Questions on Norton oilstone combination 100/320

W

wvdavidr

Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Messages
370
Hello all,
I bought a Norton combination oilstone. Do these have to be used with oil, or can they be used with water or dry? I haven't heard/read much on these. Do any of you use these?
Thanks,
Dave
 
Info. on this stone has been much posted here but the search features don't always hit it. They are great, ecomonical stones and will cut any steel. You may use them dry, wet or with oil. DM
 
Are you talking about the $6 blue Norton combo stone from home depot? I have one I use in the shop with softer steel cutting tools like limb shears, hedge trimmers, a cheap hatchet that I don't want t load up my india stone. It is a softer stone, dishing out fairly easily, I flatten it on the driveway when it needs it. I use WD40.


-Xander
 
I thought he was speaking of a twin grit coarse/fine India or SiC. These run 20$.The grit on the India is 150 & 320 and the SiC is 100 & 280. So, based on this I don't know. DM
 
Yeah, I don't know what he is talking about either. I have both the cheap Norton combo stone I mntioned and a IB8 india combo stone. The india is pretty much a shop standard, everybody has one. The blue SiC combo stone is a handy one too, hell for <$10 its a worth while stone to keep around, mine is fairly consistant grit size, stays relatively flat with normal knife use, and does a decent job.

But to address the OP's question, if it is a Norton, and labeled as an oil stone, then generally they are pre-oiled. Use dry or with a light oil of your choice. If you prefer water, boil it for a few minutes to remove the oil. Just place a wire rack in the bottom of the pot to keep it off the bottom.


-Xander
 
It's an 8x2zx1 combination stone that cost $25. It says it's preoiled. If it won't load up, I'd rather use it dry.
Thanks,
Davd
 
NO other description? What color is it? Grey or reddish? Agreed, the IB8 is a standard, coarse/fine India, orange in color. A good stone. It may wear less than the SiC stone. DM
 
wvdavidr said:
It's an 8x2zx1 combination stone that cost $25. It says it's preoiled. If it won't load up, I'd rather use it dry.
Thanks,
Davd
Click to expand...

Even if preoiled that just means you need less oil initially. If you use it dry it will load up and need to be scrubbed clean periodically.
 
It's orange one side and brown on the other. It says it's preoiled. I don't want to say where I bought it because it's not an approved retailer.

Should I use oil?
Thanks again,
Dave
 
I used one for many years like you describe. It was brown/gray on one side and orange on the other. I used it dry. I wish I hadn't gotten rid of it. I really liked it. I could sit in the floor of the living room and sharpen the entire knife block to an arm shaving edge during one 1/2 hour tv show. I needed to do this maybe once a month or so.

On the other hand, I am curious if I could have gotten better results from using it with oil. I hear baby oil/mineral oil is recommended. Then again, the edges I got off the orange (fine India) side would whittle my beard hair, so I don't know how much better it gets off a 320 grit stone could be. I hear Simple Green works too. I found a run through the dishwasher removed any loading from mine. Place it carefully.
 
i have the silicon carbide stone thats 100/280, i think. it says its preoiled but i oil it up anyway.
it gets a pretty good edge although i have to say the limitations are not the stones fault lol.
 
WVDavid, It sounds like NOrton's IB8, a coarse/fine India stone. Hummm, no box?? A good stone and the price you state is normal cost to get it to your door. Like HH said, using it dry it will load up. So, soapy water or oil would be in order. Pratice and you'll get some good edges off it. DM
 
Yep, I agree, it sounds like the IB8. I just put mine away, I was setting bevels on a traditional Japanese straight razor I made today. It got loaded up pretty quick, but there is a lot of steel on the stone with a straight razor. It cannot be used to produce a shaving sharp edge on a razor, I was just putting the initial bevels on. I use this stone for almost all my knife sharpening around the house. Great stone. If you want to use it with water, just boil it for a few minutes to get all the oil out of it and it will be ready for water use. This is how I use mine, water is much easier to clean up than oil! I just put a wet towel under the stone an it keeps it from moving around and absorbs the run off.


-Xander
 
Here's a picture of three of the many Norton stones I have - coarse (dark) on one side orangeish on the other. The round one and the 6" one came as some say loaded with oil. The directions however, say water is ok to use with these stones. I use water and get great results. Some boil the oil out of the stones but for me anyway that's a waste of time - just use a little water with them as they came from the box and you'll be ok. I used newer stones for this picture to give a cleaner look.

aaarkansasnortonindiast.jpg


The other stones in the picture are combination medium(soft)/fine(hard) Arkansas stones. I also use water with them.

All that said, I have stones I use oil on too. It just depends on what I'm sharpening and where I happen to be when sharpening.

Nothing is written in stone (no pun intended) about sharpening. There are many variables and styles used by many people. Just keep at it and eventually you'll come up with a method and materials that work for you.
 
Last edited:
Ed, Nice photo. Thats the one I have in both a 6 & 8 inch. Also, glad you put in the photo a white soft and white hard Arkansas as a forum poster here has stated he's not ever seen one. DM
 
Thanks David. Always glad to try to help. I thought this thread needed a picture.
 
Yep, a picture was needed! Too funny, my wifes uncle (a long term house guest) was just complaining that he ct himself twice today preping adobo for dinner on a knife (henckels 6" petty) I had just sharened two days prior using the Norton IB8 combo India stone. It produces consistant edges, that are a great grit for kintchen use, just toothy enough to saw through waxy skin food but fine enough to slice very thin. Everyone should have one of these stones!


-Xander
 
Thank you all for the info.. This is the best forum on the internet IMHO! I dug the box out and it is indeed an IB8. I boiled the oil out of it and I mounted it in a frame for the EZESharp. I think I'll use water with dishwashing liquid. I also have an Arkansas combination stone to finish. Now I need to find a dull knife!
Thanks again,
Dave
 
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