I may have actually found a use for the Norton 220 stone

Wowbagger

Wowbagger

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Sep 20, 2015
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Tell me what you think.
OK so the thing is too friable to actually sharpen anything with . . .
but
(assuming we have flattened it first on a known flat diamond plate)
How well would it work to CONDITION stones on ? Hard Arks ? Shapton Glass ?
If yes where is the cut off where I don't want to use the 220 on a fine stone ? 1,000 Shapton Glass ? 4,000 Shatpon Glass ?
Is it too coarse to condition a Translucent Hard Ark ?

Should I just use the little hunk of 220 shown in this photo or flatten the big stone and use that ? LINK > > > to photo page down to the small photo of the small stones cut from the larger stones. The gray stone is the 220. For what it is worth these are the old Nortons made in the USA before they moved production to Mexico.

Or should I just give up on the idea and put the 220 back in service as a door stop ? It's good for that.
 
Seems like it could foul a better stone, so why risk it? If you feeling brave, and you've got more experience with these things than most, I'd say "try it and see" - do a little experimenting and report back?

Otherwise, paper weight, hide a key under it in the garden, or door stop.
 
No. You need the grit to be backed up with a hard surface when lapping or it just won't work well. It might recondition a SiC stone or even an India stone, but not an Arkansas IMHO.

The least bad way to sharpen with it is to only use trailing passes and work it like a sheet of wet/dry.
 
It's really that bad? I thought the low pressure would/could keep the stone from crumbling. How has this thing remained on the market if it's got the mechanical integrity of a child's sandcastle? o_O
 
Mr.Wizard said:
It's really that bad? I thought the low pressure would/could keep the stone from crumbling. How has this thing remained on the market if it's got the mechanical integrity of a child's sandcastle? o_O
Click to expand...


It's a mystery....
It really is that bad. The rest of the set is on the soft side to be sure, but the 220 is in a class by itself.
 
Mr.Wizard said:
Maybe useful for thinning a Chinese cleaver, i.e. extremely large contact area?
Click to expand...
Nope. SUCKS !
I tried to flatten A2 hand tool woodworking plane blades with it.
Think ball bearings in a dish and scrub the blade around on that. Not much effect.
Norton belt sander belt of ZirconiaAlumina ( the blue stuff) glued to a flat surface did it in no time.
Of course I was using like a 46 grit belt but still the stone did nothing and did it slowly.
 
Mr.Wizard said:
How has this thing remained on the market if it's got the mechanical integrity of a child's sandcastle? o_O
Click to expand...
'zackly
HeavyHanded and I have pondered that very question over long nights spent copying the Encyclopedia Britannica on a grain of rice. Heck, we got through a whole bag of rice and still hadn't come up with an answer . :)
 
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