Cleaning Sharpmaker rods

Cleanser and scrubbin pad, gets all the dark off the white rods, then a run through the dishwasher just for the fun of it. They have to be really dirty before I clean them, probably a hundred or so knife sharpenings.
 
JD Spydo said:
I do my Sharpmaker rods in 2 stages. First of all I get the worst of the engrained metal off with either Ajax or Comet. Then rinse them off in very hot water. Then for the second/final stage I use a product you can get here in most of the USA known as Bar Keeper's Friend. It's a scouring/scrubbing powder you can find in my grocery stores, hardware stores, family dollar type stores and at good old Rip-mart. It's found in the same part of the store where they sell the comet and Ajax

I then use ScotchBrite pad with a lot of Bar Keeper's Friend and I scrub it vigorously and then rinse them in hot water. After those 2 stages the rods/stones are very clean and ready for work again. And after a cleaning that thorough they really cut uniformly again.

That's the method that has been working great for me for over 5 years now. IF anyone has a better method than that I would be more than willing to try it out.

I've tried the pencil/ink eraser method and it does get a lot of the filings removed and I won't argue that but the stones just don't abrade as uniformly as they do when you give them a really thorough cleaning like you can do with a regular scrubbing powder and Bar Keeper's Friend cleaning powder. Good Luck
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Just curious. But why even bother using comet or ajax if you have bar keepers friend. Seems like an extra expense for no reason when the bar keepers friend does the same thing.
 
jeepin said:
Just curious. But why even bother using comet or ajax if you have bar keepers friend. Seems like an extra expense for no reason when the bar keepers friend does the same thing.
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Before I came up with that regimen of using both the Comet and BKF I had used both of them by themselves. I had done a lot of experimenting and that is what I've found that restores the stones to their almost original factory fresh original state.

It seems to me like the Comet or Ajax does the majority of the hard core cleaning and sets everything up for the Bar Keeper's FRiend cleaner to work better. It really makes it easier to have the stones pre-cleaned to get off most of the build up before doing the final step.

I've also experimented with soaking them overnight in different solutions. I came up with a TSP ( Tri-Sodium Phosphate) ( which you can get at most hardware and paint stores) solution that also seems to work good to restore the stones to their original factory surface.

But be careful working with TSP and definitely use rubber gloves working with that stuff because it will do damage to your hands if you don't protect them.

As far as expense goes>> those cleansers don't really cost that much. I can usually get the Comet and BKF both for about a dollar a can at those Dollar General stores. I've heard that Rip-mart and the wholesale clubs even have both of them cheaper yet. The 2 of them just seem to work better in stages for some reason.

Hey so far it's the best I've come up with for a factory original type finish and it works for me. But I constantly watch these stone cleaning threads to see if anyone has a better method than what I've come up with. So far I've tried about 6 other methods and the 2 cleansers are the best I've found up till now.
 
You can also use toilet bowl cleaners that contain hydrochloric acid. But then you should use rubber gloves and an acid-proof container to soak the rods in. And I wouldn't want to forget about them overnight. 5-15 minutes only. It works but I still prefer Bon Ami + Scotch Brite + elbow grease.
 
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