Thread: How I soak my Nortons (and other stuff about how I hone)

I just changed the water out on my Nortons, and it occurred to me that I do a couple of things that others may or may not do, but I don't recall seeing posted.

I've recently been using anti-microbial hand soap in my soaking water. I used to use bleach to prevent the slimy stuff from developing in water. The problem with bleach is that if I used a little too much it would sometimes cause darkening of the blades I was honing. It was never dramatic darkening, and it would come off with metal polish, but I don't like polishing after the blades have been honed if I can help it.
A squirt of the anti-microbial soap in each tray also prevents the slime from developing and has the added benefit of helping to carry away swarf better than the bleach water does. I have not had a problem with the light oxidation that I would sometimes get if I got crazy with the bleach.

The other thing that I do is to keep each stone in a separate tray. I used to have a large pan for all of them, like in the Mastro Livi video (IIRC). If I had developed any auto-slurry on my 1k, putting it back in the pan would cause some of it to suspend in the water, and contaminate my finer stones. I suppose there is some risk of my 4K slurry contaminating the 8K, but I haven't had a problem with it. If I didn't have a combo stone, I would keep them separate as well.

Oh, and my Nortons have been in water pretty much continuously for over 4-1/2 years.
No problems yet.


Added as a somewhat unrelated afterthought, because people are curious:
My basic honing progression is Norton 1k, Naniwa SS 2k, Norton 4K, Norton 8K, Naniwa SS 12K or vintage Thuringian.
For razors needing more work, I also use a Chosera 600 or even the DMT 325 prior to the Norton 1k.

The only other stone that I keep on my table is a Naniwa SS 400, which I use for flattening the Thurry. I find that the softer binder leaves a nicer finish when finish lapping natural stones vs. the DMT 325. If you use a Naniwa SS 400 for the hard naturals, just use it for finish lapping. It's very soft and will wear out quickly if used to flatten a new stone.

I really like the Naniwa SS 2k between the Norton 1K and 4K. I know there's plenty of evidence that it's not needed.
But... If you're a person that is obsessive about scratch patterns, like I am - try it out if you have one available. It really does a great job of taking down the 1K scratches vs. just going to the 4K.

A picture of my (very) humble honing table:

Maybe you could place this in the Library----Hones or Frequently Asked Questions,,,because I've heard this asked about many times.

I know it's a Norton thread but for any new guys. It's probably worth mentioning that ceramics like naniwas & Shaptons etc should not be kept in water.

The cross contamination thing is interesting. I had a similar experience when a rag I had used for a week dropped some dried powder on a finisher. Felt all sorts of wrong for a stroke or 2.

Thanks Eric, I like the humble honing harea, looks comfy, comfy is good.
It would be useful if posts such as this could be put outside of a regular thread, it will most likely end up getting really bogged down with posts (sort of like mine thinking about it), and will end up all over the place.
Regards ed.

Originally Posted by HNSB

I've recently been using anti-microbial hand soap in my soaking water. I used to use bleach to prevent the slimy stuff from developing in water. The problem with bleach is that if I used a little too much it would sometimes cause darkening of the blades I was honing.

Using anti-microbial hand soap sounds like a good idea. I'll have to try it the next time I change the hone water.

How much bleach did you use? I use 1 tablespoon of bleach per quart of water. That works great for me. (I typically use that bleach-to-water solution to rinse my meat grinder or other kitchen tools used on meat.) I change out the water every 6 months, just in case, even though I never see any residue in there.

I soak my 1K and Norton 4K/8K stones together and have not had any problems. It's probably because I rinse off my stones when I take them out of the water container, and rinse again right before I place them back into the container. I get a feeling that the rinse water remaining on the stone may be slightly diluting the storage water, which is why I change the water out 6 months later.

Originally Posted by henryconchile

How much bleach did you use?

Measurement, what? Hehe. I just always dumped some bleach in.

Originally Posted by HNSB

Measurement, what? Hehe. I just always dumped some bleach in.

Aussie tenet for you Eric. "She'll be right mate"

All good advice thanks. I first noticed the contamini damn nation thing while honing. I set my 4/8 on my bench (which is covered in rubber) and was just flipping it over and spraying more water as I went. Not only messes with your head but it leaves scratches on the 8k side for sure. This freaked me out for a moment til the light came on. So I keep mine together in water but when I am working them I act like each one is in it's own clean room.

Originally Posted by HNSB

Measurement, what? Hehe. I just always dumped some bleach in.

So, you're pouring with faith.

Forgive me for asking the obvious, but wouldn't it make sense regarding the 4k/8k combo to just rinse the stone under running water? Wouldn't that eliminate the cross contamination?