Oil, Water, or Nothing for DMT Stones

M

me2

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Oct 11, 2003
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I have an AlignerPro kit on the way. It's been years since I used diamond stones. I used them dry but was wondering if it would be beneficial to use water or even oil. I'll probably try all three, but what have you all found to be best?
 
I've used them with a thin film of mineral oil and it seems to work well. I usually use them with water. The oil might work a small amount better in my hands, but not enough to make me a 100% convert.
 
I've grown to like using my DMT & EZE-Lap hones with a little bit of mineral oil, mainly for the feedback. But secondarily, because I live in a typically very dry climate, it's about the only 'wet' lubrication for the hone that doesn't dry up too fast, as has happened when I've used them with water or dish soap + water. An additional upside to using them with oil: it won't facilitate rusting of swarf left on the hone, like water can do. I wet the hone with some oil primarily for heavier grinding, thinning or shaping tasks, to minimize the clinging of swarf on the hone; it works very well for that. But, for quick, on-the-go touchups, a dry hone works just fine for me.

And DMT says oil won't harm the hones by itself (see quote below; I added the bold/underlined emphasis). They just add a caution to make sure they're cleaned 'properly' after use with oil. As it turns out in my own uses, a 'proper cleaning' is as simple as washing them with dish soap & water, which is what I always do with them anyway, whether used wet or dry. Takes about 5 minutes or less. They'll stay as healthy as new, if cleaned regularly after use; it's common sense upkeep for any diamond hone.

( Quoted from site: https://www.dmtsharp.com/resources/...er-dry-or-with-water-but-can-i-use-oil-anyway )
"DMT recommends you use DMT products dry or with water only. Although mineral oil or WD40 will not harm the DMT products, they can impede sharpening if used in excess and can damage the sharpener overtime if not properly cleaned/removed from the sharpener. "
Click to expand...


David
 
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I use my DMT Aligner stones dry but I do rinse them in water periodically, especially the XXC and XC stones.

Actually, with XXC and XC, I rinse them frequently, so I guess you'd say I start dry and then damp.

All are cleaned well after use.
 
I use them dry, never found water to be any advantage.

I will at times use water on the XXC or XC just to keep the large amounts of swarf from clogging the stone.
 
Just got the Extra Extra fine stone in. DMT says best used with water and a little soap. Does not recommend oil. I do use mineral oil and like using it, OCD about keeping stones clean with soap/water.
 
I've tried oil & water on them, but prefer to use my diamond plates dry. I do clean them with dish soap & water.
 
I use water over an old newspaper and then rinse with hot water and flick w/old toothbrush to get the steel particles out so there's not a build-up. To each his own.
 
Bob Dozier told me to use water with a tiny bit of dish soap.
Works for me.
Just be sure to rinse & dry the stone when your done.
 
I tend to prefer using water. Dry works but I just seem to get better feedback with some water on the stones.
 
For me, I'm referring to the feel I get when gliding the blade across the stone. I can feel when I am coming off the correct angle as I'm gliding the blade. Without water, I feel like I get a more "bumpy" and "sticky" feel as I glide the blade. With water, it seems to be smoother allowing for more feel in regard to maintaining a consistent angle.

Hopefully that makes sense.
 
Much along the same lines as described by aleforme above^, the 'feedback' I like with oil has a lot to do with the sense of the blade gliding over the hone, without the catching or gritty feel as on a dry hone. It's more noticeable with coarser hones, like C, XC. On a diamond hone, depending on the steel being sharpened, some feel very 'buttery' on the hone, even as a lot of steel is being scrubbed off the edge. For me, that very smooth butteryness(?) lends an extra sense of control, as opposed to the bumpy/gritty/catchy feel on a dry hone, and especially a very coarse one, which tends to make that sense of control a little more tenuous.


David
 
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For a thicker solution use a thin liquid dish soap. More lubricating than water (though not so much as oil) and gives super easy cleanup.
 
I just spray with a distilled water and cheap liquid kitchen soap to spray away the filings.
 
I tried soapy water for a little bit but with the lack of surface tension the water tends to go everywhere.
 
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