IntheWoods
Banned
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2006
- Messages
- 190
After discovering the sharpmaker, and being very happy with its performance. I decided to test the best method to clean its ceramic stones during sharpening of my rather extensive knife collection, as I'm convinced clean stones are critical for the best performance.
I bought the following products, based upon the recommendation in the manual that one use a powder scouring cleanser and abrasive pad to clean the stones.
Comet w/bleach
no name scouring cleanser w/bleach
Soft Scrub lemon
Bar keepers friend
economy scrub pads
3m heavy duty scrub pads
I also decided to try regular dawn dishwashing liquid as well. After each cleaning session I sharpened a few old knives to dirty up the stones.
Although the dawn was a very good degreaser, it did not provide enough abrasion to satisfactorily remove the steel stains on the stones. Streaks were still very visible.
I next tried the no name brand scouring cleanser and Comet with economy scrub pads. Both of which were substantially better than dishwashing liquid, but still left significant streaks even with heavy scrubbing.
The economy scrub pads were no bargain in my view. They tear up far too easily and lack abrasiveness. Changing the pads to the 3m variety was significantly better but still less than complete.
Next I tried soft scrub. Soft scrub provided a similar experience to the comet and economy cleaners, and was much less messy. And for that reason is, in my view, an ideal everyday cleanser for the stones when not extremely dirty.
Then I pulled out bar keepers friend, and carefully read the directions. I followed them an applied to the 3m pad, scrubbed each damp stone briefly and set them down for a few minutes, then returned scrubbed again then rinsed. The stones were as clean as new. Apparently bar keepers friend has an Oxalic Acid component which also helps to remove rust stains from porcelain, etc. It also contains no bleach.
From this experimentation I have come to a few conclusions. Soft scrub is a very good cleaner, that's much less messy, especially inside, than the other choices. However, it is not a complete cleaner. It is a good cleaner for cleaning when the stones aren't very dirty, etc.
But for restoring or complete cleaning of these ceramic stones, nothing beats 3m heavy duty scour pads and bar keepers friend. And a brief dwell period of a few minutes of so. It will literally return these stones to new condition with little or no signs of use. With only a reasonable amount of scrubbing and work.
It should be noted that unlike Comet, the bargain cleanser and soft scrub, bar keepers friend appears to be harder on the skin. An can seriously dry hands with constant use.
But as stated above, along with a good quality scrub pad is second to none at cleaning ceramic stones.
Final tally in order of effectiveness
1. Bar keepers friend w/3m heavy duty scrub pads
2. Soft scrub w/3m heavy duty scrub pads
3. Comet w/bleach w/3m heavy duty scrub pads
4. Economy cleanser w/3m heavy duty scrub pads
Bar keepers friend and 3m scrub pads was far and away the most effective product. Numbers 2,3 and 4 were similar in performance but soft scrub was far less messy, easier to use and had many dual uses within the house/kitchen.
I bought the following products, based upon the recommendation in the manual that one use a powder scouring cleanser and abrasive pad to clean the stones.
Comet w/bleach
no name scouring cleanser w/bleach
Soft Scrub lemon
Bar keepers friend
economy scrub pads
3m heavy duty scrub pads
I also decided to try regular dawn dishwashing liquid as well. After each cleaning session I sharpened a few old knives to dirty up the stones.
Although the dawn was a very good degreaser, it did not provide enough abrasion to satisfactorily remove the steel stains on the stones. Streaks were still very visible.
I next tried the no name brand scouring cleanser and Comet with economy scrub pads. Both of which were substantially better than dishwashing liquid, but still left significant streaks even with heavy scrubbing.
The economy scrub pads were no bargain in my view. They tear up far too easily and lack abrasiveness. Changing the pads to the 3m variety was significantly better but still less than complete.
Next I tried soft scrub. Soft scrub provided a similar experience to the comet and economy cleaners, and was much less messy. And for that reason is, in my view, an ideal everyday cleanser for the stones when not extremely dirty.
Then I pulled out bar keepers friend, and carefully read the directions. I followed them an applied to the 3m pad, scrubbed each damp stone briefly and set them down for a few minutes, then returned scrubbed again then rinsed. The stones were as clean as new. Apparently bar keepers friend has an Oxalic Acid component which also helps to remove rust stains from porcelain, etc. It also contains no bleach.
From this experimentation I have come to a few conclusions. Soft scrub is a very good cleaner, that's much less messy, especially inside, than the other choices. However, it is not a complete cleaner. It is a good cleaner for cleaning when the stones aren't very dirty, etc.
But for restoring or complete cleaning of these ceramic stones, nothing beats 3m heavy duty scour pads and bar keepers friend. And a brief dwell period of a few minutes of so. It will literally return these stones to new condition with little or no signs of use. With only a reasonable amount of scrubbing and work.
It should be noted that unlike Comet, the bargain cleanser and soft scrub, bar keepers friend appears to be harder on the skin. An can seriously dry hands with constant use.
But as stated above, along with a good quality scrub pad is second to none at cleaning ceramic stones.
Final tally in order of effectiveness
1. Bar keepers friend w/3m heavy duty scrub pads
2. Soft scrub w/3m heavy duty scrub pads
3. Comet w/bleach w/3m heavy duty scrub pads
4. Economy cleanser w/3m heavy duty scrub pads
Bar keepers friend and 3m scrub pads was far and away the most effective product. Numbers 2,3 and 4 were similar in performance but soft scrub was far less messy, easier to use and had many dual uses within the house/kitchen.
Much easier and no dry time.