Reconditioning an oil stone

[Morrow]

I picked up an old Norton oil stone. Should old stones be reconditioned before using them?

 

[Dreamer]

What do mean by "Reconditioned?" Does it have a saddle worn in it? Is it full of crud? Oil stone or water stone?

Just because it's old doesn't mean it needs to be reconditioned.

More information would be helpful.

Edit: Sorry, these old eyes just skipped over the "Norton Oil stone" part of your post.

 

[Morrow]

There doesn't seem to be any noticeable saddle wear. My Japanese water stones get that from time to time.

This Norton stone, on the course side, seems to be courser on the edges than in the middle of the stone. The fine side of the stone seems. The stone is also very crudy on the coarse side. I've only ever used water stones so I'm not sure if this is normal for oil to be like this.

 

[Jeff Clark]

I take a scrub brush, hot water, and Comet to clean the surfaces. You could also try scrubbing with alcohol, paint thinner, lamp oil or whatever you have handy. If the center is more worn looking than the sides someone has been sharpening something like chisels in the center. Don't worry about it. Normal use with a long knife will even things out. Use it on some long kitchen knives. You should find yourself a light mineral oil or lamp oil for honing. A lot of thing will work. You want something that will not dry out and get gummy so pick something light. You also want something that is not extremely irritating to the skin so I would avoid kerosene.

 

[Morrow]

geez...i just read the my second post to this thread and saw how many words I left out. i need to not post after drinking too much.

thanks for advice Jeff, I scrubbed it up as you suggested and it's looking a lot better. i have tons of mineral oil so I'm in good shape to use the stone. thanks again.

 

[Old CW4]

I sprinkle sand and a bit of water on the concrete walk beside my house. Then work the stone in a circle on the sand and add more sand and water as needed. Will bring a stone back to flat in minutes. BTW, I know it's an "oil stone" but I've always had better luck with water. The oil seems to retain the metal fines and gum up pretty quick. For a really bad blade, I coarse hone under a trickle of water in the kitchen sink. Goes much quicker, I think....?

 

[Morrow]

I sprinkle sand and a bit of water on the concrete walk beside my house. Then work the stone in a circle on the sand and add more sand and water as needed. Will bring a stone back to flat in minutes. BTW, I know it's an "oil stone" but I've always had better luck with water. The oil seems to retain the metal fines and gum up pretty quick. For a really bad blade, I coarse hone under a trickle of water in the kitchen sink. Goes much quicker, I think....?

I use water stones myself and they are my favorite. I don't find them very portable though. I can throw a small bottle of oil and the oil stone wrapped in a towel in my pack and I'm good. I can't do that with a water stone. I leave all my water stones soaking in a tub under the sink.

 

[John Frankl]

Boiling a few times in water mixed with heavy duty laundry detergent works well too...assuming the stone is flat.

John