Micro Fine Ceramic Lapping
- This topic has 7 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 01/30/2019 at 8:39 pm by
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I like the idea of the micro fine ceramic stones because I have good experiences with the Spyderco stones that share (or are very similar) the same abrasive. However, as most of us know they can not very flat. I know the idea of lapping them is nothing new. From earlier discussions and comments from WE (and Spyderco), the finish of the stone has a direct relation to it’s effective grit size. This make traditional lapping processes unsuited for these stones.
My question is, has any tried lapping the stones with lapping film or even diamond paste? I know it’s a bit ironic, but using the 1.5 micron/ 0.5 micron lapping film would make a lot of sense to me. WE doesn’t 1.5 micron paste but I’m sure we could find it somewhere.
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There is no need to flatten either of the WE ceramic stones. They are extra hard and are formed either by sintering (Micro Fine) or vitrified bond (Super Fine) so they are not bound in a matrix that disintegrates as you use it like other types of ceramic stones.
The only type of lapping that is sometimes utilized and may help, is rubbing together the like grit ceramic stones to remove some of the dust residue left over from the manufacturing process. This may help them to break-in sooner.
Those users who have actually lapped these ceramic stones reported that the lapped ceramics take on the characteristics and behavior of the grit they lapped the ceramics with and these ceramics loose the quality and characteristics of the grit they were manufactured as. It then takes a very long time before they wear back down to expose a fresh ceramic surface with the original intended qualities.
Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)Lenny, I don’t think the lapping film will physically stand up to the scrubbing, back and forth strokes used when lapping. I think the hard ceramic will shred the plastic backing of the film. I would try rubbing the like grit ceramic stones together.
Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)That’s true. I’ll first try rubbing like stones together. I’m moving away from 1.5 Micron film though so I might still give that a shot. I’ll report back if I do.
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I can testify to the ceramics taking on the scratch pattern of the lapping stone. I lapped my 1.4 stones with my 1200 grit EZE-Lap and it then produced 1200 grit scratches. I later tried to re-lap them on 1.5 mu DLF. It worked, but as is suggested, it tore up the DLF. Also, as I lapped on a flat granite plate, I found that the stone wasn’t flat enough to cover the entire face. Apparently, I’d have to re-lap just to get the stone flat enough to be re-gritted. Too much pain. I quit.
Maybe if you re-lapped using a fluid lubricant?
I figure I should post an update.
I found a piece of float glass and attached the 1.5 and 0.5 micron lapping films to it; multiple pieces of each were used to give a larger working surface. I used both small amounts of light weight mineral oil and later trend lapping fluid. I worked in a figure 8 pattern with hands on either end of the stones, occasionally rotating them 180 degrees to try to make sure even wear was happening. After some time (15 minutes?) I looked at the surface: the slight high spots and valleys remained. Perhaps some of the peaks were knocked off but it’s hard to say.
I believe this was because I started the lapping process with the grit I intended to finish the process with: namely 1.5 and 0.5 micron respectively. I thought about trying again starting with some extra 9 micron films I have but didn’t have the energy since the stones work more than good enough for finishing kitchen knives already.
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