Thread: Water Quality

I'm curious as to the quality of water itself as a honing issue. Assuming that distilled water would be a scientific default, I'm wondering if folks can suggest various bottled mineral waters that they have used to improve a stone's performance. Similarly, if one's tap water is either soft or hard, desirable results as obtained there or problems followed by steps that folks have taken to move their tap water in the opposite direction with improved results.

Not sure about honing but hard water which is what I get plays havoc on my blades, staining them.

Evian is the good stuff imo.

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.

I use reverse osmosis water on my stones.

We have a water softener but I am more worried about particulates in the water than the chemical makeup.

I would think after many soakings with hard water that the stone would retain minerals, as to what grit those deposits or effects on the hone, I have no clue. I am in TX for a while and the water here is nasty, mineral deposits on everything, shower heads clog, the dishwasher needed a few vinegar treatments to work right...a good question.

I know my norton 4k/8k is a thirsty one and am sure that stone has plenty of absorbed deposits by now. I imagine after a few years and a few hundred soakings it could have an effect but I don't worry about it, I will be rolling out of here soon enough.

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.

I think you have a good point there.

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.

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.

Is it already April 1st???