Keeping your sharpening tools clean - Diamond stones

J

jcmv4792

Joined
Mar 11, 2014
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Hi, I'm new here. Forgive me if this is posted in the wrong section.


I have recently started using diamond stones and I've heard of people using 50/50 water solutions with Simple Green or alcohol for lubrication. What is the reason for this?

What is a good cleaner for DMT diamond stones? I heard Bar Keeper's Friend contains chemicals that could wear down the bonding agent of the diamonds. Would comet and ajax be safe? What methods of cleaning your diamond stones to prevent rust do you prefer?


Thanks,


John
 
I use gojo soap. Just rub it in and scrub it around until the stones are relatively clean. It works great and no chemical residue to worry about.
 
Do you do this after sharpening or while sharpening as a lubricant? What do you think of using the simplegreen/water mix as a lubricant?
 
I use DMT diamond stones. I use nothing. I wipe the stones with a dry paper towel to remove metal dust, and nothing more. I have been using these stones for about 15 years now. I have never used lube or cleaned the stones, and they work very well.
 
manowar669 said:
I use DMT diamond stones. I use nothing. I wipe the stones with a dry paper towel to remove metal dust, and nothing more. I have been using these stones for about 15 years now. I have never used lube or cleaned the stones, and they work very well.
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Wow the same stones for 15 years? Were they made any differently than the current model being produced by dmt? And no rust?

Diamonds seem to be the way to go from now on. I'm pretty new to sharpening and diamonds/ceramics seem to be more practical and efficient than water or oilstones.(though I do like the feel of water stones)
 
jcmv4792 said:
Would a scouring pad or nylon brush cause damage to the diamond layer?
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Nope. The diamond abrasive is way harder than anything you could rub on it short of diamond dust... no I don't use the gojo as a lube. Just sharpen as normal then clean with the gojo in between. Works great. And if your stones do get rusty who cares? Do they still sharpen your knives? Yes? Then who gives a crap if they're rusty?
 
ShepardCC said:
I just used some natural organic dish soap and a old toothbrush
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AntDog said:
Just sharpen as normal then clean with the gojo in between. ?
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Okay so it seems most people just use hand or dish soap to clean afterwards. Are there certain kinds to look for or do you think any generic hand soap would work? I have a few bottles of Dial foam hand soap that I keep in my bathroom.
 
The only thing you need to do is clean the swarf (old metal shavings) off of your stones. Almost anything will work. Don't over think it. The gojo works good because it has a little abrasiveness to it to remove the swarf. Just clean it as best you can and use it.
 
I use water and dish soap.


I've found it clears the swarf and leaves little residue.

I run mine dry
 
jcmv4792 said:
Ah alright.

Is there any known reason why soap helps remove the swarf?(excluding the abrasiveness of gojo)
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Yes, soap lowers the surface tension of the water so it can get under the swarf and lift it off the stone. Straight water has a hard time wetting the tiny air pockets under the swarf.
 
AntDog said:
I use gojo soap. Just rub it in and scrub it around until the stones are relatively clean. It works great and no chemical residue to worry about.
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I never even thought about this. I've used Lava pumice soap to clean ceramic & India type media with great success.
 
No need to overthink it. Diamond hones are easy to keep clean.

DMT recommends something like Comet/Ajax cleanser & water, scrubbed with a toothbrush or something similar. That can work fine; I've used dish soap & water (Dawn/Ivory/Palmolive/etc) most often, also scrubbed with a toothbrush. That's convenient as lubrication for sharpening also, and cleanup is an obvious cinch afterward.

Barkeepers Friend will work also; the oxalic acid in it reacts with IRON or the oxides of iron (which is why it removes steel swarf so effectively), and not NICKEL, which is what bonds the diamond to the hone. Use it with some water and a toothbrush, then rinse it off thoroughly; it won't damage your hone. In particular, if you have a diamond hone with some old, deeply-embedded swarf (might even show some rusting of the swarf), BKF will work very well to clean that up.


David
 
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Just about everything about cleaning has been covered here. I thought I'd chime in with my experience of using DMT DiaSharp dry versus with water. I originally used them dry and they worked fine. The more coarse grits seemed to kind of stick and bump and alternately slip when I used them. It still worked, but the surface didn't seem consistent. This was mainly on the XXC.

Then I decided to try water with a drop or two of dish soap in it (to break the surface tension and spread out the water). WOW what a difference! The feel becomes much more pleasant (to me) and it's much easier to move the blade against the stone. I haven't used them dry since trying them lubed with water. They also seem to just rinse clean with no issues at all. I got a little surface rust on the edge of one of them (the side, not the cutting surface) and started paying more attention to drying them thoroughly before locking them in a toolbox.

Brian.
 
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