The saying goes the only dumb question is one you don't ask so here goes: I know that natural stones need to be lapped but what about new ceramic stones? I bought a Naniwa Super Stone 8,000 and Shapton ceramic 12,000 stones. They are brand new, just in from Japan. Do I need to the lap them before there first use? I also bought a Naniwa flattening stone (sorry no picture) Thank you in advance for your answers.
Thank you. I was expecting perfection given they are synthetic and from Japan. Good thing I have you help and bought a lapping stone. I was hoping my research was good and I bought the right stones. I know it will be frustrating to have to send of razors to be touched up and wait for the shipping to and from Korea.
Great set of stones. Def want to lap them. I think Glen (gssixgun) has a great video showing the process if I'm not mistaken.
They should be checked for flat in the future too. Iirc the naniwa is soft and maybe be flat when dry but out of flat when wet.
Really, they probably are flat or flat enough to start putting steel to stone right out of the box. In general though, I bet most guys (me included), always ensure that a stone is flat before using it. It's quick to lap a stone and it's good to have it as part of your honing routine. Sometimes lapping is as simple as a few quick passes with a diamond plate, other times it requires a little more work, but it's always good to simply make it part of your honing routine. IMO. Nice stones!
