Quote Originally Posted by zib View Post
We need Bart's input on this...
I have not a single clue.
Like Gary said, sometimes thined slurry can behave a bit like soap, certainly if there is a fair amount of steel particles in it (which makes it grey soap ) but nothing like what Sham shows on his picture.
I have not seen something like that.
How does the hone smell, Sham? Is it a typical Earthy smell, or something else. Long time ago, I read a thread on B&B where Joel described a Coticule with a terrible smell that yielded amazing results for him. Seeing the bubbles, I wonder if some sort of gas is being released. Could be a chemical reaction between the natural binder and water (it can't be a reaction with iron, as you say the hone does it with the rubbing stone too)
Does it form bubbles while you do nothing? Or do you need to stroke the hone n some way to get the bubbles? In the first case, it has to be gas. In the second case, some kind of natural soap being formed is more likely.

Interesting indeed.

Best regards,
Bart.