I recently purchased a 12000 Kuromaku stone. The instructions that came with it said to soak it in water for 5-6 minutes before using. I’m not sure if they mean the first time you use it or every time it is used. Could not find any further info on their site.
Any thoughts?
If anyone is using these stones I would like to hear what you are using for lapping them.
Thanks
Replies
“[Deleted]”
No. First use only.
Q: Do Shapton stones need to be soaked in water before use?
A: No, Shapton stones do not need to be soaked except the very first time after purchase. We do recommend that on first use, you pre-soak the stone in water for five to six minutes to secure even smoother sharpening.
https://aframestokyo.com/blogs/news/mastering-the-edge-a-guide-to-shaptons-premier-sharpening-stones?_pos=1&_sid=bbbcec00e&_ss=r
This is what I did. Every use after I just spritz some water. Stones work well if you don’t mid the mess of water stones.
https://assets.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blt050573defaf102e3/blt48ac72e9c838601a/669c1a9f829cf98def947a4b/https_assets.leevalley.com_Original_10110_111613-shapton-sharpening-stones-c-01-e.pdf?branch=production
It's been eons since I had those stones, but they have a better action and are a little softer if they are soaked for 5-10 minutes. the manufacturer probably expects you will soak them, but most people do not. they cannot be soaked indefinitely like the king stones, though, which makes it kind of inconvenient. How often do you get the random urge to sharpen something and think "I'd love to wait 5-10 minutes for these stones to soak". if you are working and sharpening stuff every 20 minutes or whatever it might be if you're actually doing a lot of hand work, the stones will soften with the moisture on the surface.
If you're unsure why someone would soak these still, sharpen a knife on one (edge trailing) that's not soaked, then soak one and do it again.
I recall stu tierney saying that the stones on their original instructions in japanese said something more like 10-15 minutes, but again, it may have taken that for them to not seem miserable sharpening knives.
Thanks for the input