So, my Chinese 12K is my new favorite finisher. I have a couple basic questions about it, though.

1. Is it aggressive enough to touch up an edge that is just beginning to dull?

2. Others have said that this stone benefits from a periodic lapping to expose fresh abrasive. About how many hone jobs do you do before lapping? 10? 100? 1000? And what do you lap it with, 1000 grit? Or something coarser?

3. I am in the habit of wetting my fingertips with soap I stirring the water around on top of the hone. This breaks the surface tension of the water, so it lies in a uniform film on top of the hone. If I don't do this, the water balls up into large spherical beads which the razor rolls off the edge of the hone, leaving a dry surface. I have no reservations about using soap on my barber hones because they're not porous. What about the Chinese hone? Any chance of soap seeping into it? If soap is bad, how do you keep the surface uniformly wet?

4. Do you need to soak this hone? I don't soak it, I just wet the top before using it.

Thx,
-Johnny