The Naniwa 12K is very fine. Even if you were to soak it, little water were to be absorbed. If you soaked it for a long time and water did get absorbed into the structure, it would take a long time to dry out again with potentially bad effects. I normally place my Naniwa stones under running water and scrub the surface with a green ScotchBrite pad to remove any surface debris. After a quick rinse, I start honing. Because the finer Naniwa stones do not absorb much water, it is good to have a spray bottle of water handy to keep the surface wet as you are honing.