Sharpening question

[troubldstranger]

I am new to sharpening broadheads, but I have been figuring it out one edge at a time.  What I am unsure about is about how to take care of my whetstone.  After several broadheads, my whetstone is left with a residue of metal pieces and oil.  Should I worry about it?  What is the best way to clean it? Water and soap seems too easy so I just want to make sure.

[CRM_95]

If it's just a regular whetstone I wouldn't worry about it too much. I've got one that's sharpened knives longer than I've been alive and I don't know that it's ever really been cleaned. I just oil it before I use it and wipe it off with a rag when I'm done. I think the new diamond stones need to be cleaned with warm soapy water ever so often.

[Bladepeek]

If you use oil with your stone, I wouldn't use water to clean it. Kerosene works well, but stinks something terrible. If you want to drop a few extra bucks, lamp oil (kerosene with perfume        ) smells a whole lot better. In fact, that is what I use as the lubricant on my oil stones. An old tooth brush with the oil will clean a lot of that residue out.

[troubldstranger]

Thanks guys

[Pine]

Just put oil on it and wipe it off with a rag once in a while .
If you use it without oil it can load up , but with the oil on it , it's not going be a problem .    

[troubldstranger]

How much oil are we talking? Till it's running off the sides? or just enough to wet the top?

[Pine]

Just a few drops will do . Just make it look wet while sharpening .

[Drewster]

Even though kerosene does smell pretty bad, I use it most all the time on my stones.   It does a better job of floating the metal particles away.  Oil will work too.  The important thing is that you don't clog the pores of your stone with metal.  Then the stone will not cut well and you'll have to redress it with a diamond hone.  If your stone gets clogged and you need to clean it, soap and water and a good stiff brush will certainly not hurt it.

[Longtoke]

I have also seen old timers use diesel instead of kerosene, smells bad too if thats what you are after  

[Broken Arrows]

I have used hot water and dawn dish soap with a tooth brush it works great...Than re-oil it.

[reddogge]

I just wipe with a rag

[wapiti]

Clean it with Dawn dish soap and a small brush. If that doesn't clean the surface use Ajax, Comet cleanser or the like. Once clean an oil stone should be doused liberally with honing oil over and over until it stops absorbing oil. Keep it WELL oiled while in use so that the fine waste materials from the edge of the knife "float" away suspended in the oil and do not embed in the surface of the stone. Oil stones wear away leaving a fresh cutting surface (some types where away much faster than others).

[NY Yankee]

HOT running tap water and a stiff nylon bristle brush. Breaks up grime and flushes it away. Set the stone out to dry well and re-oil it when doing the next job. I've been doing this for years and had good results. I like to scrub stones almost every time I use them.

[Mitch Edwards]

Sorry to bring up an old post but this is something I do quite often at work with die stones(flat stones for stoning mill tables and what not) carb cleaner is the best thing ever. Chem tool brand cans have ALOT of pressure. It will blow out all the little pores and cut right through the oil. Thought it might be a handy tip

[Charlie Lamb]

Good one Mitch.        

[amicus]

x2 carb cleaner

[Doc Nock]

Dad was a finish carpenter and had stones to keep his chisels sharp.. he used to boil them in soapy water...an oily film lay on top the water and he just would run more water into the pot till it got all the released oil off...

I like the carb/brake cleaner idea though...

[troubldstranger]

I was surprised to see this pop back up!  

Thanks guys!

[snag]

I attended a knife show years back. After a competition for knife makers this came up in a Q&A session. Some said oil just makes a paste that you force into the stone over time. They preferred kerosene when honing an edge. They said it keeps the particles suspended and you can wipe them off when finished.

[Mitch Edwards]

Another thing I do is use shaving cream on diamond stones. Put some on the stone scrub it with an old tooth brush and rinse. The foaming action helps to get down in the stone and kinda bubble stuff up