How do I clean my Norton India stone?

[herb ninja]

I recently bought a Norton India stone for $2 at a garage sale! I have no experience with these stones. It still looks kind of new and in good shape. How do I clean this stone and how often should I clean it? Will a tooth brush and Ajax powder soap work? and is there any other things maintenance wise I need to do for a Norton India stone? Thanks guys your advice will be appreciated.:thumbup:

 

[Guyon]

Moved to MT&E.

Ethan Becker just puts his India stones in the dishwasher. I have scrubbed mine with Comet or Ajax. Both ways work.

 

[Coonskinner]

I got an older one that was loaded up and had been oiled with some real heavy oil, and was nasty.

I soaked it overnight in Simple Green, and it forevermore cleaned it up.

 

[David Martin]

herb, that will work. I'd use a wire brush. Lacquer thinner works very good with the wire brush too. Yours being newer you shouldn't have much trouble. Use plenty of elbow grease. DM

 

[bgentry]

Most of the guys here that love oil stones like the India say to use them with plenty of mineral oil while sharpening. This will keep the metal swarf from loading into the stone in the first place, which should keep it nice and clean.

Brian.

 

[Bigfattyt]

Also, if the stone gets worn, and you want to flatten it, sand paper flat on a glass pane works. It will also unplug a badly clogged stone (if some one has loaded it up and glazed it with steel).

 

[pondoro]

I put the stone in a cake pan full of soapy water, making sure the stone is well covered. Then I put it in an oven at 300 degrees or so. Leave it for several hours but add water from time to time so the stone stays covered. I do this while my wife is out of town.

 

[Magnaminous_G]

After following the above excellent advice on reconditioning the stone, it's a good idea to saturate and maintain it to prevent it from clogging again in the future. Let the stone air dry thoroughly after cleaning/degreasing. Saturate it with oil as a first step. I personally would recommend honing oil. I like Lansky because it smells nice. Some say honing oil is a waste of money and you should just use mineral oil. Actually, a bottle of Lansky oil only costs a few dollars and lasts a very long time. So you're talking about saving pennies. Plus there is the problem that Coonskinner alluded to in that a random oil may not be the right weight. Honing oil is formulated at the right weight to penetrate the stone and float swarf without gumming the stone up too quickly.

You can saturate the stone by pouring oil on the surface and letting it soak into the stone. Then pour some more (don't let it spill over the top, just pour enough to pool on the surface). Repeat until it won't absorb any more oil. When you sharpen, start with putting a few drops on the surface of the stone, enough to just have a sheen on top. As swarf develops from sharpening, wipe it off with a cloth. When finished, wipe all swarf from the surface with a rag and store the stone in an airtight container like a Ziploc bag so that it doesn't dry out. That will keep your stone in good shape and prevent it from clogging up. When you need to use it again, it should still be saturated and will only need a few drops to make a sheen on the surface again.