Sharpen stone cleaning

[**DONOTDELETE**]

How do you clean you stones? I have heard anything from soap & water to sand paper... What works for you?

[Jerry Jeffer]

Sal, carburator cleaner is a great lube for sharpening and it lifts all the crap off the stone.

[Jeff Strubberg]

I've always used kerosene.  Well, until I stopped using stones and went diamond, anyway.

[Tree Rat]

I have heard the dishwasher works great. I don't have one so I am only relaying what I have heard.

I wipe mine down after each use and don't seem to have an issue.

[KentuckyTJ]

A scrub brush and some elbow grease

[BobW]

Originally posted by Jerry Jeffer:
Sal, carburator cleaner is a great lube for sharpening and it lifts all the crap off the stone.

me too.  Ron (KME) endorsed it with his stones in the past.  Heard of the dishwasher thing too, but unproven......

[Sharpster]

Hey Sal,

How's it goin for you in Texas? as for the stones, if they're not too loaded up, just put some (1/2 teaspoon) honing oil on the stone, rub it around with your fingers and the oil will "float" most of the steel filings out of the stone. Then dab (don't wipe) the oil/steel off with a rag. If they're really cruddy, then use the carburator cleaner (outside). I'd be careful about using the carburator cleaner as a honing fluid though, it's powerful and may strip the paint or teflon off broadheads.

Ron

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Thanx everyone.

Ron, Doing good, but could be better.

[cbCrow]

If it won't clean with regular honing oil,I use WD 40 to clean it. Hold over a pan with paper towells and spray the dirt away.

[Jerry Jeffer]

Ron, thanks for that clarification.    

[baretraks]

With a stone that is used with oil, I always use WD-40... Just spray the stone and it blows most of the bad stuff out...

Do not do this with a diamond stone or one that is used primarily with water... not unless you wanna use oil on that stone forever.. once the oil is in the pores, it stays there!!!

[Downtime]

I have had good luck using Dawn (dish soap) & hot water.

[Greg Szalewski]

WD40, spray on and rub your finger in a circular motion, wipe off.

[oddan]

Dawn dish washing liquid

[JamesV]

WD40 spray until clean then blow dry with compressed air................James

[ethan]

An easier way is to spray it with wd-40 like folks have already said, but instead of blowing it off with compressed air, lay it face down on a FLAT piece of steel and move it in circles for a bit.  Then wipe it off with a rag, it will look brand new and you'll use alot less wd.

[bowslinger]

For stones I use oil on , placing in a sink and pouring boiling water over draws a lot of oil and metal out of the stone.  A few treatments with boling water and wiping it down each time has worked for me.  No solvents ncessary.

[Sharpster]

Let me throw this out there,

WD-40 IMHO is not the best choice for cleaning sharpening stones. It works but, there's a potential downside to using WD for this purpose that we should be aware of.

WD-40 is a great lubricant/rust preventitive for metal surfaces because when it drys a very thin film drys and hardens to form a moisture barrier on whatever it's used on. This is great for guns, fishing reels, auto use etc. But, not so great for sharpening stones. If the stone is not completely clean of metal particles, as the WD drys it can lock these particles into the pores of the stone, and repeated use can result in a very difficult to remove build up of metal and WD. In other words after cleaning the metal particles out of a sharpening stone with WD-40 we need to clean the WD out too. I prefer to use CRC "Screwloose", Liquid Wrench, or other penetrating oils because they're formulated to break down rust rather than prevent it by forming a barrier. Carburator cleaner is probably the best choice because it evaporates completely leaving nothing behind. JMO,

Ron

[Dry Creek]

Man I love this place, so much GREAT info!!