Thread: Grit contamination in combo hones?

I have the Norton 225/1000 and 4K/8K. I like them very much and I am learning and getting some satisfactory results most of the time. I wish I had gotten the stones separately instead of the combos. I know that when I go from a coarser to a finer grit I should clean the blade to avoid contaminating the finer hone with coarser particles. My concern is that when I flip the stone over in the Norton plastic base the water settled in it will have particles of coarser grit that will get onto the finer side.

Sometimes I hone on a towel instead of using the base and I have the same worry. I have to try and keep track of which part of the towel was in contact with the coarser grit and fold it so that it doesn't come in contact with the finer grit. Am I being too anal about this or is it a valid concern? TIA.

Yer not being too anal, however there is a simple solution, either hone next to a full sink of water or keep a dip bucket next to yer honing station of choice, just dip the stone before you start on the next grit , problem solved....
The other way you can help the situation is to use a cup of water instead of a spray bottle and pour the water on the stone this will help rinse the grit off the stone as well, although not quite as well as the dip will....
Good honing!!!

One reason I love this forum is to hear others deal w/ a similar problem. Didn't even think of this going on until reading the post. I hone on a towel and when I flip it over I feel grit on the 8000 side. I try to rinse it in a bucket,rubbing w/ my hand and damn! I will fell the grit in the next pass.
I think the grit originates off the towel and it doesn't rinse easily.
Thanks
Al.

I use both a tub of water to dip in and a spray bottle. Dip and spray!

I always use my norton on the Blue base that came with it. I don't clean the blade or the stone.
Every now and then I add a splash of water, and I just flip the stone as needed.

When I go to the 4/8, The edge is already reasonable so it's not like there is a lot of grit floating on the stones.

With the 1K/4K I use for setting bevels, there is some grit on the stone, but since the base contains water, it floats free and sinks to the bottom.
And since that is only for setting bevels, a small amount of grit contamination doesn't matter much anyway.

I never touch the stone with cloth or paper when I am using it, because I found that fibers stick to the stone and make the blade go bump. The blue base works just fine.

Thanks to all who replied. I am going to go the dip in the bucket route. I have been using the spray bottle.