Nano Hone NL-10

T

Toothy Wolf

Joined
Feb 5, 2021
Messages
33
I used my new lapping plate and I got to say I love this thing. The Button Tech plate from Nano Hone is everything I could have wished for and more. It’s smooth when used and the results speak for themselves. I’ve been using it on my Shapton Glass stones before very use like suggested by @JasonB. I thought that seemed a little excessive at first but I was quickly convinced otherwise. Just a few laps is all it takes when done at this frequency. And the surface of the stone is always crisp and clean which does speed up the grinding process dramatically. Even with the hefty price tag I can say I’m very happy with my decision. But now to my question.... I’m aware that these were made with ceramic stones in mind, but I was thinking. Is there any reason I couldn’t use the Nano Hone on my Naniwa Professional stones? I can’t think of any reason why not. I don’t see this damaging a lapping plate of this quality, especially seeing as it’s made with diamonds. Just thought I throw it out there before I try.
 
I have the NL-5 and love it as well. You can (and I do) use them on any type of stone OTHER THAN DIAMOND. It makes quick work of flattening, and does so without even a hint of the annoying suction of an Atoma plate.
 
Yeah, I thought my NL-10 was a frivolous purchase, for a while, except that now it is my constant companion when sharpening, and, especially, razor honing. It's just superb, if what you want is a frequently-refreshed, perfectly flat stone surface. After I lived with it a while, and wondered how I ever did without it, I picked up an NL-4, for my coarser stones.
 
My only suggestion is to keep the mud from the stones washed off, don't let it build up. The loose abrasive is what will erode the bond, which is all you need to be worried about, the diamonds will last forever with this type of use.
 
Glock Guy said:
Keep an eye on MTC Kitchen. They run a 20% OFF sale during the big holidays. The next one should be around the 4th of July.
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Yup, that's where I got mine, at the end of last year when they had a 20% off Christmas sale.
 
Mr.Wizard said:
At $585 does this do anything loose grit on glass won't, other than be less messy?
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It raises a nice slurry. And it makes the process so easy and quick that it's natural to do it more often. When honing a razor, I do it maybe every 5 minutes. Dealing with loose grit on glass that often, followed by really careful rinsing to avoid any tiny pieces of grit that would mess up the edge, is not an appealing alternative.
 
Toothy Wolf said:
I used my new lapping plate and I got to say I love this thing. The Button Tech plate from Nano Hone is everything I could have wished for and more. It’s smooth when used and the results speak for themselves. I’ve been using it on my Shapton Glass stones before very use like suggested by @JasonB. I thought that seemed a little excessive at first but I was quickly convinced otherwise. Just a few laps is all it takes when done at this frequency. And the surface of the stone is always crisp and clean which does speed up the grinding process dramatically. Even with the hefty price tag I can say I’m very happy with my decision. But now to my question.... I’m aware that these were made with ceramic stones in mind, but I was thinking. Is there any reason I couldn’t use the Nano Hone on my Naniwa Professional stones? I can’t think of any reason why not. I don’t see this damaging a lapping plate of this quality, especially seeing as it’s made with diamonds. Just thought I throw it out there before I try.
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I'm over here talking about the NL-5 and you went big time, lol. You got probably the best lapping tool available and it will work with any waterstone in the 400 to 30,000 grit range. I would be careful with the mud on the stones like D Diemaker spoke of, keep the mud clear and never let it run dry. Keeping a stone well flushed with water when lapping is always good practice and as mentioned will extend the life of the tool.

One last thing, when lapping it is important to put a 45 degree chamfer on the edges of the stone. This helps to prevent the stone from chipping at the edge when sharpening or if bumped. Probably easiest to just use another coarse stone for this, the NL-10 might not be the best option for that task.
 
UncleBoots said:
It raises a nice slurry. And it makes the process so easy and quick that it's natural to do it more often. When honing a razor, I do it maybe every 5 minutes. Dealing with loose grit on glass that often, followed by really careful rinsing to avoid any tiny pieces of grit that would mess up the edge, is not an appealing alternative.
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Just a thought but every 5 minutes sounds a little excessive. Perhaps dropping down a grit would do the same thing? I do understand how a freshly dressed stone is nice but it will wear the stones quite a bit faster doing that.
 
Diemaker said:
Just a thought but every 5 minutes sounds a little excessive. Perhaps dropping down a grit would do the same thing? I do understand how a freshly dressed stone is nice but it will wear the stones quite a bit faster doing that.
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The funny thing is that if I remember the instructions correctly, they recommend doing it every 3-5 minutes, so I'm at the outer limit.

Razor honing is weird. The benefits of a truly flat stone are enormous. And a tricky part is that, even with a microscope, it can be really hard to judge how much work you have to do on the next stone. Everything can look like even scratches reaching the entire bevel, then you move on, and discover that it was uneven but you couldn't tell at that scratch depth. In that situation, I am reluctant to drop down to a lower grit. I am also reluctant because, unless I resign myself to edge-trailing strokes only, I am asking for more tearing up of the edge if I drop down, so if I have a really flat-looking edge, and a bevel that is perfect except in that one spot, I'd rather do 500 strokes on the stone I'm on, than to imagine that the best path to perfection is to drop back down and hide the very issue I'm trying to correct.

These issues are probably considerably exacerbated because I am working with hard Japanese steel edges. Honing Western blades has been substantially less fraught.

This may all sound fussy and weirdly perfectionistic, but I think it's exactly the sort of thing that the lapping plate was made for, and it seems to pay off in the shaves.
 
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Jason B. said:
I'm over here talking about the NL-5 and you went big time, lol. You got probably the best lapping tool available and it will work with any waterstone in the 400 to 30,000 grit range. I would be careful with the mud on the stones like D Diemaker spoke of, keep the mud clear and never let it run dry. Keeping a stone well flushed with water when lapping is always good practice and as mentioned will extend the life of the tool.

One last thing, when lapping it is important to put a 45 degree chamfer on the edges of the stone. This helps to prevent the stone from chipping at the edge when sharpening or if bumped. Probably easiest to just use another coarse stone for this, the NL-10 might not be the best option for that task.
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I’ve been using the Shapton disk to chamfer the edges. I bought it when I bought the stones to resurface them, but it seems to work well to cut the corners of the edge. Granted it’s not what it was intended to do but it does work. And now that I have the NL-10 I no longer need it to resurface the stone. I’m a little worried that it will have a groove form in it. But a simple twisting motion should prevent it. Has so far at least.
 
Toothy Wolf said:
I’ve been using the Shapton disk to chamfer the edges. I bought it when I bought the stones to resurface them, but it seems to work well to cut the corners of the edge. Granted it’s not what it was intended to do but it does work. And now that I have the NL-10 I no longer need it to resurface the stone. I’m a little worried that it will have a groove form in it. But a simple twisting motion should prevent it. Has so far at least.
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When I lap I typically place the lapping plate on the stone longways and move back and forth and in small circles both left and right. I will also angle the lapping plate corner to corner... make a few laps... angle to the other corner and make a few laps. Lapping a stone can be a bit of an art itself if you want to maintain even and flat wear. If you always push in one direction while lapping the side of the stone that is away from you will be thinner. This brings up another point, you should turn the stone ever other time it is lapped. This helps to prevent a sloped stone.
 
Diemaker said:
My only suggestion is to keep the mud from the stones washed off, don't let it build up. The loose abrasive is what will erode the bond, which is all you need to be worried about, the diamonds will last forever with this type of use.
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To be clear, are you referring to the bond of the stone or lapping plate eroding? I took this to mean the bond between the diamond buttons and the stainless plate it's attached to, are you sure if so? If we are talking about the stone, why would leaving mud there break down the stone? I mean, does this happen in use or with the mud just sitting there? I've definitely noticed if I leave mud on the stone and keep sharpening it makes yet more mud and wear...
 
Father & Son Traditional Sharpening said:
To be clear, are you referring to the bond of the stone or lapping plate eroding? I took this to mean the bond between the diamond buttons and the stainless plate it's attached to, are you sure if so? If we are talking about the stone, why would leaving mud there break down the stone? I mean, does this happen in use or with the mud just sitting there? I've definitely noticed if I leave mud on the stone and keep sharpening it makes yet more mud and wear...
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I read it as referring to the bond that holds the diamonds in the buttons.
 
Father & Son Traditional Sharpening said:
To be clear, are you referring to the bond of the stone or lapping plate eroding? I took this to mean the bond between the diamond buttons and the stainless plate it's attached to, are you sure if so? If we are talking about the stone, why would leaving mud there break down the stone? I mean, does this happen in use or with the mud just sitting there? I've definitely noticed if I leave mud on the stone and keep sharpening it makes yet more mud and wear...
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The mud is small crystals of aluminum oxide or silicon carbide that are especially sharp since they are freshly broken down, used in a way that is about the most aggressive method of manual grinding, just as you have noticed in your last sentence. They erode the metal holding the diamond crystals quite well so that is why it is a good idea to keep them washed off your diamond plates. It only happens with motion, not just from contact with. I expect that while the mud on a stone while sharpening will increase the rate of abrasion on your blade, it will increase the rate of wear on your stone even more. That loose abrasive is quite aggressive.
 
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