Thread: Can a wet stone be used 3 different ways?

I read somewhere that some one here uses some stone with a slurry and then to plain water.

Could a wet stone or any other stone be used thusly:

Slurry
Water
Dry or damp (aka waived between two raindrops)

Lets assume this is a C 12k.

Yes but ....... I've read of some guys using a natural and some synthetics dry or damp but it is not something I would feel comfortable with. The liquid is a vehicle for the metal bits and I would worry about the stone loading up. Just IMO.

So then lets assume that it can be done.

What are the benefits, if any, of using a stone this way?

I can only answer for a Norton 8k, you can use the last 10-20 laps as the stone goes to near dry to get the most out of that particular stone for smoothness....

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I can only answer for a Norton 8k, you can use the last 10-20 laps as the stone goes to near dry to get the most out of that particular stone for smoothness....

Thanks for posting that info Glen. I would have never tried it if you hadn't. Thanks to singlewedge for bringing it up. I may be able to get that little something extra.

There have been previous threads describing this three way strategy for both the Chinese hone and coticules. For both, slurry provides faster cutting, water alone is for polishing, and dry is for final polish.

Originally Posted by Utopian

There have been previous threads describing this three way strategy for both the Chinese hone and coticules. For both, slurry provides faster cutting, water alone is for polishing, and dry is for final polish.

That is true Ron and I if I comment I always say that the idea of honing dry repels me. What Glenn said was hone until the hone goes near dry so that is something I could go with. I'm going to fool with that and see if it does anything for me.

Jimmy you of course have the experience to know to mess with this, until you get the desired result....
But for others that may be reading along, the last 20 laps need to be after the hone is rinsed, the strokes are very light and very perfect, and just go slow enough to let the stone go to almost dry....
What I have found to work best for me, is to start the hone with a spritz of water then just hone really slow and perfect and I stop when the hone is almost dry usually about 10-20 laps....
I used every trick I could think of, back before I bought a Shapton 16 to get the most out of the Norton 8k....

I have used the C12k in all three states referenced in the OP. As far as performance, I find that my results follow Glen's description with the slurry, wet and dry. I did use the 12k completely dry for a final polish in several occasions and it worked very well.

Raf

Sorry I cannot tell you much about the C12K, but the N8K used dry makes an excellent final polish for the edge… behaves like a much higher grit hone.

Not all hones will improve an edge when used dry, some hones will chip the razor edge when used dry.