Thread: Nortons and mold

Ok, like a good grasshopper, I read all the threads about Nortons coming down with cases of mold and resolved that this would not happen to me. WRONG!!

I thought I knew how to prevent this. After use, I laid my Norton down on 4 or 5 chopsticks so that air could circulate around the stone (since he is the subject of another thread, I should mention that I got this idea from Alton Brown as means of resting meat with ruining the crisp crust).

My Norton, on its chopsticks, was sitting in a largely air conditioned room for about 4 days. I came home this evening and picked up the stone to find the chopsticks covered with multicolored mold that was also clinging to my Norton! What the...?

I know I need to soak the stone in a bleach solution to clean it up. Any other suggestions? How do you let the stone dry without getting moldy? I'm at a loss. Thanks.

I leave mine soaking in a light bleach and water solution. No mold and already wet and ready to use.

Unless your one of these guys who hones just about every other day personally I don't see the big deal with soaking the stone for 20 minutes before use. I have about 40 razors in my rotation and only hone maybe a session a month so I keep mine dry. Afterwards I just keep it exposed to the air for a few days. Many guys make the misrtake of after drying for a day maybe, they put it away because it feels dry but those suckers absorb alot of water and they will exude water vapor for days.

I dry mine for a few days in the sun on a window ledge and am yet to grow anything funky

Thanks for the replies guys. So, I thought I was doing all I could to dry it properly, but obviously not. Any ideas on how to dry it? Do you need to flip it frequently? Thanks.

Jordan

I just stand it on it's side in the sun for a few days. No real method.

I keep mine on its side till its dry.

Originally Posted by drsch3

I dry mine for a few days in the sun on a window ledge and am yet to grow anything funky

same here. no need for flipping or chopsticks. just set it on its side on a sunny window sill for three or four days.

Thanks guys. Lets see how it goes.

Jordan

I may not be the most qualified to give much advice on here but I just kind of cock it up on the plastic case ( using those little lips that keep it in place during honing). This way there's even less surface contact than with chopsticks or even on its side. I've been working on my honing so much that it hasn't even gone back in the case yet though.....