Sharpie/Blade Coating Effects Toward Hones/Stones.

[Adrian84]

Hello everybody. I recently joined this esteemed forum after years of being able to find the answer to almost any blade/steel question I ever thought to ask. You guys and gals are the goods, I'll tell ya. Thank you all very much.

So, for my opening questions/posts here I have a question about the effects of using markers to highlight the edge for sharpening, as well as the effect of a pre-existing coat of paint or scratch-resistant powder. Can they potentially gum up the stone/hone being used? Should I rinse my stone more often when sharpening, say, a blade like the tungsten-coated Kershaw Leek or KA-BAR USMC fighting knife, as they both sport a nice, thick coat of black DLC? And with using a Sharpie to mark the edge for sharpening; does the ink get ground back into the hone?

Sorry if this is an oft proposed inquiry, but I could not find and answer and was very curious.

Thank you to any who reply.

-Adrian.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Don't worry about blade coatings clogging hones when sharpening. The amount of coating material removed from a blade, near the edge, is miniscule (and the super-hard DLC coating is extremely thin as well). Most factory edges aren't coated anyway. I'm pretty sure the black coating on Kabar USMC knives isn't DLC, but a simpler epoxy powder-coating instead. DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) is a complex process, and more expensive. Nevertheless, still not a concern for clogging a hone/stone. The metal swarf removed from a steel blade is much more the issue with clogging. Just clean the stone/hone as usual.

The ink from a Sharpie won't hurt or clog a hone either; just not enough of it to be an issue. And if it did, it cleans up easily with alcohol or other solvents (Sharpie ink is in an alcohol-based suspension, as it comes in the pen).

The only issue I've heard of, was with a painted lawn mower blade clogging a diamond hone (actual paint, not the much thinner coatings used on knife blades). A thick, slathered-on coat of paint could potentially make a mess of a sharpening stone. Best to use a file or grinder for such blades (or sandpaper).


David

 

[HeavyHanded]

I have noticed I can feel the Sharpie on a polishing-grade waterstone. Other than that, no issues I can recall.

 

[yoda4561]

Regular cleaning and flattening of the stone will take care of any paint type coating buildup, sharpie markers and hard thin coatings will not load up a stone enough to worry about.