Perma soaking Naguras

lesslemming · Jul 30, 2023

Allow me to ask this question and summon the crowd intelligence.

I have a really nice Mikawa Nagura that benefits from a good long soak before use.
I currently keep it in a closed container with water so it’s always ready to go.

It is sealed, of course. But here are my questions:

- What is your general take on perma soaking Nagura bench stones specifically?
- What do you do to keep the water from going bad if the stone isn‘t used for a long time?

Thanks!

lesslemming · Aug 6, 2023

No results? Is the topic unknown or is my question trivial?

Mr Kooby Shemayrew · Aug 6, 2023

Mikawa naguras tend to be more friable than tomo naguras and natural finishing stones. I only have a koma which I just start soaking when I start on my stones. Many times I don’t even soak it, just start rubbing it.

Due to the porosity of the mikawa’s, I would think a permanent soak has the real risk of damaging them. Many people like to seal the stamps, myself included, and I would think a permanent soak would affect the sealant.

This is all theory though. Feel free to do some real world testing to find out for sure.

lesslemming · Aug 8, 2023

Are you sure that is correct? Nagura are notorious for not releasing particles easily and my Mikawa is no exception. Hence, I would not describe it as friable.

I can’t be the first one on this forums to attempt perma soaking a Nagura bench stone, can I?

mk4pi · Aug 16, 2023

I am not don't know so much about this but as i understand you shouldn't do that. Since there are different stuff (or line/crack that you can't see but it there) in the stone that absorb water and swell at different rate, this different in the long run can crack your stone. That what the sealing does to begin with (the stamp is bonus)

Not bench stone example but i saw someone did an experiment on a Botan Nagura once (they have this distinct line run through it). Soak 1 night and It split open the next day.

I did saw someone in the forum soak there nagura bench stone before, but they did it with Tsushima nagura. That nagura is super consistent in particals, and it was mined under the sea to begin with so i think that was a special case. In general I wouldn't perma soak any of my mikawa nagura or any jnat for that matter.