Warren in Lancaster, PA
It is somewhat ridiculous. I think the people who use this abrasion method are unfamiliar with soft Arkansas stones.

They think that Arkansas stones are fine grit that is held together by a binder and that abrading the stone will produce fresh grit. This is a good model for water stones, which do have grit held together with a binder.

Arkansas stones are partly metamorphosed rock. The crystals are partly melted together as a result of heat and pressure. There is no binder. The various grades of Arkansas stone are differentiated not by grit size but by the size of the crevices between crystals. A soft Arkansas has larger crevices. That is why Arkansas stones are graded by density rather than by grit size.

If you abrade an Arkansas stone, you are using the scratches in the surface like a file to abrade your tool.