Recommendation? De-Oiling Hands

Wowbagger said:
Yes these cling to my rough hands unlike cotton but the description from the vendor says cotton.
No matter . . . Guys / Gals get the microfiber cloths David recommends :thumbsup:
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Reading about microfiber, the distinction is that the fibers are much smaller in cross-section (down to ~ 10 microns) than cotton fibers are capable of being. Hence microfiber can't be made from cotton, but something emulating cotton could be made from microfiber.
 
I have various stone holders or use a piece of carpet non-skid mat (the smoothest texture so the stone is stable and level). This would be with India or diamond, and honing rods to cover my bases.

Often, I will use their equipment to test and show that it works. Either way, can’t leave or create a big mess!
 
annr said:
Do you have a link to the cotton ones? I've only seen synthetics. (I'm of 2 minds on synthetics, but that's a different discussion.)
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I think David is right they most probably are not cotton and are misrepresented by the vendor.
In any case go on the river with the little "a" . . . you know "The Earth's Biggest Selection" (can't say who as they don't support Blade Forums) and search for :
10 Pack Super Soft Baby Washcloths, Reusable Baby Wipes, 9 x 9 inches Premium Cotton Microfiber, Assorted Colors - BabyGift/Shower (10 Pack Style 1) (Baby)
I got that from my list of orders and when I click on it it shows product not found but I'm sure they have alternatives. Mine are darker colors :Red, medium green, yellow, I forget what all.
Or better yet just get the ones David recommends they are no doubt larger and perhaps better.
 
Wowbagger said:
I think David is right they most probably are not cotton and are misrepresented by the vendor.
In any case go on the river with the little "a" . . . you know "The Earth's Biggest Selection" (can't say who as they don't support Blade Forums) and search for :
10 Pack Super Soft Baby Washcloths, Reusable Baby Wipes, 9 x 9 inches Premium Cotton Microfiber, Assorted Colors - BabyGift/Shower (10 Pack Style 1) (Baby)
I got that from my list of orders and when I click on it it shows product not found but I'm sure they have alternatives. Mine are darker colors :Red, medium green, yellow, I forget what all.
Or better yet just get the ones David recommends they are no doubt larger and perhaps better.
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Thanks! I have my Costco-sized quota. (Don’t you hate it when the products are described willy-nilly? That’s why I often do a direct sale from manufacturer.)
 
annr said:
I have various stone holders or use a piece of carpet non-skid mat (the smoothest texture so the stone is stable and level). This would be with India or diamond, and honing rods to cover my bases.

Often, I will use their equipment to test and show that it works. Either way, can’t leave or create a big mess!
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I actually forgot, when making my last reply about using stones away from the house, I've given a couple of my SiC stones (from ACE) the 'Vaseline treatment' to fill them up. Other members here have done it; it fills the pores with Vaseline, after which the stone isn't nearly so 'thirsty' for oil applied in use. Works really well too. So, after that treatment, I do have a couple stones that I previously stored in oil, that don't need to be anymore. So they'd also be easy to travel with, used like I'd use the India.

I applied the Vaseline more or less like cake frosting on the stone, then used a heat gun to warm it up to liquid, after which it just sinks into the stone (pretty cool to watch). Cools fast enough that it effectively seals the interior of the stone, so oil won't run through it.
 
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Very funny. That’s the first thing I learned to do: slather them in Vaseline and boil them in water—and this was decades ago!
 
Eli Chaps said:
So, have you all found a good way of getting the oil off your hands while you're sharpening
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Sorry to kind of high jack the tread.
Getting back to the problem at hand maybe try those skin tight super thin gloves. They are like doctor's gloves but some are made to work with chemicals like brake fluid. You can buy them by the box. I use them all the time at work. The advantage for you is they tend to wipe clean faster than skin and don't leave finger prints.
? maybe you would like those ?

PS: with a little corn starch on your hands it is super easy to get the gloves off and I find I can reuse the same pair many times. I use the corn starch in my work for other things and apply it with an old shaving brush left in the container of corn starch so super easy for me to use. YMMV.

As far as feeling for a bur you could do what I do and use a jeweler's visor with high mag. and just look for the bur. I never feel the edge for the bur and since I sharpen mostly on my Edge Pro, if I get a bur and follow the steps exactly using the stop collar etc. I KNOW that once I get to the 4,000 glass stone the edge will be hair whittling . . . then I test by taking curls off an arm hair while it is in my arm.

You could test the edge with the gloves on when hand sharpening by taking the edge to a single hair . . . arm hair lasts longer that way.
 
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Wowbagger said:
I love my heat gun ! So useful.
Top of the line Milwaukee. Hot enough to solder with if using the right tip.
Adjustable down to "just make it warm". Love the thing.
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The one I used was an inexpensive one, but certainly hot enough. Had to be careful not to get it too close to the stone, as the stone got very, very warm as well, almost too hot to touch, and the hot vaseline keeps it warm for a while too. At the lowest heat setting, the heat gun still got hot enough to burn my hand a little bit, after I'd turned it off and set it down. After a couple or three minutes, I went to move it aside and slightly touched the barrel of the thing with the web of skin between my thumb & index finger. Not enough to blister, but enough to peel some dead skin away after a few days. A lesson learned, in having some respect for the tool.
 
Baby wipes. They are cheap and do not dry your hands like stuff with alcohol. With that said I do admit to using denatured alcohol and a paper towel quite often as I work on medical equipment (MRI antennae) from all over the world including areas where the medical centers may have less than ideal sanitary practices and it works well on most lubricants I might come in contact with.
 
CableGirl said:
Baby wipes. They are cheap and do not dry your hands like stuff with alcohol. With that said I do admit to using denatured alcohol and a paper towel quite often as I work on medical equipment (MRI antennae) from all over the world including areas where the medical centers may have less than ideal sanitary practices and it works well on most lubricants I might come in contact with.
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Ah man, baby (butt as we called them) wipes got me through years of military field service. Great for scrubbing off camo paint and such. I didn't even think of that. Thank you. :)
 
Aren’t those things scented? If so, kindly keep them away from me and mine.
 
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