long it takes until its flat, use lots of water for lubrication
to
speed up flattening add a pinch of sand or blast media (loose grit abrasive)
if its pretty flat, it takes maybe 1 maybe 3 or 5 minutes of scrubbing
on hard bond stones (like norton india/crystolon)
you should use as much force as you can manage without hurting yourself
for finer grit stones you don't want to flatten with very coarse grits unless there is a lot of dishing
2) to "condition" the stone, to make it abrasive again,
use lots of lube (you can switch to oil if you normally use oil )
and a short 5-10 second rub
on a slightly coarser grit than the stone you're conditioning
you can use a sheet of sandpaper (available everywhere) that is slightly coarser ,
so to condition 120-150 grit stone use 100-120 grit sandpaper (or loose grit)
so to condition 1200 grit stone use 1000-1200 grit sandpaper (or loose grit)
2) or you can "condition" the stone by scratching the surface to release some grit
you can a piece of hacksaw
or nail
or piece of stone
or even a knife
I do this on one dollar stones because it works / releases grit,
I also do this on norton crystolon/silicon carbide stones because it works to release grit,
I've also used the norton to flatten the dollar stone and vice versa and that worked well
I don't use loose grit/abrasive powder because my local hardware stores don't sell it in $1 amounts , but I hear auto body shop/sandblasters, will sell you a $1 worth (not tried it)
This guy flattens/conditions a lot of stones
Lapping / flattening sharpening stone with sandpaper - stefanwolf88
Keep in mind the lansky extra coarse hone (70 grit) is listed at $6 ,
so spending a dollar on sandpaper or loose grit for this stone doesn't exactly make sense to me,
I would just flatten it on a brick or pavement and condition it with hacksaw/rock
