I use Barkeepers Friend powder and an old sponge. Get the stones wet, make a paste from the powder and water, apply to the stones and let it sit for a minute. After that, I'll scrub the stones with the sponge and rinse them clean. Pretty easy and it keeps the stones looking new. BKF powder is ~$2 for a big can at Walmart, so this method is also very cheap.
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Cleaning ceramic stones
- Thread starter Wayne58
- Start date
If I ever find anything that cleans sharpening stones better than Barkeeper's Friend cleanser I'll switch immediately. But I haven't found anything that comes close to BKF. I'm always looking and always wanting to improve but BKF does so well I don't see how anything could do better. I have found that stones clean easier even with BKF if you soak them for at least an hour in that new DAWN 4 dish soap.
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- Aug 23, 2020
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- 2,433
Just make sure your stones can handle soaking. Some stones are splash-n-go only and soaking will permanently damage them. Like the Naniwa Chosera line.
Thanks that's a good point you bring up. However I've soaked Spyderco ceramic stones on dozens of occasions with no apparent problems at all. I have noticed that the Spyderco medium/gray stones do take longer to completely dry out but other than that I've had no problems at all. But I agree that it depends on what material your stone is made of. Actually I've never had any problems soaking any ceramic sharpening stones.
I find that really interesting that you use glycerin as a stone lubricant. That's the first time I've ever heard of that. But I can easily see how that would work. I bet it would work on other types of stones as well. I've used water on occasion but I didn't find much difference in results using water. Is there any particular brand you prefer or is any glycerin that you get at your local drug store good enough to use? I've also heard that "beauty supply" stores also sell glycerin.I use glycerin as a sharpening lubricant, and it wipes off nice and clean.
r8shell
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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- Jan 16, 2010
- Messages
- 25,383
Any brand is fine. I've used it on India and arkansas stones. The only problem I've found is it causing some really cheap diamond stones to get discoloration/rust spots. Which makes sense, since glycerin is a humectant (a substance, especially a skin lotion or a food additive, used to reduce the loss of moisture.) I've posted it before and a few posters were concerned about it promoting mold in porous stones, but I've never had that happen.
None of that should be a problem with ceramics, anyway.