A little update to my 12k issues:

The 5 & 8k were great, but I was really confused why my 12k was acting up. I called SRD, ended up talking w/ both Don & Lynn (great guys, both of them), & Lynn confirmed that this was not normal behavior. A little water soaking in is normal (my 5,8k do this), but not eating water like my 12k was doing. (If I sprayed it like my others, instead of the water staying on the surface, it was gone instantly.) And it stayed wet for 18+ hours after honing because of all the water it soaked up. For comparison, my 5/8k are bone dry within 30 min after honing, which is normal behavior for these.

Long story short, they had me send it back & exchanged it for a new one (it's coming w/ more goodies I subsequently ordered ) And I even got a Naniwa honing tutorial from the man himself! You could say it worked out well...