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I don't know if this has been posted here before but I thought it might be good info for for everyone to view.
I found this interesting, mixing baking soda in the water will help reduce corrosion of the blade during sharpening. Does anyone know about this?
Link
http://toyamaryu.org/surface_polish.htm
First that I heard of it. Can anyone explain why?:shrug:
Maybe it's to neutralise the acidic oil from your hands.
Steel won't rust in an alkaline environment. Or it won't rust much. Alkalines will etch the steel somewhat, though this is much less of a risk than oxidation.
Shaving creams and soaps are alkaline as well, which is why the razor doesn't rust while you're shaving, but will once you rinse it off and leave standing water on the blade for more than a few minutes.
Antifreeze is alkaline for this reason, and you notice the old cast iron engine blocks didn't rust away internally unless you cheaped out and used plain water without antifreeze.
Very interesting I will have to find more on this subject. Maybe someone with a contact in japan can research this as well.