Soaking ceramic waterstones and other stone questions

I bought a set of shapton stones (700, 2000) and the Imanishi (8000) stones after selling my worksharp 3000 - I've decided to jump in the water and force myself to sharpen via stones.I've yet to use them but I've been looking at stone ponds and holders. I decided to make my own sharpening holder station that clamps in the workbench vise to keep it stable, sort of like a bench hook with sides to hold the stones and water dripping in place. I also decided to go with a kitchen storage container for the pond. I got this Starfrit kit that has a perfectly sized 10"x8" container, lock tight, and includes a bottom that raises the contents off the bottom so the stones don't sit in the sludge. Nice !

Now, do I just submerge the stones in the water forever or will the water slowly erode the stone? Should I just soke them as per the instructions prior using and then dry or keep them int he water? (no instructions came with them). Do I keep the 700 and the 2000 in the same container? Any cross contamination?The 8000 I'll just spritz when I use it since it won't soke up any water.

Which Shapton stones do you have? If you have the Shapton Pro series or the glass stones, only spritzing is required. You don't want to soak those stones(well some people may soak them a little bit). Certainly less messy if you spritz only and they will definitely do the job that way.

I don't have shaptons, Bester and Imanishi. You said you don't want to soak them, why not? This is the info I'm looking for, is there a reason I shouldn't soak them like it's bad for the stone?

I'm not sure if you can perm-soak the Besters and Imanishi, but I do know you can leave a Bester 1200 in water for 24 hrs or so. My Bester loves water,is a thirsty duck, but is a rock solid stone. My main stones are Sigma powers and they can perm-soak. Btw, pick a 3/4 to 1 1/2 to learn freehand. Get comfortable with the pull stroke, then start pushing. Also, learn to shift from pulling straight, then 45* then 90*. Side bevel grinding is excellent at smooth finishing edges.

Also, I don't worry about grit contamination until after I've flattened a stone for use. I do change out my water every couple of days.

If there is a chance of freezing, you do not want to leave the stones in the water.

Some of my stones are not as absorbent as others. When my 1000 goes in the tub, bubbles keep rising to the surface.

My 4000 and 8000 don't do much. They usually just get dunked and put on the table and water is added as needed.

jtk

It's not a clear cut issue and each brand/type of stone behaves differently. While some stones works fine, some stones can get too soft for them to be effective if they are kept in the water for long. So if you are looking for a reason not to soak, that's one. But like I said, it depends on what stone.

I could have sworn that in your original post you said you had just bought a set of shaptons(700 and 2000). Yes or no?
You can(and should) soak Bestors untill the cows come home.

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Originally Posted by Bob Rankin

I don't have shaptons, Bester and Imanishi. You said you don't want to soak them, why not? This is the info I'm looking for, is there a reason I shouldn't soak them like it's bad for the stone?

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Originally Posted by Jim Koepke

If there is a chance of freezing, you do not want to leave the stones in the water.

jtk

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I have a picture somewhere you might be interested in...

Just an FYI, they're waterstones, not ice stones. When frozen, they don't work very well. DAMHIKT. ;)

(And when you put water on them and steam pours off, they don't work so well either. Waterstones, not steam-stones...)


Stu.

Nope, I never said Shaptons, just Bester and Imanishi. I'll have to try and find info directly related to Besters I guess, I don't want to ruin my stones before I even use them. They've been dunked since the original post !

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Originally Posted by Chris Vandiver

I could have sworn that in your original post you said you had just bought a set of shaptons(700 and 2000). Yes or no?
You can(and should) soak Bestors untill the cows come home.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bob Rankin

I bought a set of shapton stones (700, 2000) and the Imanishi (8000) stones after selling my worksharp 3000 - .

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Just sayin'

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Originally Posted by Shawn Stennett

Just sayin'

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Weird, I think I meant to say ceramic.