water sharening stone

Looks like a King stone. If it works then it's ok

It may be salts in your water that have accumulated in the particle matrix. It's best to either use distilled water or like I do put the stone in a mason jar filled with water and keep it that way. If it's salt residue it's because the water you put on it dries out leaving any mineral behind. I know I've read whether that can be harmful or not but I don't remember anymore. Maybe it is and maybe that's why I decided to keep mine immersed all the time. There may be some info on Lee Valley's site about it.

listen to Charles...

I've just read that wetstones should NOT be stored in water.

It can damage the stone.

Zippity said:

I've just read that wetstones should NOT be stored in water.

It can damage the stone.

Click to expand...

Lee valley makes a stone pond used for storing water stones in. The only exception they mention is to not store stones with an attached wooden base.