How do I know if the stone is wet enough?

[konsuke]

Is there a general guideline as to how to tell me if I have enough water on my stone, or does it just not matter if I flatten it after every session? I've seen some videos where they use just a drop before going over it like 50 times, and some where they splash a cup over the stone every few strokes. I got so far, that finer stones need much less water, but is there some way I can tell, or is it just experience? From experience so far based on sound, I need to water a lot, basically every few strokes, but when I look at videos it always feels like they do much less than me. Therefore wondering, if there's some way I can tell? Using less water also means less mess. Some guys just seem to sharpen on the counter with a towel, while others use a full box of water underneath with a bridge. I'm so confused.

It probably depends on the stone a lot, so is it just experience or is there a generally applicable guideline? If it's experience, you probably have to do a huge amount of sharpening before you can tell that less/more water affects the stone's longevity?

 

[Kawa]

Don't make this such a mathematical problem. The general guideline is: the stone must be wet.
Just put some water on the stone, the way you like to do it. Do it with a cup, by hand, put the stone under a running water tap, or submerse it in a bin. You can use tap water, mineral water or holy water.
It doesn't really mater, for your stone longevity. Your stones will probably survive you and your kids anyway, unless you grind daily.

The only thing you can play around with, is the mud/paste thickness. More water, means a clean stone with no mud. Less water means thicker paste. And even that doesnt matter, it more like personal preference when wanting a certain finish.

Im a guy with a towel on a desk, rinsing my stones very often by submerging in a bin with water next to that towel.
I do not make a mess.

 

[Heckel7302]

The only thing your stone shouldn’t be is dry. Otherwise no right way or wrong way. There are many ways to skin this cat. As long as it works, that’s all that matters.

 

[1315]

Good question. First, is it a soaker? They need to be submerged until small bubbles stop forming on the surface. If you don't saturate them, it's a hassle to sharpen. After that, or if it's a splash n go, keep a little liquid pooled on top. I got a small spray bottle, it holds about 5T of water, and i spritz the top of the stone to keep it wet. I've also experimented with windex, and a drop off dish soap, but i don't think it makes a big difference.

 

[Nemo]

Depends on the stone. Learn what your stone likes.

 

[Nemo]

I got a small spray bottle, it holds about 5T of water

Your bottle holds 5 tonnes of water? Wow, you have thirsty stones!

 

[Delat]

For my s&g stones I just spritz with water when it looks or feels dry. They tend to need more water the first few mins, and the coarse stones more than the finer ones.

 

[Nemo]

For my s&g stones I just spritz with water when it looks or feels dry. They tend to need more water the first few mins, and the coarse stones more than the finer ones.

Interesting.

My Chosera 5k is much more thirsty than any of my other Choseras. I wonder whether it's batch to batch variation?

 

[Delat]

Interesting.

My Chosera 5k is much more thirsty than any of my other Choseras. I wonder whether it's batch to batch variation?

Mine are all shapton glass - SG 220, 500, 1k, 4k. The 4k definitely needs the least water.

 

[jacobwilder5]

Depends on the stone. Learn what your stone likes.

This ^

My water bill goes up when I use my Gesshin pink brink whereas my sp2k only needs a little spritz and is good to go.

 

[superworrier]

Interesting.

My Chosera 5k is much more thirsty than any of my other Choseras. I wonder whether it's batch to batch variation?

Chosera I find are relatively thirsty. SG/SP feel like they need very little water

 

[1315]

I only have 1 Naniwa/Pro, the 600, and it needs a short soak of 1-2 minutes to start, or the water sprayed on it soaks into it as fast as I can put it on.

 

[Jovidah]

Interesting.

My Chosera 5k is much more thirsty than any of my other Choseras. I wonder whether it's batch to batch variation?

Nope it's the same for me - and why I dislike the 5k. Never had such issues with the 400, 1k, 2k and 3k.

 

[The Forest Ninja]

I soak my #220 Nawiwa synthetic for about 15 minutes till the bubbles stop.
With my JNats, I just place them upside down in about 1/8" of water for about
the same amount time cause they are not sealed except one. This way they
get soaked, not drowned and there's less risk of them cracking.

 

[Heckel7302]

If the stone says "ow, it hurts", you haven't gotten it wet enough.

 

[mengwong]

Related question, how frequently do you rinse swarf off splash and go stones, particularly Shapton Glass?

Managing slurry on a J-Nat is one thing, but when sharpening with S&G I send the black stuff down the sink regularly because I don’t want it gunking up the edge.

When thinning I suppose it doesn’t matter as much but even then I rinse to give the steel more contact with the stone, with less noise from the swarf.

In sharpening videos I see some experts keeping stones dirty all the time, dripping on top of each other, dunked in the same tub, mixing grit freely. Others are more fastidious, working under a stream of running water.

Probably overthinking. What do you all do?

 

[1315]

Meng, you're spot on, not overthinking. I'll go 30 seconds past a medium swarf, but upon finishing on a lower grit stone or towards the last stones of edge progression sharpening... they're clean !

 

[konsuke]

Thanks for tips. I only have S&G.

Reading this I realized, that maybe I've been using too much water on my Naniwa Pro 800 thus far, holding it off from building a slurry - basically, I always watered when it turned into a higher scratching sound, which happens real quick bc the knife pushes the water off the stone almost instantly.

From now on, I will use my Atoma 400 to flatten before each new session, which builds a slurry in no time.

 

[M1k3]

Related question, how frequently do you rinse swarf off splash and go stones, particularly Shapton Glass?

Managing slurry on a J-Nat is one thing, but when sharpening with S&G I send the black stuff down the sink regularly because I don’t want it gunking up the edge.

When thinning I suppose it doesn’t matter as much but even then I rinse to give the steel more contact with the stone, with less noise from the swarf.

In sharpening videos I see some experts keeping stones dirty all the time, dripping on top of each other, dunked in the same tub, mixing grit freely. Others are more fastidious, working under a stream of running water.

Probably overthinking. What do you all do?

I wash it off just before the final strokes.

 

[Kawa]

Thanks for tips. I only have S&G.

Reading this I realized, that maybe I've been using too much water on my Naniwa Pro 800 thus far, holding it off from building a slurry - basically, I always watered when it turned into a higher scratching sound, which happens real quick bc the knife pushes the water off the stone almost instantly.

From now on, I will use my Atoma 400 to flatten before each new session, which builds a slurry in no time.

Beware that some synthethic stones (mostly S&G) hardly build a true slurry as in 'mud or paste from the stone powder mixed with water)

My chosera 600 for example. You only get a metal swarf paste. Thats not wat you are really looking for.


Why do you want to sharpen your edge in a slurry anyway?

 

[Kawa]

I soak my #220 Nawiwa synthetic for about 15 minutes till the bubbles stop.
With my JNats, I just place them upside down in about 1/8" of water for about
the same amount time cause they are not sealed except one. This way they
get soaked, not drowned and there's less risk of them cracking.

I don't know..

Wetting only a part of the stone might be more harmfull then wetting the whole stone.
I think its about having equal conditions all over the stone.
Thats why you also want to dry slowly: you wan the inside to dry with the outside at the same speed as much as possible (which is impossible ofcourse) to create the least tension in the stone as possible. You surely dont want to lay your stone down when drying so that the top can dry and the bottom won't. Thats what you kind of mimic whn wetting only a part of a stone.

The sealing part is for holding water during sharpening. I'm sure sealing is better for sharpening, but worse for drying

But hey, I'm not completely sure

 

[konsuke]

Beware that some synthethic stones (mostly S&G) hardly build a true slurry as in 'mud or paste from the stone powder mixed with water)

My chosera 600 for example. You only get a metal swarf paste. Thats not wat you are really looking for.


Why do you want to sharpen your edge in a slurry anyway?

I thought you need a slurry to do the actual sharpening

 

[1315]

No, not always. Wait, make that never. You can always sharpen without slurry!
In general, a slurry will make a stone more abrasive, and a clean stone surface will create a finer, less abrasive surface. I say in general, but perhaps this applies more to naturals than synthetic stones? (like belgians, coticules.)
Like @Kawa says, swarf and slurry (and no slurry) are different things.