Step 2 of the process
Set up the stone
Soaking stones go under water until the bubbles stop, splash-and-go stones and diamond plates only need a wet surface, oil stones take oil. The face has to be flat and the stone must not move on the counter.
- Soaking stones
- about 3 to 15 minutes, by maker
- Splash-and-go and diamond
- wet the surface, no soak
What a stone needs depends on how it is made. A soaking water stone goes under water until it stops giving off bubbles; makers print anything from about 3 to 15 minutes. Splash-and-go stones only need water on the surface, and Shapton warns against leaving its stones in water for more than 30 minutes. How long to soak a whetstone lists the stone types.
Diamond plates are used dry or with water. Oil stones, natural Arkansas stones included, are used with a light honing oil, and a stone that has once been oiled stays an oil stone. If a stone came without a label, oil or water shows how to tell which kind it is before anything is poured on it.
Water stones wear hollow in the middle, and a hollow stone cannot hold an angle. Draw a pencil grid on the face and rub it on a flattening stone or diamond plate until every line is gone: see how to flatten a sharpening stone. Then give the stone a base that grips. A rubber stone holder or a damp towel keeps it still and lifts your knuckles clear of the counter.
Ready to move on when: The stone is wet the way its maker says, the face is flat, and it does not move when you push on it.
Common mistakes at this stage
- Leaving a splash-and-go stone in water for hours.
- Sharpening on a dished stone and blaming the knife.
- Letting the stone slide on a bare, wet counter.