waterstone question

[kansascutthroat]

just picked up a set of Boker japanese waterstones. have never used a waterstone before, always used my spyderco set. the question--after i use the spydercos i scrub them with a sponge and comet to remove the metal residue from the hone. do you maintain a waterstone in the same fashion or is that something not necessary with these? what maintenance is required?
thanks

 

[life2short1971]

If you find it clogging you can either use a nagura or scrubber of some sort to clean and freshen it. I have Naniwas so I use the DMT on mine after each use or at least a green scrubby if it was a light use.

 

[mainaman]

If you find it clogging you can either use a nagura or scrubber of some sort to clean and freshen it. I have Naniwas so I use the DMT on mine after each use or at least a green scrubby if it was a light use.

The term nagura has to be used in the right context, to avoid confusion.
For synthetic stones the term usually is a slurry stone, used for refreshing surface or raising slurry.
Nagura is a type of stone that comes from a specific mine in Japan used to produce slurry to hone on.

@ OP, before first use make sure you lap the stone well, then depending on how much honing you do you need to periodically lap the surface.
A consensus tool for lapping is DMT C (325 grit) which can also be used to refresh the surface is it clogs with metal.

 

[Kees]

@ kansascutthroat: what's a Boker Japanese waterstone?

 

[kansascutthroat]

check them out on www.budk.com. search for boker sharpener. they have some really nice deals on dovo razors, jemico strops, kohl strops, paste etc. just have to look for it. i bought a couple strops and paste from them. nice folks!