Norton IB8 Opinions

[sir_mike]

I prefer to use it dry, i found the norton supplied honing oil really good for cleaning/ungumming the stone after sharpening, followed by a quick rinse with soapy water to wash off the oil.

Did you by chance do what others have done and boil it to get the oil out of the stone initially?

 

[Bad Monkey]

Did you by chance do what others have done and boil it to get the oil out of the stone initially?

No, because i read somewhere on the Norton website (though i'm damned if i can find it now) that these stones are impregnated with something that prevents them from absorbing oil.

 

[LEGION 12]

Did you by chance do what others have done and boil it to get the oil out of the stone initially?

I just got one of these stones works great used it dry for a while but it works a lot better with mineral oil i use that because thats what i have on hand i finish with a syderco stone if needed and strop if needed but i always over do it . Dont think theres any reason to remove the oil it was MFG. with seems to work just fine .

 

[sir_mike]

No, because i read somewhere on the Norton website (though i'm damned if i can find it now) that these stones are impregnated with something that prevents them from absorbing oil.

Isnt the idea of the oil to have it soak in? I seen a Youtube video for this stone and the guy used over 1oz of oil just to get it to the point where he could use it so it must absorb it.

I just want an easy (not many steps) way and inexpensive way to keep my knives sharp. I might have to look at a set from Naniwa that has the 120, 1000 and 3000 waterstones and the set is only about $45-50.

 

[David Martin]

It does absorb the oil during use. Yet, with careful, conservative use it will go a long time before saturation. I did boil one of my Norton India stones but not so much to remove the oil it was to clean the surface. Still, I don't have a newer stone which I've seen come with a heavy oil like vasoline on it. Should I have one of those I'd promptly boil it, then use soapy H2O or a judicious amount of light oil when sharpening.
Those waterstones take some getting used to unless your an experienced sharpener. This decision is not this complicated. You need to sharpen and gain some experience. DM

 

[sir_mike]

It does absorb the oil during use. Yet, with careful, conservative use it will go a long time before saturation. I did boil one of my Norton India stones but not so much to remove the oil it was to clean the surface. Still, I don't have a newer stone which I've seen come with a heavy oil like vasoline on it. Should I have one of those I'd promptly boil it, then use soapy H2O or a judicious amount of light oil when sharpening.
Those waterstones take some getting used to unless your an experienced sharpener. This decision is not this complicated. You need to sharpen and gain some experience. DM

I plan on sharpening as soon as I come up with a set of stones to get me going with. I too thought about this stone until I found the Naniwa set (120,1000, 3000) ones. I am trying to find reviews/recommendations on the IB* oil and the Naniwa set to see which I should get that will do a better job and be more versatile so I dont have to buy more in a short time just to get a decent edge on a knife. It is going to be more for practice, then me having to sharpen my knives daily, weekly or whatever cause they dont get much use nowadays!