Thread: How to clean a hone

Cleaning the stone will make it look nicer but it won't make it better. Some stones used with oil can be cleaned after which they can be used with water. However a Washita works best with oil in my experience, water just rolls off.

After lapping the surface will already look cleaner. I would leave it at that because it will get dirty again from use.

A Washita also works great for scissors and knives, because it's pretty coarse, about 600-1k.

Thank you again for the help. I'll leave this stone as it is. I'm just a perfectionist at heart but if you say it's good, I'll use it just as it is. Sometimes a perfectionist isn't good.