Thread: JNAT Triboluminance:or Pizzaelectric Effect

Now that I am aware of this, I watched it for the first time yesterday on my Shobu... never noticed it before, but it happened several times, like a drop of water was mercury and lightning combined, speeding across the stone. Pretty wild!

is everyone that’s seen it using plain water orwater with something in it, like soap, etc?

Steve-As I said in a previous post, I have seen it on 3 different stones whose main commonality is that they are all sedimentary rocks. I was working a milky slurry on each stone. As I recall, the phenomenon chiefly took place towards the end of a slurry progression when it was breaking down and the blade was getting "close" but not quite sticking yet. No soap or any other substance was involved, just slurry.

IIRC, it was most pronounced on one of the Shoubodanis I used to have, and I think was more readily apparent towards the end with the last two nagura. As I've been meaning to get my PHIG back out anyway, I may play with it and the Zulu to see if I can reproduce it in a short video. Though I found it bemusing, I guess I just assumed that it must happen with everyone on similar hones in similar conditions. And since it is something connected to physics, I am certain that it actually does. Maybe some don't notice it because they are focused more on what the blade is doing? IDK.

In any event, I will consider this my honing homework for the next edge I finish.

Slurry and water for me... nothing else added.

Yea, plain water and worked slurry.

Liquid mercury is a good description for how it acts, but is orange yellow in color.

Hmmmmmmm

Me thinks somebody is taking advantage of the Legal availability of Pot in Cali

I will let you know if the "phenomena" occurs at the Spokane meet or the Denver meet if I get to go

Saw it again with a hard Asagi and thin Tenjo slurry, a ball of mercury is a good description with a tail like a comet. It just rolls across the stone.

I did not have my phone handy to make a video. The slurry was thin and worked. When I tried to flick slurry from the razor on to the stone it created the effect but was more of a slow roll and the effect was not as long lasting.

When caused by honing the small droplet seems to shatter into multiple drops as it hits the stone face and starburst like lightening at times. It only lasts a fraction of a second, so one would have to be recording already to capture it on video.

I’ve sen the ‘ball with a tail’ a number of times but can’t say that I’ve noticed light - I’ll start to pay more attention!

I've seen it when opening a Bandaid strip sleeve. It is blue/green in this case but never realized that's what it was till I looked it up. Never seen it with a stone or at least never noticed it. I'll have to check next time I use nats. I don't have any jnats but it would be interesting to see if a coti or thuri produces it. If it's related to slurry then Arks are out but that may be an interesting experiment to see if it is related to slurry.

Originally Posted by Steve56

I’ve sen the ‘ball with a tail’ a number of times but can’t say that I’ve noticed light - I’ll start to pay more attention!

I too have seen this but gave it no mind.
It looked like the surface became waterproof and a ball of slurry rolled across the stone.
No lights though... No voices either