Pam Niedermayer
Sharpening has never been convenient. One trick I saw Jay van Arsdale do was instead of soaking the stone he transferred water with the tool he was sharpening. Seemed to make the process trivial.

In addition, I'm talking about the Sigma Power Ceramics, NOT the Sigma II's. Stu says on his site: The finer grit stones do not require soaking, and the wooden bases preclude this, but some standing water on the surface of the stone for a few seconds is recommended. These fine grit stones are a little softer than the very hard medium and coarse stones, but share the same fast action and strong dish resistance.

Pam