Shapton Flattening Plate Perspective Long
George Bustamante
>I like Norton and Shapton stones and have sets of each along with the more expensive Shapton DLRP lapping plate. I also use 0.5-micron chromium oxide compound and diamond paste.
The Nortons are not cheap, but the Shaptons are more expensive. That said, if I were starting out, I would go with the Shaptons (and have bought Mr Lee's book on sharpening sooner). They are the better long-term value, as they stay flat longer, and wear much, much more slowly. This is a real issue for novices, as it took me forever to learn (on my own) to sharpen plane blades. Fortunately, I was not learning with Japanese tools or blades made from A2 either. The Norton 4000 stone is really nice and I like the way steel slides on it. I also think that Nortons may be better for carving tools. Shaptons are the way to go if you use A2 and other tougher alloys like S53. Keep in mind that Shapton is a system, and that system uses optically flat surfaces, which is a seriously flat standard. Since sharpening is about making the two planes defining a tool edge flat (a theoretical standard), maintaining stones as flat as possible is critical.
I used to flatten my King stones by rubbing two same grit stones together, and I did flatten the 220 grit stone on concrete. This worked fine, but I cannot imagine trying to true a Shapton stone that way. They are too hard, and the thought of concrete grit contamination on an expensive stone makes me shudder. I also tried DMT and other diamond stones (DMT) to lap my water stones and had bad luck because they were not very flat - certainly not flat like the admittedly expensive Shaptons lapping plates. This led me to try scary sharp, which worked fine. But it became obvious that scary sharp was going to cost more in the long run than going with Nortons (abrasive paper is not cheap). Then I had an epiphany (along with a large cash wind fall) and tried Shaptons. Diamond paste is also an eye opener, but that is another story.
Shapton has two lapping plates:
1) The Glass Diamond Lapping Plate has one surface for truing stones (the tolerance is plus or minus 5 microns) and costs $289.00
Diamond Reference Lapping Plate has two surfaces, one for lapping steel and the other for truing stones (the tolerance is plus or minus 3.5 micron tolerance - the DRLP is optically flat and verified by outside Japanese laboratories) and costs $489.00
Yes, this is expensive. No, it is outrageously expensive. No it is absolute madness. But the Japanese are absolutely fanatical about measuring tool standards, and the Shapton plates are flat - certified optically flat. A human hair is 100 microns in diameter, so the tolerance of Shaptons's DLRP at plus or minus 3.5 microns is incredible for an abrasive surface. There are a lot of false claims about tolerances, and a lot of crap coming from China in particular fails to live up to snuff, but when Shapton says their DLRP is flat - they mean it. And those plates flattens water stones fast, with no grit contamination, and makes them as flat as you could need.
The Shapton lapping plates work exceptionally well, and really complement the stones. It is expensive, but it is also quick, clean effective, and no nonsense. A bench, three stones, a DLRP and water - the results are phenomenal. Is it going too far? Do you need to work your tools to near optical flatness standards? Is it too expensive? It all depends on your preferences, your budget, how long you want to spend sharpening, and ultimately what you want to achieve. Shaptons will not jump off the bench and sharpen your tools for you, but if you cannot get a great edge using Shaptons, it isn't the stones.
The Shapton DLRP has been an eye opener for this wood hack.
