Lapping

I love my waterstones, but I don't lap on them. Waterstones are too slow and prone to wearing for lapping. For lapping I use sandpaper on a granite reference surface.



3/8" Marples Blue Chip chisel, factory ground face.



Working in the direction opposite to the grind marks, the 120 sandpaper is very quick.



I always work the face in the opposite direction of the previous grit. Checking often, I only switch to the next grit when the scratches from the previous one are gone.





...later...



I have 120, 150, 180, 220, 320, 400, 600, and 800 grit paper. A sheet of each, used wisely, will easily do a full set of chisels. If I had finer on hand I'd use it, but this polish is a good one to start from. From here on in it is lapped on my finest waterstone, right after the stone itself has been lapped. This chisel took less than five minutes to flatten.