Cleaning diamond sharpmaker rods.

A

alwyn

Joined
Aug 7, 2010
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29
I love the diamond sharpmaker rods and work them at 30 inclusive before putting on a 40 inclusive micro bevel with the UF rods.
The thing is being mindful about pulling the diamonds from the matrix. I would like to know what is the best way to clean the diamonds. I wonder is a powdered abrasive and scotch brite pad too aggressive?

Any ideas or do you guys just clean them the same as the brown and white stones?

Al
 
I think Barkeeper's Friend works real well. I use it on my ceramic stones and diamond stones, it seems to work better than Comet.
 
I use Comet powdered cleanser on any stone/rod that needs cleaning. I use it on a Scotch-Brite pad and don't just much pressure. This has worked well for me for many years.


Stitchawl
 
I use Comet with a 3M green Scotchbrite pad from the grocery store for all of my many Sharpmaker sets from the 204D rods down to the Ultrafine. The diamond rods do not require a lot of effort to clean.
 
Let's not forget the OP is talking about the diamond rods. I would have reservations abot using scotchbrite or an eraser on them. Great for ceramics; but on diamonds? Something that wouldn't "snag" might be better, like the toothbrush Wildmike suggested, or some other bristled brush.
 
A couple of things to think about; Bar keepers friend has oxalic acid in it, which makes it great for cleaning ceramics. It eats metal. You can put some BKF on your ceramic rods or stones and just let it sit there for 30 seconds to a minute, and wipe it off. The acid will have disolved the metal all by itself. Whether you want to use that on a surface where metal is holding diamonds in place is up to you. I sure as hell don't.

I like BreakFree, and use it all the time, but not for cleaning diamond anything for two reasons- First, it's a lubricant. Why would you want to lubricate something that works through abrading something? It would just make it slip more than abrade cleanly. Secondly, if you use your diamond plates to flatten waterstones, you can contaminate your waterstones with oil. Bad bad thing to do. You will never be able to get rid of oil on a waterstone. It sucks up oil and holds it forever- no joke. Just follow the directions for your diamond stuff. It really is that simple.
 
I use hot water and a toothbrush. Thats it. It doesnt take much more than that to remove the metal from the diamonds.
 
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