naniwa dressing stone/nagura...soak it?

[Michael Boehm]

Quick question about the synthetic nagura that naniwa sells as a 'dressing stone' (http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Naniwa-Dressing-Stone-P496.aspx).

I've searched and searched but can't seem to find any information on proper use, particularly regarding whether or not to soak. My intent is to use it in conjunction with the newer naniwa 'sharpening stones' that require only a spritz of water. I attempted to use it without the soak but it seems like a very thirsty stone and was actually soaking up the water on my stones like a sponge leaving a dry surface though it still seemed to do a pretty good job of removing glazing. So... to soak or not to soak? Thanks for the help!

[Matthew N. Masail]

That looks like the same nagura that comes with each Naniwa Chosera stone. when I used mine I soaked them, because it's thirsty like you said. I think I even left it in water for a few days and it was fine, didn't come apart. it does do a good job of cleaning, and it's about 600-800 grit.

[Tony Shea]

I actually have that stone as it came with my Chosera 400. I soak it prior to use with my Cho 400, roughly about ten minutes. I use this stone only on my Cho 400 just as a way to maintain the flatness and to keep the 400 clean. It seems to work extremely well on this stone. I originally used my DMT dia flat xcoarse to flatten the 400 and it really did a number on the diamond stone. So I currently try and stay away from using my diamond stone on the Cho 400 and use the nagura.

If your stone keeps soaking up water and drying out then I highly recommend soaking it for a short period. Basically all water stones benefit from a short soak.