Jnat Users - Do you seal the back of your stones?

I'm wondering what other Jnat users out there do. (Seal, no seal and why).


I know this has come up secondary in other threads, but I'm not sure if we've dedicated a discussion to just this yet.

Usually yes. I use semi-gloss clear lacquer on the sides and back mostly because lacquered stones are easier to keep clean if that is desirable to you.

The softer or layered stones get sealed to keep water off the sides. It's typical for soft stones though I don't know how important it is these days and the way we use our hones. If you honed every day in unconditioned space as rural Japanese users might have done in the past, subjecting the stone to maybe freezing temperatures at night in the shed, then I can certainly see a real need to seal the sides and maybe back.

Cheers, Steve

I put 3 coats on clear nail polish on the back and sides of my two stones.
Why? It looks nice and shiny !!! .... plus if it does help stop water penetration, why not?

I haven't yet but plan to eventually.

I seal the sides and bottoms.
I've sealed several Tomo and Mikawa Nagura also.

I've sealed one with clear nail polish and regret it - I'm a hand held honer (copyright Triple H) and it gets slippy cos it's shiney now. My others are all natural.

Clear nail polish, lacquer, anything else used to seal?
Does one method work better than another depending on particular characteristics of the stone?

Gamma said:

I seal the sides and bottoms.

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Gamma said:

I've sealed several Tomo and Mikawa Nagura also.

Click to expand...

Sides and bottom? Or maybe only unusable portions of the nagura?

Personally, I usually use polyurethane or spar varnish on the sides and bottom of my japanese stones.

Side and bottom with urushi with a thin layer of clear polyurethane on top of that.

P Funk said:

Clear nail polish, lacquer, anything else used to seal?
Does one method work better than another depending on particular characteristics of the stone?



Sides and bottom? Or maybe only unusable portions of the nagura?

Click to expand...

I use nail polish most of the time. Kashu, the fake Cashew/Urushi is popular.
Nail polish is cheap, easy, fast. And it works. Kashu is closer to the traditional method though.
The real stuff is tough to get, and it can cause skin irritation.
Currently, many users in Japan are using another type of paint, originally designed for musical instruments - it's synthetic. Can't remember the name/brand though. As long as the stone is protected from water getting in, whatever works - works.

Some Tomos and Nagura get the same treatment the hones get, leaving one side exposed.

Keith, is there any risk of the sealant mixing in with the slurry when using a tomo that has been sealed on your base stone?

I apply polyurethane to the stamp on my nagura but my Jnat is as is, ye olde natural.
Never thought it needed to be done............until now that is.

I've used Behlen Luthier's Lacquer with great success, I use urushi to keep it real. Nail polish works great too.

I don't seal my J-Nats. Simple as that.

Looks like I'll be raiding the wife's 'den'. I'll try it out on one stone to see if it's for me or not.

Thanks for the info - very helpful thread for me.

Brooksie967 said:

Keith, is there any risk of the sealant mixing in with the slurry when using a tomo that has been sealed on your base stone?

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There's a far greater chance of Tomos and Nagura shedding stone bits and flakes into the slurry causing problems.
Actually - that's a fairly common reality. It's also why I've sealed several of them.

I've also had a LV 5+ stone fissure terminally while lapping.
So - I seal stones and Nagura. It's just what I do.
I never tell anyone they 'should' do it though.

Gamma said:

There's a far greater chance of Tomos and Nagura shedding stone bits and flakes into the slurry causing problems.
Actually - that's a fairly common reality. It's also why I've sealed several of them.

I've also had a LV 5+ stone fissure terminally while lapping.
So - I seal stones and Nagura. It's just what I do.
I never tell anyone they 'should' do it though.

Click to expand...

Never thought about it that way but it does make sense!

It's almost as if you should just "dip" the stone and re-lap the surface which you choose to use. I wonder if anyone has done that?

I think not sealing them is fine if you're using them infrequently. If you using them almost daily and they're going through many cycles of wet/dry, sealing them is a good idea IMO. I had a striped Iyoto nagura turn to mush, cracks on the sides of stones widen and layers chip off so I seal them. I think urushi looks cool too.

It's been explained to me, by several people, repeatedly, that not sealing the sides is nothing but a gamble.

I've had a LV 5+ stone fissure terminally in my hands during lapping because water crept in the side causing several existing fissures to split further. It was wet for about 10 minutes. Sure - maybe it would have let go without getting wet or even if I had sealed it.
Or - maybe I'd still have that gorgeous Shobu if I sealed it first. I'll never know the answer for certain.

So I seal Jnats. What anyone else does is up to them.

David, I've not sealed my one and only j-nat, an Ozuku Asahi, nor have I sealed any of my naguras though I should seal at least the identifying stamps on my naguras, so I will be able to remember who's who...as I use them infrequently. I've thought about writing the English words on each nagura, to help me identify them, more easily for me, using something like a fine black sharpie, which would negate the need to seal the stamps


Best,



Jake
Reddick, Fla.