Thread: Compromised Norton?

You mix the solution however you want, they are your stones,,,, but a "cap size" is well,,, How big is this cap ??

As for the Clorox site,,, stones are not clothes,,,,I have done all my weekly washing since age 18,,, I Know Bleach

But it is all in your hands,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I think I like John's approach of an extended soak.

You want to make sure the Clorox/water solution penetrates into the stone. This might take some time.

A mild solution should do the trick with little worry of damage.

If it's just tap water you wouldn't want to store it for very long because of bacteria and algae build up. The cap full of bleach will kill bacteria and prevent algae from growing, thus making it safe to store the stones in there for a couple of days. I think that's the point of why Glen and Gssixgun do it, they can leave their stones in a bucket and have them ready to roll without soaking them for 5-10 minutes before each use.

I had the same thing happen to my Norton stone on the 4k side. I got lucky and caught it before the mold penetrated too deep, it only took a little scuffing to get rid of the mold. Definitely didn't hurt it's ability to sharpen a razor. Now I let them set out for a minimum of 2 days before putting them back in their plastic containers. Lesson learned. I probably won't be buying any more water stones though. Seems like I always come back around to Arkansas stones for all my sharpening needs.

That said, a few black blotches wouldn't stop me from buying a stone. In fact I paid probably half what my Norton stones cost because I intentionally sought out blemished stones that were damaged in shipping. They had slight nicks on the edges. Some folks might be more than happy to take a gently used water stone whose only defect is a little discoloration if the discount is right.