Clogged Spyderco alumina ceramic stones

smitty0331

smitty0331

Joined
Dec 5, 2006
Messages
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I have a fine grit Spyderco stone that seems to be clogged, and nothing I try will fix it. I'v tried comet, washing it in the dishwasher, ascrubbing it with a nylon brush (with comet ). Nothing I try seems to work. Anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to use any oil on it because I'v always used it dry, and want to continue to do so.
 
If the problem is that it's clogged with metal from sharpening, try soaking it overnight in something acidic like naval jelly, Lime Away, or Scrub Free (my favorite.)
 
It's not the white fine stone, sorry about that, I mis-posted, It's the brown, med. stone. Yedh, I can see streaks in it, and it doesn't cut as well any more. I'v only had it for about 2 months, but I'v used it alot. I'v always been carefull to thoroughly scrub it with comet after using, but it seems to be getting worse and worse.
 
They do have a break-in period. Over a period of time they will loose their intitial bite and start cutting a little slower and stay that way for a very long time. Theres sometimes no way to get rid of all the metal streaks, but the cleaning you've done should be enough to keep it cutting correctly.
 
You may just be noticing wear-in. On most abrasives the surface is rougher and more irregular when it is first manufactured than after it has been smoothed by use. After it wears in it cuts somewhat slower, but it leaves you with a smoother edge (the new hone is likely to leave you with some slight nicks in the edge). If you are real determined to roughen the surface of your hone you will need to use a strong acid or a strong abrasive (or a weaker acid plus a strong abrasive).

You could make your own combination of naval jelly and silicon carbide abrasive powder (be sure to wear rubber gloves with this). You can get abrasive powders of various grits at lapidary (rock polishing) supply stores.

You can also just stop obsessing on this. There is probably nothing wrong with the rods--they have just worn in.
 
bar keepers friend and a scotch bright pad takes almost everything off of them but it takes 3 or 4 min. per side to get them really clean.
 
Maybe I am just being a little picky, I'll wait a few more weeks and see what happens. In the meantime I'll get some barkeepers friend.
 
FYI, bar keepers have stainless steel sinks. Bar Keeper's Friend has some acids that help get rid of stainless steel residue from the rods. I only find BKF at some of my local supermarkets. The Albertson's near me has it.
 
I just give my spyderco stones a rub with a ceramic stone in a coarser grit. For instance i use a 120 grit stone to remove metal deposits from my fine grit spydie stone. This would probably work just as well using a coarser grit water stone.
Just make sure you rinse and wipe the finer stone afterwards.

This really freshens up the stone!
 
a coarse DMT would be used to flatten the stone but this should not be an issue I have had my spyderco ceramics for over 5 years and still don't see the need to flatten them. Spyderco also says that the fine and ultra fine should almost never need to be flattened because of how they are made. The medium stone may need to be flattened but like I said 5 years and still flat, also keep using your stones dry they are not ment to be used with oil.
 
If you don't have something more acidic, soaking overnight in vinegar works OK. You can also go to the hardware store and buy "muriatic acid". This is pretty concentrated hydrochloric acid, and fairly nasty stuff to work with. Don't inhale the fumes, and neutralize with baking soda (add slowly to avoid a huge reaction!) before you toss it.

There is also some wear-in with the stones as noted above.
 
"Scrub Free"

Just soak the rods in it and wait a couple of minutes. Mine hadn't been cleaned in over 10 years and I thought they were ruined- completely shiny. A couple of minutes in the Scrub Free and they cleaned up like new.


Mitch
 
I realize the method I suggested is usually linked with flattening a hollowed out stone, however the Spyderco stones are so hard that you can afford to give them a rub with a coarser stone without removing too much material from the former. The metal deposits are, after all, on the very surface of the stone. Just rub until all, or almost all of the deposits have gone.
In fact, it's not that different to using the other abrasives as suggested by some, but it might be a bit quicker and less fuss.

Spitz
 
Spitz said:
I realize the method I suggested is usually linked with flattening a hollowed out stone, however the Spyderco stones are so hard that you can afford to give them a rub with a coarser stone without removing too much material from the former. The metal deposits are, after all, on the very surface of the stone. Just rub until all, or almost all of the deposits have gone.
In fact, it's not that different to using the other abrasives as suggested by some, but it might be a bit quicker and less fuss...
Click to expand...

I hesitate to grind away any of my Sharpmaker stones because it increases the base fit tolerance. I prefer the stones to fit into the base with as little "wiggle" as possible. To each his own. :)
 
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