Thread: Water Quality

People have been honing with whatever water they have for centuries with no ill effects on the hones or the razors

That's good enough for me. I use tap water.

Something that I never considered since I mainly use natural. We have hard water and never thought much about the soak on Norton's. Something to think about...

Thanks for the comments guys. Reason I ask has to do my going back and forth between big-city tap water and small-town mountain spring water, and noticing better results with the latter. But it is a subtle thing bordering on superstition, so I appreciate hearing other takes on this here. A few quotes follow:

Originally Posted by JOB15

Evian is the good stuff imo.

Agreed. Evian is similar to the mountain water I've been using with good results.

Originally Posted by hein31

Through watering and drying cycles you enrich the non-evaporating contents of the water. Since high grid stones don't have a high porosity, this excludes any problems. Lower grid stones have a higher capacity for water, but you have to go through thousands of watering and drying cycles to assume any effect at all. The viscosity of the fluid however drastically changes the performance, but if you stay with water only (no glycerine, soap, oil or simple green) then viscosity is not changing at all.

So: no influence at all.

Wow, your very first post on SRP. Very informative. Keep posting!

Originally Posted by Glock27

I would suggest using distilled water. As a personal preference, and out of ignorance, I will not submerge my Norton Stones in anywater other that distilled. My anecdotal experience with local tap water disturbed me and made me avoid any water that contained minerals.

Yes, I agree that distilled water should be the neutral default. And it's not all that expensive compared to, say, proprietary honing oil solutions.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

People have been honing with whatever water they have for centuries with no ill effects on the hones or the razors

That's good enough for me. I use tap water.

Point taken, but there is a subtle difference between the use of a stone from anywhere on the planet with treated tap water and the centuries-long symbiosis of using a local stone in combination with a local water supply.

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

Thanks for the comments guys. Reason I ask has to do my going back and forth between big-city tap water and small-town mountain spring water, and noticing better results with the latter. But it is a subtle thing bordering on superstition, so I appreciate hearing other takes on this here. A few quotes follow:

No supersticion necessary. Water treatment with fluor or ozone leads to subtle changes in surface tension. Bakeries will acknowledge that the kind of water you use for baking leads to big differences in taste and composition. And that has a lot to do with surface tension.

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

Agreed. Evian is similar to the mountain water I've been using with good results.

It's better for drinking. And it's not that good compared to most mountain water we have here in local taps.

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

Wow, your very first post on SRP. Very informative. Keep posting!

Well, i'm usually lazy practicing my english skills...

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

Yes, I agree that distilled water should be the neutral default. And it's not all that expensive compared to, say, proprietary honing oil solutions.

Distilled water is always the same quality. Agreed.

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

Point taken, but there is a subtle difference between the use of a stone from anywhere on the planet with treated tap water and the centuries-long symbiosis of using a local stone in combination with a local water supply.

Ok, i forgot to consider the local tap water quality. Here in germany there is no problem at all with that, not much minerals (a lot less than bottled water which many times is tested at a lower quality than the local tap water here). And i live in an area were we have very soft water. Washing machines stay intact longer here, no stains on watercookers and so on. From what i heard tap water in the states is not that much regulated and tested like here. Sometimes you can't even drink it.

On the other side: even calcium stains can only be smaller in gridsize than the abrasive of the stone. Remember, it can only accumulate in the pores. And calcium carbonate ist much softer than any abrasive, unless you do it like mother nature does with seashells. So the worst that can happen is, that your stone gets less thirsty the more minerals it accumulates.

Originally Posted by hein31

It's better for drinking. And it's not that good compared to most mountain water we have here in local taps.

Well, i'm usually lazy practicing my english skills...

Ok, i forgot to consider the local tap water quality. Here in germany there is no problem at all with that, not much minerals (a lot less than bottled water which many times is tested at a lower quality than the local tap water here). And i live in an area were we have very soft water. Washing machines stay intact longer here, no stains on watercookers and so on. From what i heard tap water in the states is not that much regulated and tested like here. Sometimes you can't even drink it.

On the other side: even calcium stains can only be smaller in gridsize than the abrasive of the stone. Remember, it can only accumulate in the pores. And calcium carbonate ist much softer than any abrasive, unless you do it like mother nature does with seashells. So the worst that can happen is, that your stone gets less thirsty the more minerals it accumulates.

Your English is fine. Thanks for your comments. Actually, the "mountain water" I'm speaking of comes from the Vosges mountains of France, while the city tap water here is from the Boston metropolitan US--not so bad when compared to, say, the calcium deposits in Parisian tap water. The town where I stay in the Vosges Mountains switched from untreated mountain water to treated tap water around fifteen years ago. The water that is from the tap there now is very good, but when it was untreated, man-oh-man was it good!

I appreciate your remarks about machines running longer, stones being charged with chalk, and so forth. Machines here do break down quickly for the reason you mention, and I can only imagine what it is doing to our organs. (Similar case for 220-240V versus 110-115V, higher octane gas/petrol, etc.)

The only time I have ever used "Special" water ie: a Gallon of Distilled was for a wet well that I kept a Norton 1 and 4k soaking along with a King 1k...

1 Gallon + 1 cap of Clorox changed every 6 months, to prevent algae growth

Other then that I have seen no issues with honing when using my Wellwater...

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

... The water that is from the tap there now is very good, but when it was untreated, man-oh-man was it good!

Yeah, you tend to forget the things, if you take them for granted.

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

... Machines here do break down quickly for the reason you mention, and I can only imagine what it is doing to our organs. ...

Your organs will do fine. Biology had millions of years to adapt to all kinds of drinking water, as long as it's clean and fresh it will not make a difference.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

The only time I have ever used "Special" water ie: a Gallon of Distilled was for a wet well that I kept a Norton 1 and 4k soaking along with a King 1k...

1 Gallon + 1 cap of Clorox changed every 6 months, to prevent algae growth

Other then that I have seen no issues with honing when using my Wellwater...

Permasoaking is not always recommended. Even my german stones are not always better with permasoaking. And japanese waterstones and permasoaking is an accident waiting to happen, only the traditional waterstone lines support it.

I heard of the "gssixgun mix" in your video. But so far i'm spoiled with our local tap water quality...

To summarize the discussion: it won't matter, and if your suspicious soak it in distilled water from time to time. And if you want to permasoak try to find out, if the manufacturer recommends it.

Originally Posted by hein31

Permasoaking is not always recommended. Even my german stones are not always better with permasoaking. And japanese waterstones and permasoaking is an accident waiting to happen, only the traditional waterstone lines support it.

I heard of the "gssixgun mix" in your video. But so far i'm spoiled with our local tap water quality...

To summarize the discussion: it won't matter, and if your suspicious soak it in distilled water from time to time. And if you want to permasoak try to find out, if the manufacturer recommends it.

Often times it is actually a good thing to read what people "Type" before responding
Read it again, it is very specific and detailed much like it was in the Vids

The only time I have ever used "Special" water ie: a Gallon of Distilled was for a wet well that I kept a Norton 1 and 4k soaking along with a King 1k...

1 Gallon + 1 cap of Clorox changed every 6 months, to prevent algae growth

Other then that I have seen no issues with honing when using my Wellwater...

SPIT !!! Spit was what we used to use honing pocket knives when I was a kid, and it worked ! Now I use tap water ....... to drink, bathe, shave and to hone ......

We take a razor & rub it across a rock that is probably a billion years old at least; create a slurry & swarf comprised of only God knows what, like baby dinosaurs and ancient relatives,,,, yet we feel like the water we use should be the element of concern?

I feel the stone's composition, natural or man made, would negate any positive effect of a special water.