Thread: Can Superstones be soaked? 12k in particular.

I'm wondering if Naniwa Super-, Specialty-/Sharpening-, Gouken Kagayaki- stones can be soaked for any prolonged period of time.

I own a 10mm thick 12k Kagayaki which warps something fierce. And before I needlessly lap away an excessive amount of it, I'd like to know if I can just permasoak it to have it just take one shape and stay that way by avoiding wet/dry cycles.

I believe this type of Naniwa hone uses a resinoid binder and although it is most commonly used as splash-&-go, I've read that the problem with soaking this type of synthetic is once they get waterlogged, the drying process can stress them more than just wetting them at the time of use. I believe the explanation for this is that resinoid stones are only slightly porous, which explains their good performance as splash-&-go's; but once they saturate with water after prolonged soaking, their drying is problematic in that the outside dries much quicker that the inside resulting in differences in expansion/contraction with leads to stresses in the hone.

I know I've seen that folks have attached some of these to bases to prevent deformation, and while that certainly is an option, I'd like to find out what can and can't be done with these hones before I settle on one course of action.

I don't think it's recommended. I gave up trying to keep mine perfectly flat and just lap them occasionally before and after use. I think Lynn and Glenn wet them and let them set slightly before use. (as do i)

If they are fully porous synthetics, you could do a permanent soak. If I recall correctly, Lynn used to keep his nortons in a bucket of water.
If it's only 10 mm thick, personally I would glue it to a strong base that will not deform.

This has been an on going discussion since the Naniwa SS came out

I am going to tell you facts as I have tested I honestly think you should test them yourself and learn

The SS hones Swell and Contract when you wet them and dry them.

The hones WILL be "Off" level when first wet many people sent a lot of good honing material down the drain chasing level

They MUST be wet and left to stabilize and level out before use, and I recommend you let them stabilize FIRST before trying to lap them flat

You can spray and wait, or soak for 10 minutes wet is wet

Do not soak for long periods of time, have have left mine by stupidity and getting sidetracked for over 6 hours with no ill effects but I would never recommend soaking them continually like we did the Nortons and Kings



You can have your own friends that speak/read Japanese interpret the instructions for you, but my buddy told me it says right there in black and white to wet the stone for 10 minutes before use and it seems to be about right


This is my experience and research, use or don't use it


If I seem a bit terse on it, it is because we have done the research and taken the time to figure it out, and people have dismissed it out of hand in the past.