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Hmmm. Well, Alex, you've got me thinking. When I was at Tanaka hones, I saw that probably 90% of the hones there were lacquered on the sides. He had a whole rack of them curing (he uses Cashew,...

You don't need to lacquer it at all. You can if you want to, but...really, it's not necessary.

Kyoto being what it is, they have them there. But most of the shops are actually distributors/wholesalers, who happen to have storefronts.

At ALL of the hone shops I went to in Kyoto, they had a honing station and encouraged me to try any stones before using them. So, if you're going, take a razor. I was stupid, and didn't.

As for...