Thread: Storing hones?

I'm about to receive a set of hones here soon and I was just wondering what most of you guys store your hones in? My Norton already has the plastic cover that comes with it but all the other ones just have the cardboard box.

I have the King hones and they come in the cardboard boxes. All I do is let the stones completely dry and the put the back in the cardboard boxes.

I leave my Naniwas SS's out in the open so they can properly dry. I used to do the same with my Chosera 1k, but it began to develop hairline cracks. I believe this was due to it drying too quickly in the very dry Rochester winter, so I now wrap it up with wet paper towels in a dishrag to let it dry slowly. I leave my naturals out to dry, just like my SS's, with the exception of my Asagi. It seems to gather dust/particles more than my other hones AND doesn't respond well to me hand rubbing them off; to address these issues I store it in a cabinet.

What brand/type are they?

Some don't care what you do to them, some require a little care and consideration, some need kid gloves.

Generally, let them dry, put them somewhere safe and covered up to keep dust off them.

Stu.

(Who throws his on the fridge. I'm worried about the welfare of the fridge, it's starting to sag...)

I leave mine on the desk to dry. When they are well dried they go into the desk draw.

A walk in closet......

P.S. They do sit out after use for two days on a towel to dry out. I find that hones, espcially the King 1k for some reason, can hold water for days. At least mine does. Most hones sit in plastic storage boxes in the closet. Some stay out on a shelf, Nani's, Nortons, Kings, Shaptons are in their original boxes. Just make sure they're dry before you put them up....that's the main concern...

I always hone at night when the kids have gone to bed. When I'm finished the hones get left on a towel on a bench in the laundry to dry overnight. In the morning I wrap them up in their own little individual cloths and stick em back in my hone box.

I picked up an aluminum case from harbor freight a while back that is foam lined and has dividers. I usually leave my stones out long enough to where they won't completely ruin their boxes then stuff them in there in a particular order to where they won't shift too much. My thoughts are that with the semicontained environment the hones will dry slow enough to reduce cracking and they are all protected from the dogs, cat and kid.

Originally Posted by Schtoo

What brand/type are they?

1K King
4K/8K Norton
12K Naniwa

Im thinking about just wrapping them in a towel and then placing them into a plastic case or something.

Originally Posted by Theseus

I have the King hones and they come in the cardboard boxes. All I do is let the stones completely dry and the put the back in the cardboard boxes.

That is what I was doing. The problem is they take ages to dry properly. I'd leave it for days, put it in its box, and the next time I checked it the box had gotten soggy. I just wrap them in tea towels now.