Not really a slurry stone?

It has occurred to me (during my voluminous internet reading today) that the weird little stone that came w/ my J-syns 8k isn't really a slurry stone but a cleaning stone. It makes a really gritty slurry. Might explain my lack of initial success. What do you all think? Not that I've used the slurry from it lately.

I've always made slurry by using the same type of hone as the target. Or by using a diamond hone of 325 mesh or coarser. FWIW.

If it feels really gritty, then that might be a problem.

I never really understood the purpose of those "prep stones" and I have never used them. I have seen some Chosera's that come with them, you can get Norton prep stones, and other brands have them as well. They all seem to be quite coarse so they are definitely not meant to be used to raise a slurry. I would just stick it back in the box and forget about it.

I think a slurry is unnecessary with 8K and above stones. Plus the stones I have used get cleaned as part of the lapping process. I would keep the stone in case you try to use another stone that needs or uses a slurry.

One purpose is to clean a stone that might tend to glaze faster than it dishes. Another is to smooth away scratches left by a coarse lapping stone. Thirdly, sometimes it's helpful to re-texture the surface of a stone that feels "chirpy" i.e. when the blade skips and hops. Finally, in theory it can be used to create a coarse slurry on a fine stone to speed things up (if for some reason you don't have a coarser stone).

I have the Norton prep stone and it seems to be identical to the 4K stone. I don't ever use it except when I want to take out a chip because I don't have anything lower than 4K and I think it makes the 4K cut faster.

I also have a Japanese slurry stone that I got with my Jnat. It's much coarser and it is used on the Jnat for sharpening before smoothing.

the "nagura" that comes with high grit stones is used to clean up the surface not for slurry. You can use a 1.2k Dmt instead if you want.

mainaman said:

the "nagura" that comes with high grit stones is used to clean up the surface not for slurry. You can use a 1.2k Dmt instead if you want.

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Even this nagura, or are you talking about something else?

I used it yesterday as a cleaning stone on my 8K, and it seemed to remove the faint glazing from the blade. My vote (FWIW) is that it's just a cleaning stone.

So if I wanted to use a slurry (which I've decided not to for now), could I use the slurry stone from the 12K to raise slurry on the 8K?

Thanks guys!

My "rule of thumb" for slurry is, if you want a slurry, raise it with an equal or finer slurry stone. The exception is if you are using a slurry stone that does not itself break down (such as a DMT). I also never slurry on synthetics, though I do think slurrying on a 1k can be benificial at times, and I never slurry on a finisher. I also wouldn't slurry on an 8k.

To be honest, I think trying to use slurry complicates things a bit, as slurry is a variable that is difficult to control and, at least as far as I can tell, there is not a lot of "documentation," if you will, about slurry on synthetics. It is the need for slurry that, in my opinion, makes using naturals such as the coticule difficult, and I recommend synthetics to newer guys precisely because they are highly effective without slurry.

I don't mean to discourage you from playing with slurry on your synthetics - it is always excellent when people experiment and share their results.

holli4pirating said:

I don't mean to discourage you from playing with slurry on your synthetics - it is always excellent when people experiment and share their results.

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No discouragment here.
I made the assumption that slurries were required, and failed to make the connection that they were most effective on natural stones.
Part of the problem for noobs like me is that all my info is coming in in dribs and drabs, not always immediately relevant, and filtered through my own biases. Plus some of it conflicts, and it's not laid out in a logical progression, and for sure not all of it sticks the first time 'round. (Old dog, new tricks...)

This synthetic stone seems to be a suehiro 8.000 gold.
Very neat stone that is! You can achieve great results with it.
I had one of these too, but sold it recently.

The "nagura" that comes with it is not meant for creating a slurry.
I think it´s purpose is to "open" up clogged stones.
After or before sharpening the stone is rubbed with the nagura,
and rinsed clean

Because this particular stone is rather small it doesn´t work very well.
Don´t use it for raising a slurry. You will get much better results

Thanks LessL.
I sure have gotten good results with that stone as soon as I quit trying to use that "nagura" stone for slurry!
Also thanks for identefiying it for me. I had no idea beyond Japanese synthetic.