Clogged stones

T

trains are bad

Joined
Jan 29, 2004
Messages
105
I have had a standard Lanskey kit for about a year now and use it. I always use a lot of oil and carefully wipe the stones down after every use but the finer stones are still showing discoloration where they seem to be filled. And it feels rougher at the extreme edge of the travel.

I was wondering if there is any way to restore them or prevent this, and if diamond (which I understand are used without lube) stones are any good.
 
Try scrubbing the stones down with an abrasive pad (scotchbrite)Diamonds require cleaning, not lube
 
Don't forget to re-flatten those babies too. Stones get dished and you're knives won't get sharp.

If you've been using oil on those stones (which is fine) try soaking them in kerosene.

Steve
 
It sounds liek your stones need lapping, The ends are coarser because they don't touch whatever youa re sharpening! The middle is dished and worn. You need something FLAT (get a piece of tempered glass for this), and some kind of abrasive. Wet/Dry sandpaper works. I myself use a piece of glass and SiC lapping grit from www.leevalley.com to resurface my stones. You'll know when your stones are flat again when the WHOLE surface feels and looks like the ends fo your stones!

On diamonds: they work very fast, and don't dish! Let the diamonds do the work, don't use too much pressure (or else the diamonds will sheer from their backing). Monocrystaline (DMT) are better than polycrystaline.
 
I do not use the lansky oil. I just use water on the stones. When the finer ones get clogged and stop cutting i use an abrasive scouring pad to clean off the metal. I have also used some diluted hydrochloric acid on the stones which seems to lift the metal particles off of the stone. It has not affected the stones yet :cool:
 
Using diamond benchstones dry isn't a problem for the stone, but as grindings-particles accumulate they can infiltrate the pivot/lock area of a folder. At the very least, rinse the grindings off frequently.
 
I scrub my Lansky stones down with Bon Ami each time I use them. I don't remember where I read this tip, but it works very very well.
 
I normally don't see a little dishing (center wear) on a hone to be a problem. It is a problem when the abrasive gets clogged. If I had a good solvent for oil handy (paint thinner or lacquer thinner work) I would first scrub the hone with a scrap of terrycloth and the thinner. The next step (and if you don't have solvent, the only needed step) is to scrub the stone with abrasive sink cleanser and hot water. Terry cloth works pretty well for scrubbing or an old fine toothbrush. Use a lot of cleanser (almost a paste consistency) and hot water to loosen up the old oil. Any abrasive cleanser helps. I have used Comet and Ajax for example. The finer grits are probably better. I have use Bartender's Friend stainless steel cleanser and found it worked particularly well.
 
I,ve cleaned old ,oil encrusted stones by boiling them in a TSP (trisodiumphosphate) solution. It worked great . Don't do this in an aluminum container.
 
I've had varying degrees of success cleaning clogged oil stones, using various of methods.

So here's a different suggestion: In many cases, I've found that the abrasive/cutting action of older, clogged stones can be restored by using Cool Tool II cutting and tapping fluid as a honing oil (I assume other, similar products might work as well.) Yes, it's kind of messy, and you may not like the smell, but Cool Tool gives a really nice honing action, even on stones you thought were hopeless. Plus the stuff is non-toxic, so no need for concern there.

FWIW; YMMV
 
Just some Comet, some hot water and a stiff brush is all I use on my Arkansas stones and it works great. Probably work OK on the Lansky stones as well.
 
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