Quote Originally Posted by JMS View Post
The purpose of soaking stones such as the thirsty man made stones is so that the stone will soak up enough water that a little will remain on the surface as you are honing to wash away the swarf so that you don't clog the surface and hamper the stones cutting ability! The stone will still suck up the water after a good soaking but it should be at a much slower rate! Just keep adding a little water to the surface as you hone! If you do prefer to hone with a dry hone, just scrub it under running water with a green scrubby after each use or as necessary!
What he said. This is exactly my experience.
If you only soak it for 10 seconds, you will have to add more water and more frequently while honing.

If you plonk a bone dry 1000 grit norton in a bucket of water, you can actually hear a high pitched noise when it starts sucking up water. And you can see air bubbles escape from the stone for several minutes.
The 4K is the same, only slower so without the noise and the big bubbles. but the same principle applies.