Thread: Suehiro Stones

Warping is one of the problems with soaking non clay based stones. As warned by Shapton on their Pro stones they can even dissolve & develop soft patches which need to be lapped off. It's always best to follow the instructions, especially if all else fails

I always spent a coupla minutes lapping my Pro's before use & found they absorbed enough water that way for good results.

I always try to do it after as I can never get the outer 1/2 inch on either end to flatten. Still way too low..
Not gonna sit there and flatten the hone away over it.
I suppose my reasoning is that the longer I have water on the ends, the more they absorb.

Like it matters?

Perhaps flattening it BEFORE it soaks a bunch into the middle is best?
Meh! It does not seem to swell evenly. Never has.
Here!

The reason I do figure 8s beforehand is for the slurry effect, mainly on the lower grits. I've checked them and they are flat enough on top even though a couple have serious air gaps at the ends (between base and stone). No wonder Naniwa discontinued the use of those lousy, glued plastic bases.

This is the thick superstone, Mark. No base! My 1k with the base does not do it!

Not complaining, however. Great hones!

Originally Posted by sharptonn

This is the thick superstone, Mark. No base! My 1k with the base does not do it!

Not complaining, however. Great hones!

Wow, that's nuts for such a thick hone. Live and learn, huh? When I first noticed the issue, the warping aggravated my OCD. But, since then I realized they still work just fine. Take a few deep breaths, then let it go.

I will probably switch to spraying 'em like you do, Tom, to minimize the effect.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Yeah....But then, we have been told SO many things!

And so many times lol.

Cheers, Steve

Interesting stones, but if you are going to end up at 20k or a natural edge, the bevel setter and middle stones really don’t make a difference how you get there.

I have most of the popular stones and tons of naturals, lately I have been using Kings, (Just because I like the feel of the 1k, kind of muddy) 1k and 6k, finish on 20 or natural or paste

I dunk in a tub of water and do a quick lap with a 600-diamond plate, then flood with a squirt bottle while on the holder. I do this with all stones, even naturals. I add water with the squirt bottle as needed. And let dry on edge on a wooden plate rack after use.

No warping, no issues, except for my 8K Snow White, that crazed a couple years ago, but you cannot feel it with a thumb nail and it does not affect its polishing ability. I bought a new 8k, about a year ago after hearing a rumor on a knife site, that they were going to stop making the Snow-White Fuji, hasn’t happened. I have not unboxed the new one and the crazed 8k is still producing near mirror bevels. I do like that stone it is a great jumping off point to a natural and is both aggressive and a polisher.

When I first got my 20k years ago I had a problem with it scratching and it did not feel like it was cutting smoothly. I had lapped with a 300 and 400 plate. I had been babying the stone, reading all the, ”Hone with the weight of the blade and take care to not over hone” ,reviews.

One day I gridded it with a lumber pencil and lapped the creap out of it aggressively, with a 140 plate, a few times and finished on a 600. I has worked just fine since.

Like the guy who hit the mule between the eyes with a 2X4 said, “First you got to get their attention.”

I kind of subscribe to the take it to the limit, go over the limit, then back it off a notch or two, theory. Otherwise, how do you really know where the limit is?

O.K., I ain’t afraid of no ghost.... I did the experiment with my Gok 20k.

Dry weight, 689.1g it had been weeks since I used it so it was ‘at equilibrium’ dryness. After a 30 min submerged soak, 689.5g

So it absorbed 0.4g water in 30 minutes, or 0.058% of the stone’s mass. Not much! It also did not appear to warp, though extended or perpetual soaking may cause other issues, but the tiny amount of water that it absorbed seems to indicte perpetual soaking wouldn’t do anything useful anyway. The tiny amount of absorbed water also means (to me anyway) that soaking is unlikely to warp the stone.

Jamie’s and other’s opinions that the stone is practically non-absorbent appears to be true.

The stone is now in a controlled dry in a Shapton Pro box.

Cheers, Steve

Originally Posted by Steve56

O.K., I ain’t afraid of no ghost.... I did the experiment with my Gok 20k.

Dry weight, 689.1g it had been weeks since I used it so it was ‘at equilibrium’ dryness. After a 30 min submerged soak, 689.5g

So it absorbed 0.4g water in 30 minutes, or 0.058% of the stone’s mass. Not much! It also did not appear to warp, though extended or perpetual soaking may cause other issues, but the tiny amount of water that it absorbed seems to indicte perpetual soaking wouldn’t do anything useful anyway. The tiny amount of absorbed water also means (to me anyway) that soaking is unlikely to warp the stone.

Jamie’s and other’s opinions that the stone is practically non-absorbent appears to be true.

The stone is now in a controlled dry in a Shapton Pro box.

Cheers, Steve

Fantastic! Did you take a blade to it after the soak?

No, with the tiny amount of water it absorbed it never occurred to me to do it. The surface also looked normal (dry). What do you think that you’d be looking for? It probably isn’t too late.

Cheers, Steve