Sharpening Stone Lubricant.

David Martin said:
Looking back, I think I'll not boil another one to remove this grease. As long as it hasn't hardened. My Ace Hardware Economy SiC stone is
more coarse and drinks oil quickly. Too quickly. What I do that helps it to work is, I'll spread a thin layer of Vaseline on it's surface then oil.
This helps the oil remain longer on the surface while working the blade. Thus, it gives me more time to work before the oil is gone.
This is the only stone I've found that needs this preparation. DM
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If you want to make the effect semi-permanent you can heat up some petroleum jelly and soak the stone in it. When heated it liquefies and will readily soak into the stone, where it'll stay. That's basically all they do to fill stones with grease, and used to be a manufacturer-recommended way of dealing with the issue you're describing.
 
Water. Everything else seems too complicated to me. I use mainly diamonds, SiC and ceramic stones. Never had a problem with stones clogging up.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
If you want to make the effect semi-permanent you can heat up some petroleum jelly and soak the stone in it. When heated it liquefies and will readily soak into the stone, where it'll stay. That's basically all they do to fill stones with grease, and used to be a manufacturer-recommended way of dealing with the issue you're describing.
Click to expand...
Ok, 42 I did it. I took my porous ACE Hardware stone and placed it on our wood burning stove, coarse side up. With a slather of Vaseline on
that side. Here it is 45* going down to 38* with a 20 mph North wind which takes the warmth out of the house. Rain is in our forecast. A fire is in order.
At first the Vaseline sat there then as the stone warmed it began to seep in. I lifted the stone and some salve was on the metal stove top.
I moved it off on to a shop cloth and gave it time to soak in. It was warm but not hot. Then as it disappeared it cooled and not much came
through onto the cloth. Now, I wonder how long this treatment will last. DM
 
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Should last quite a long time. Once re-congealed inside the stone it's not going to come out unless it becomes warmed enough to re-liquefy it. :)
 
You ought to find that when applying oil to it like usual it should now behave as though it's already saturated. Since it is! Looking forward to hearing how it works for ya'. :)
 
I'd like to work / correct a knife that is real convex, with a chip or 2 and the bevel crooked. So, I have to work it a few minutes on the
coarse side before taking it to the fine. I'll apply mineral oil as usual and go to it. Then post my findings. Thanks, DM
 
Ok, I sharpened the knife pictured, today at a meat market. A 7" sabatier. Notice it's convex, with some recurve. Of course the
bevel was off and the point damaged. Although it is a China made it had decent hardness and it gave my stone the workout I
was looking for. I gave the stone 10 drops and went to work. I worked that dry in about 5-6 mins. and gave it a little more to finish on the coarse side, @ 90 grit. Once I had the, bevel set & burr removed and it was slicing paper, I took it to the finer side, @ 230 grit and did the same. The mineral oil lasted about the same on the fine side and to finish I applied a little more. I'd say
this application improved this stone around 50%. I should still apply Vaseline and oil to the coarse side for messed up blades in order for the oil to
last long enough for me to set the bevel. It really would not hurt to do the same on the fine side. Still, I liked the results and will
keep working with it to improve it. I'm glad I tried it. DM
sharpen.jpg
 
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