Thread: Storing hones?

The Naniwa, rinse, wipe it down with a towel/cloth. Leave it out overnight somewhere dry and cool to make sure it's dry then do whatever works best for you. No heat, you'll make a mess of the stone pretty quickly.

The Norton and King, they soak so you'll need to get the water out of them before putting them away otherwise they WILL grow mold and mildew and you WON'T be able to get it out easily. These two are quite durable however, so putting them somewhere warm (but not hot) and with circulating air will dry them out adequately quickly enough. Expect 2 days of drying though, and then put away with whatever method works for you.

Do not put them into anything that will prevent circulation until they are very, very dry. Driving moisture out of them may be just as risky as packing them away wet though, so give them time to dry out (respective of stone) and then you can do whatever you want with them. Wrapping in a towel isn't a bad idea in and of itself, so long as they can actually dry out within a few days. Where I live here, the limit seems to be 4-5 days. If they stay damp for longer than that, they'll get mildew in them. Kept submerged, no real problem and dried out faster, again no trouble.


I had to ask since some stones are incredibly fragile and others are incredibly tough. Shapton, they're fragile and if you've left them wet then they do need to dry out a little before storage. Chosera again, fragile (as has been mentioned in this thread) and they need to be wrapped in a damp towel and dried slowly without heat. The stones I use, I've stored them in the freezer then stick them on the stove to thaw them out and dry them. No harm done.

Just goes to show how extreme the range of fragile-tough the scale goes.

I can't foresee any trouble though, those stones are quite durable.

Stu.

I have a pretty rough and ready wooden wine box I keep my hones in. It has a few gaps so although the hones are protected they are in a breathable environment.

Once dry I will return them to their original container or wrap them in a bar towel and then they either go into the bench drawer or a tool box for traveling.

I let mine sit out on a towel out of harms way for a couple of days, and flip them over once or twice if and when I think of it. After that, they go back in their boxes, and into a drawer. I will echo what Schtoo said, your Norton's will grow mold/mildew... Ask me how I know!

Let me re emphasize, Norton and King seem to be the worst IME. Probably Chosera too, but I don't own them... I leave mine out in a spare bath tub on towels in my home after use. Usually for a few days.

Later, I put them up, in their boxes, check them a day or so later, and there's condensation. Not good. I think I'm going to keep them out of the boxes. Boxes work like little petri dishes. I like the bar towel idea. I have no trouble with any other hones. These are thick and porous, and that adds to the problem. Nani, Shapton GS are thin. They dry quicker. J nats, good. Coti's, BBW's, no probs....

What about a shelf in the Garage, Anyone do that, like a workshop....?

The Kings I have are the combo stones. They are usually completely dry after a day.

I'm betting where you live, and the climate play a role. This thread prompted me to check. My king box was damp, and my Norton container's had condensation. Those hones sat out at least 48 hours.....Good Ole Florida....btw, My home does have Central Air...Climate controlled.

i kept My Norton inside water for a month then it was fine to use.

I hung a shower caddy next to my bathroom sink, which is where I do my honing. When I'm done with a stone I leave it in the caddy, where it's safe from the cats and gets air circulation all the way around. I'm in western Colorado, where the humidity runs from 10 to 20%, so drying isn't a problem. My waterstones are a Norton 4k/8k and a 1k/6k of unknown brand; neither has had any trouble with rapid drying.

Be careful with garage storage--I did have a waterstone blow a chunk once when it froze.

Is it safe to bleach a Norton, or use some barbasol on it to kill the mildew?

I hone standing in front of the kitchen sink so I let the stones dry in the dish drainer and then put them in the kitchen cabinet.