Can you use your Lansky without oil?

J

Joe Dirt

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I read somewhere that not using oil on the Lansky is a better way to sharpen. Is this true?

I'm not sure I understand why I would use oil anyway as it cuts down on friction. I guess this would be good if I were doing it so fast that the blade would get hot but I am not.

Why does the Lansky require oil to sharpen? Can you use it without oil?
 
I always used my Lansky dry.

Oil is not a lube for sharpening stones. It helps float the steel particles that are removed during the process up out of the stone so that it does not get clogged.

Several authoritative sources state that you can use a stone dry AS LONG AS you have never used oil on it prior. Once you oil it, you have to keep oiling it. If you prefer to go dry, you just have to be diligent and clean them VERY frequently, or they will load up with steel.
 
Ted's right, just use scotchbrite pads and some soap to clean. Some even recommend using soap as a lube instead of oil; floats the metal particles better.
I prefer dry myself. Give it a whack, no harm, no foul.
 
Ted,

When you say VERY frequently, how much is that? Every time you sharpen? 2-3 times per sharpening?
 
"Very frequently" depends on how fast the stone clogs and how much metal you're removing. You'll feel it because they quit working. You won't get more than 2-3 blades without having to clean the coarse ones because you use them more, they are removing more metal, and the pores are larger which allows more metal to clog them up. The fine and ultra fine ones are more for polishing, so you shouldn't be using them as much compared to the coarse and mediums anyway. They don't remove as much metal, their pores are smaller, so they don't clog nearly as fast.
 
There are several ways to remove oil from a stone, you can boil it out, Alvin has burned it out many times and described the process on rec.knives.

-Cliff
 
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