Thread: Sealing synthetic waterstones

Gents I've read your input and while I understand your views, I would NOT seal my synthetic water stones. Bruno has stated one very important reason. Mould! I have sealed my natural stones but prefer to leave the synths naked. So far that choice has worked out well.

Originally Posted by BanjoTom

Gents I've read your input and while I understand your views, I would NOT seal my synthetic water stones. Bruno has stated one very important reason. Mould! I have sealed my natural stones but prefer to leave the synths naked. So far that choice has worked out well.

It isn't a completely irrational consideration. Does anyone have experience of a sealed synthetic become moldier than it otherwise might've? Is it a common problem with naturals?

Or is this just a purely hypothetical problem which could just as easily be solved with a cap-full of hypothetical bleach?

I’m less than a year into honing, so excuse me if this dumb question. My concern about sealing a synthetic is — what if I want to use the other side some day?

I’ve already done that with my 1k for when I’ve breadknifed a blade, hone a Gold Dollar, or otherwise need to treat the stone roughly. Then flipped it to the primary side for final bevel set.

Or, suppose I chip an edge or corner on the primary side.

Originally Posted by MrHouston

My concern about sealing a synthetic is — what if I want to use the other side some day? .

Your going to lap the new side anyway before you use it. I predict the sealing medium to be gone in 3-2-1____

Originally Posted by MrHouston

[...] what if I want to use the other side some day?

Wanting to use the other side is a consideration, but given that I usually only hone on a flat surface, I don't miss having a second side because it would just mean letting two sides go out of flat before lapping. But that's just how I use mine.

I suppose that if I maintained more convex grinds, I could want to have one curved side, and one flat. Or if I purposefully groomed one side of a high-grit stone to have deeper scratch patterns than the other, more refined side -- that too, I guess. And maybe if I kept one side rigorously flat for razors, chisels and plane irons, and used the other, irregular side for knives and rough work, somewhat like you describe. etc... Honestly, my own main reservation is that once in a blue moon I use a 1 inch-wide side on some thicker hones for something; that wouldn't work with having 5 sides sealed either...

Still, I have several thick 1000-ish King stones which I could use; so I won't miss being able to turn one on its side if this works.

More importantly, as concerns the more "delicate" magnesia-based synthetics like the high-grit Choseras and the Snow White, which really are the main impetus for this pursuit, I reckon that I would prefer those be attached to bases to prevent breakage as much as possible anyway. In which case not being able to use the other sides due to sealing is moot.

Regardless, I'm not too bullish about defending this as practical... Hopefully I'll learn something and my hones won't be any worse for the wear. Anything beyond I'll just call gravy and be happy.

I have sealed my Chosera 10k , Gok 20k, and all my jnats and Nagura stones.
Mould never occurred to me though.

The Gok and the Naguras I sealed to keep them clean and maintain stamps.
I didn't want swarf muckin up my white stones.
The 10k cracked up pre sealing , I have a feeling that had I have sealed it from new it would never have cracked up.
There is no need to seal synthetics really I just like to be extra

Originally Posted by JOB15

I have sealed my Chosera 10k , Gok 20k, and all my jnats and Nagura stones.
Mould never occurred to me though.

The Gok and the Naguras I sealed to keep them clean and maintain stamps.
I didn't want swarf muckin up my white stones.
The 10k cracked up pre sealing , I have a feeling that had I have sealed it from new it would never have cracked up.
There is no need to seal synthetics really I just like to be extra

Whoa. Those are some nice synths there, good buddy. And even nicer nats, I'm sure.
How long have the light-colored, fine synths been sealed? If the issue of mold hadn't occured to you before, I would assume it hasn't been a problem. That's no guarantee for the future, sure, but still...
I am confused; if the 10k cracked pre-seal, and you believe that it would not have cracked if you had sealed it from new -- Why feel that sealing is unneeded? Or was the cracking not a functional problem, as others have described; but rather only a minor cosmetic issue which didn't NEED fixing in you estimation?

Finally, what did you use to seal all these up? Was it the vaunted Japanese lacquer I've heard about?
In any case, how did you like whatever sealant it was you used?
And have you subjected it to prolonged (days, weeks) exposure to water, or is only briefly exposed to water when the stones are used and until they dry?

Personally I think that sealing any stone natural or synthetic is fine but I wouldn't bother sealing lower grits,I can't see the point in that.
Maybe if I would have sealed the 10k straight away then it would have been less exposed to water and not cracked, just a guess though.
The 5k cracked but I wouldn't seal that.
They function fine with the cracks either way.

I think in the past I used to soak the 5k but I cannot recall of I soaked the 10k.
I use plastic spray in a can, quick n easy, 2 coats.
Expensive jnats I use urushi.

I've been following along and have to say that I just don't get the 'mold' issue. The sealed sides/back aren't going to mold, they're coated in something, and the face is not any different than it ever was. Overall, there will be less water in a sealed stone than an unsealed one. The only time I've seen mold is putting a damp stone away in a cardboard box and then putting it in a drawer, and I got a bit of mold on the box, not the stone (Naniwa Superstone).

As far as cracking goes, I sealed a Naniwa Snow White and it still cracked. Just one data point though.

Just be sure that your hones are well dried before you put them in a drawer or cabinet. A wet stone put away isn't good and the moisture isn't good for other things that may be in the drawer with the wet stone.

Cheers, Steve

I personally wouldn't seal them myself, I have one stone that shows some crazing a Chosera 5K I've owned it for a number of years, it's still a smooth stone that causes me no problems, I never soak my stones just spray and go, I also like them to dry naturally with their pores open in a closed wooden box at room temperature, I'm also of the opinion the SG 20K and the Snow White 8K barely absorb any water so those stones always seem almost dry to me after use.