Thread: "Water" for honing

Depends on the stone . You will dissolve or at least degrade the surface of some modern stones with it while for most naturals & old fashioned waterstones, it's ok.

thanks guys, thats why i was asking. now, i wouldnt mind the bubbles, if at all as we dont use too much soap, but as to the modern stones.... why would it degrade the surface?

i planned to so a lunch session. and the only non nats ive got is a 1/3K. ill also have a smallish coti, 2x thuris and a boss barber hone

Originally Posted by Munichjoe

thanks guys, thats why i was asking. now, i wouldnt mind the bubbles, if at all as we dont use too much soap, but as to the modern stones.... why would it degrade the surface?

Because it says so in the instructions.
Even too long a soak can soften the surface of a Shapton Pro.

Sodium carbonate sold by Namikawa also comes with a warning.
Sodium Carbonate | Polishing Tools | Namikawa Heibei Co.,Ltd.

Sodium carbonate is washing soda, which is a fairly aggressive alkali (it's the main ingredient in dishwasher powders); I wonder if he didn't mean sodium bicarbonate. That's what I use as a rust preventative in a spray bottle for honing - in a pretty dilute concentration I should add. My mate Havachat45 (Geoff) suggested it and I can testify to its effectiveness.

Originally Posted by Maladroit

Sodium carbonate is washing soda, which is a fairly aggressive alkali (it's the main ingredient in dishwasher powders); I wonder if he didn't mean sodium bicarbonate. That's what I use as a rust preventative in a spray bottle for honing - in a pretty dilute concentration I should add. My mate Havachat45 (Geoff) suggested it and I can testify to its effectiveness.

Dunno. Can't read Kanji

I used bicarb in water on my Kings & Jnats for years. When I started buying modern stones I stopped. It was 2 easy to use the wrong water bottle. Also one of my Suita started to soften & had to lap a fair bit away to find good stone again. Can't say for sure it was the bicarb but no probs since I stopped about 4 years ago.