How to unload spyderco ceramic stones

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Kevin the grey

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Aug 26, 2005
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The best sharpener I have ever had was bought at a flea market for 3 dollars .
Two triangular ceramic rods that fit upright at an angle in a plastic base/handle.

They are a white fine stone . You wouldn,t want to do more than maintain an edge with them or you would be doing a lot of work . They don,t take off much but they sure do put on a nice edge .

there was a little pamphlet that came with them that said to clean them with warm water and dishwater detergent . This has to be done after every sharpening . You can,t put water on them cause of their upright position . Even if you could it doesn,t seem to make any difference . They load up pretty quick . Am I doing something wrong ?
 
Spyderdo says to use water and powdered sink/bathtub cleanser on their rods. I also use the rough side of one of those "scrubby" spounges. Works great. Yours are the same sort of material, I'm sure.

Regards
 
I use a regular pink eraser. No muss, no fuss, no water, and does not require heavy duty scrubbing. Works very quickly. You can also use a "rust eraser" for a little bit more cleaning power.

--SAK
 
Do any of you guys use only the fine white stone ? I think that is part of the issue for me . Don,t you think the stone would load slower if there were some kind of fluid to immulsify (sp) the removed metal ?
 
Hmmm.. My Spyderco Sharpmakers came with 2 sets of 'stones,' one set of medium fine greyish stones, and a set of white fine stones. I use both sets about the same amount.

A flea market for $3? Hmmm... I can't help wonder if you got the real deal or a knock off of some sort. I wasn't aware that Spyderco ever sold their Sharpmaker with the white rods only. I do have a triangle ceramic file from Case that is a white rod, but the finish on the Case file is rougher and it removes steel much faster than the white Spyderco rods.

I use my ceramics dry, and I clean them with a 'rust eraser.'
 
Lots of ways to clean fine white ceramics, a rust eraser or even ink eraser is about as handy as any. Scouring powder, oven cleaner ... few days ago I took some heavily loaded AO files and a couple ceramics and sprayed them with 'Scrub Free' (sulfamic acid) and it worked great.

I've tried using ceramic rods with water and WD40. The rods aren't porous enough to really hold water. WD40 lessens the cutting action .... maybe you could get an even finer edge with a lubricant like that, though just using very light pressure on the dry rods is very effective, nearly as good as stropping with CrO I'm finding.

Sounds like you got one of the older Sharpmakers with only the fine rods, $3 is an excellent bargain.
 
Hikeeba ? These were the real deal . It just wasn,t a new set and was missing the other two stones . If I had a decent medium stone I would use that first just to get any rough edges down a bit .

I will be more agressive in my cleaning .

Is it common for ceramic stones to not use a liquid on them ?
 
Kevin the grey said:
These were the real deal . It just wasn,t a new set and was missing the other two stones . If I had a decent medium stone I would use that first just to get any rough edges down a bit .
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You can buy the grey medium grit rods for $8 each at thebladeshop.com
 
You're supposed to use them dry and let them load up, then remove the shavings. Remember, go light and they'll give you a better edge and not load up
 
Steel wool and Comet or a similar powder cleaning agent works great. I don't clean my stones as much as I probably should because it's pretty time consuming. I used to a use an old toothbrush, but I find that some 000 works quite a bit better. Does the dishwasher really work? Dishwasher detergent and water on a brush didn't take off as much as I like to get off when I clean my stones. The corners are usually the hardest to clean/most loaded up.
 
I use Hoppe's #9 gun solvent on a rag. After they're clean, just wipe them dry. Works like a champ. I do it every 20 strokes. You can really feel the difference after a good cleaning. The stones really bite!
 
Thanks guys . It is exactly that though I might have an older model . The sharpmaker is the first stones that I got a decent hair shaving edge with .

It was a while of hacking away at stones before I came across these . I am sure it is not just the quality of the stones and the fact that they are set up to make it easier to maintain the same angle .

I cannot afford to lay out 16 bucks and shipping right now for a set of medium grit stones . I know they will be well worth it as I have used the others for a few years with very little sign of wear . I have even used them to sharpen replaceable broadhead blades .

I have never sharpened a serated blade with them which is one of their primary purposes . Do you have any tips for doing that ?
 
Kevin the grey said:
You can,t put water on them cause of their upright position
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The stones should pull out of the base with out to much difficulty. They are designed to be removed from the base to swich from the corners for serrated edges and the flats for plain edges. I like using a green scotchbrite pad and a "soft scrub" liquid cleanser, a little elbow grease and hot water and the stones are nice and clean.

Hope this helps

Bruceter
 
I've heard that oven cleaner also works well. I've used running warm water and a dobie pad, which works well, and comet on a wet paper towel, which also works well.
 
The secret for me has been a powder cleanser called "barkeepers friend". It seems to have some acid in its makeup that makes short work out of cleaning the white rods.
 
Kevin the grey said:
I cannot afford to lay out 16 bucks and shipping right now for a set of medium grit stones . I know they will be well worth it as I have used the others for a few years with very little sign of wear .
Click to expand...

Well, the white ones (synthetic sapphire) will last almost forever. But the medium grit stones, which cut much faster, will wear over time.
 
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