Just received my first barber hone in the mail today. I saw one of these a few months ago and fell in love. No chips that I can see so far. Seems very flat and the bevels are intact. Box is in good shape too.
There is a slightly sticky residue on it which I assumed is old oil. Also a couple of blemishes which I am hoping are just hardened residue although I haven't been able to pick them off with my fingernail.
The instructions say to clean it by rubbing it with fine emery paper. I really don't want to do that and was wondering if I could just clean it with dish soap and hot water?