# looking for permasoakers



## dreamsignals (Mar 4, 2011)

so i was just stone-browsing and as i looked a different brands, grits, sizes (all synthetic) i wondered which ones i could just permasoak. right now i only have a king 1k/6k and am looking to get both something rougher and something in between, and i really like the idea of just leaving them in the water forever.

right now i'm thinking about the bester 500 and the 2k blue aoto.

Dave's website says this about the aoto: "Requires 30 min. soak time in water before use, however, I believe that it's best to leave this stone soaking indefinitely in your water bucket as it's prone to cracking/splitting if dried too rapidly or even too often (cycles). The surface will become somewhat mushy from long soaking but this can either be used as an advantage for shaping to a hamaguriba bevel or it can be fixed/corrected by a quick lapping from a diamond plate"

hamaguriba is convexing, correct? i don't see myself trying that too soon...

what about the bester 500?

what other stones in theses ranges can permasoak, and which cannot? and i meant "cannot" in the sense that i'll ruin it.

thanks!


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## 99Limited (Mar 4, 2011)

I leave my Beston 500 soaking full time. One thing I've noticed is after a couple of days of soaking there's a light layer of grit in the bottom of my container. So far I've just chalked it up to usage even though I rinse pretty well after I'm finished with it. I also leave my Bester 1.2k soaking all of time.


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## Cadillac J (Mar 4, 2011)

Bester 1200 has been in water permanently for the past year, and it performs better because of it.

Just curious, why are you set on a perma-soak only? My reasoning is that it is always ready to go with no prep time, but so are splah-n-go stones.


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## tk59 (Mar 4, 2011)

I'd suggest you try the Gesshin 400 soaker. I hate soakers (esp my beston 500) but after trying this one out on a handful of differnt knives and steels, I'm getting one anyway.


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## dreamsignals (Mar 4, 2011)

Cadillac J said:


> Bester 1200 has been in water permanently for the past year, and it performs better because of it.
> 
> Just curious, why are you set on a perma-soak only? My reasoning is that it is always ready to go with no prep time, but so are splah-n-go stones.



i'm not really set on it, i just like the idea. beyond being ready to go, the motivation here is kinda backwards. i've been wanting to try the blue aoto for a while now. the reviews just have instigated me to try it out, and it happens to fill my 1k/6k void. apparently it is a good permasoaker. since i'm not getting more than 2 stones at once right now, i figure it'd get 2 soakers to see how they behave/compare. i guess i myself am curious.

my experience is very limited, and i've never used any splash'n'go. i actually like how thin and portable some of them are and can totally see it coming my way. i just happen to be more curious about the soakers right now.


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## Abattoir (Mar 5, 2011)

I have the big syn blue Aoto and overall it's a stone I've come to be very indifferent about... 
I like the stone for somethings and not at all for others. I feel like this is one of those stones that isn't entirely necessary unless you're doing mostly single beveled knives, but thats just me. I use it for the one yanagi I have and on my carter just to bring out the contrast between the jigane and the hagine. Whenever I'm sharpening any western style knifes I always skip from bester 1k to takenoko 8k without any problems but again, thats' just me.

As far as permasoakers go all of my stones are and have been for over a year with no ill effects thus far. My current setup it as follows.

bester 500
king 800
bester 1k
syn aoto
takenoko 8k
Naniwa ss 10k

I would like to fill that gap between 1k & 8k with something but I'm not entirely sure what yet. I'm leaning towards getting a green brick of joy, and a suehiro 5k, just waiting on the tax return. Anybody else have any thoughts feelings on the matter? Especially on soaking non soakers?


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## Citizen Snips (Mar 5, 2011)

ive been permasoaking the beston 500, bester 1200, blue aoto 2k and suehiro rika 5k for like 6 months and they are holding up great

i own a kitayama 8k and arashiyama 6k that do not soak. i splash and go on the arashiyama and soak the kitayama for like 5-10 minutes before use.

Abattoir-i would go for the suehiro. i do not have experience with the green brick but i have heard it acts like the blue aoto. dont know if that is true or not but sometimes i feel that the jump from the bester 1k to the rika would be just fine and i have one too many stones (if that is even possible). i do like how muddy it is though


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## dreamsignals (Mar 5, 2011)

thanks for the input guys.

one more question now: what makes a stone splash'n'go? i've read that naturals are. is that always the case? why some synthetics need soaking and other don't?


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## JBroida (Mar 5, 2011)

dreamsignals said:


> thanks for the input guys.
> 
> one more question now: what makes a stone splash'n'go? i've read that naturals are. is that always the case? why some synthetics need soaking and other don't?


 
not all naturals are splash and go... its a function of the binder, the density, and the pores


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## tk59 (Mar 6, 2011)

I love the convenience of splash n go stones. emphasis on LOVE. My current fave is the Gesshin 5k+. sweet stone...


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## aser (Mar 7, 2011)

I'll be the dissenting voice and state my preference for the blue synthetic aoto as a gap between bester 1200 and Arashiyama 6000. I feel I end up spending too much time on the Arashiyama if I jump straight from the 1200, which I did before purchasing the aoto. I also feel I've become a better sharpener as a result of using the synthetic aoto due to its softness. It's a win win setup for me......


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## spaceconvoy (Mar 8, 2011)

True, if you want to get all the 1k scratches out, you'll have to spend a little more time than optimal on the Arashiyama. You have three options: suck it up and spend the time, don't worry about the scratches, or add another stone. 

And getting back on topic, I definitely recommend the Rika for a permasoaking medium-fine stone. It'll quickly take out 1k scratches, and feels better the more you soak it. Kinda like the B500, one or two hours soak just isn't enough.


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