Thread: Storing Norton water hones in WATER????

How many of you guys store your Norton water hones in WATER? I can imagine by doing this you wouldn't have to soak them for ten minutes every time you want to use them, which is a pita, but will they really take this. If you do store them in water what kind of water do you use?

Bill Watkins

Originally Posted by str8razor

How many of you guys store your Norton water hones in WATER? I can imagine by doing this you wouldn't have to soak them for ten minutes every time you want to use them, which is a pita, but will they really take this. If you do store them in water what kind of water do you use?

Bill Watkins

I keep mine in water all the time ..... but, then, I hone bunches of razors for other folks to hair-popping standards almost every day ..... I add a couple of drops of iodine to keep away the scum from stagnant water. Otherwise, no problem ..... If you are only an occasional hone user, I don't see a whole lot of point in keeping the Norton wet all the time.

I don't keep my Norton in water, but it is usually a little damp from the last honing session whenever I go back to it because I've been honing a couple of times per week. All I do is run some water over the hone and let it sit in the shallow pool, 4k side down, for about 10 minutes before going to work. If I've got a lot to do and get pulled away from the hone I find the stone either absorbs most of the water or it evaporates away and I'll need to add more.

Unless you use them at least on a weekly basis I can't see keeping them in water. I only use mine maybe once a month so I just put them in water 20 minutes before I intend honing.

All of my wet stones including my Nortons are stored in water. I add a drop of bleach to keep away the uglies.

I keep mine in water that has a little iodophor (brewing sanitizer) added. It doesn't seem to affect the stone, and doesn't get 'funky' over time. My traveling hone (Honemaster from Tilly) stays dry in it's padded cigar box until I lather it up for use.




Wayne