Thread: Black Plague

It had been a week since I had the chance to hone, so when I took the cover off my shallow container of water and stones----UGHH!--water and stones were black as ink. Sorry no pics. Was in emergency mode when I cleaned everything up. Tried not to leave my Nortons in the bleach water to long ( maybe two minutes) to kill mold/mildew, which I believe came from a sand stone I tossed in a couple days ago. The water was distilled with a couple drops of bleach, but was overcome. Anyone know if my Nortons will suffer any ill effects from the bleach? So far look ok alittle rough in texture mostly on the 4000, free from the black plague!

Sounds like something besides a week in water & your Nortons was the problem. I've had my Nortons in water for much longer, with the same amount of bleach that purifies the water for drinking (8-16 drops per gallon; 16 drops if the water is nasty to begin with); no problems.

Re-clean the container, put only your Nortons in it with the proper amount of bleach. If you have no intention of honing for a while; then let the Nortons sit in the new water/bleach for a few days, then take them out to air dry in a good location. Don't store them wet.

Yeah bleach ain't gonna hurt your Nortons. I'm not a very scientific guy. I put "some" bleach in with the water and it sits that way all the time. After a few weeks, I change the water, wash the container, and add about the same amount as the first time. The best I could do for a meaurement is to say "however much bleach comes out before I stop pouring". Way more than a tablespoon, but probably less than a half a cup. lol No clue on how come yours turned black though. Hope the black can be lapped out.

Sounds like your stones were in water, but not submersed, shallow pool. Stagnant water, air/oxygen and warm conditions = mold. Just guessing, but sounds like that's what you had. +1 on the above posts on using bleach, but if you don't hone more than once every 3 or 4 weeks, or more, I'd just air dry the stones and store them dry after use. 15 or 20 minutes in water before honing is more than plenty of time to stabilize the stones and let them absorb the moisture they need. Good Luck!!

Regards,

Howard

I bleach my Nortons about once a month, with the same amount of bleach that regularjoe uses.
I let them soak in that for about an hour, then rinse them well, soak in clean water for about ten minutes, then change the water.

I used to leave them in bleach water all the time with no ill-effects on the stones. I did notice that with certain razors, the bleach water on the hones would cause black spots on some razors. That's why I rinse and use clean water after cleaning the stones with bleach.

A couple of drops will do no harm. I keep stones in a bigger tub, and from time to time add a few drops of bleach. When you add only a few drops, you're probably only adding several times as much chlorine concentration as town water, and that's not much.

Unless you are honing more than once a week, I would just let the stones dry out. The water you get from a municipal source will already be treated with bleach. I believe it's 15 ppm at the farthest source, so a teaspoon would be plenty, although it gasses off over a period of time. Storing the stones seems like a huge pain when you only need to soak for 10 minutes...

I like to treat stone prep prior to honing in much the same manor as beard prep before beginning the shave. Sort of like a "ritual". First I will lap any stone that needs it and then soak the stones I intend to use. Then I lay a piece of rubber shelf liner on the table with a nice towel on top of it. Next I lay two or three razors on the towel, mix an appropriate cocktail or a mimi-snifter of Benedictine and by that time the stones are just about saturated.

Let the honing session begin...........I enjoy honing.

Jerry
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Doesn't matter if you use bleach or not, changing the water more often is always a good idea.

Thanks guys, lesson I learned was to use caution with new antique mystery stones when mixing with my Nortons.