Should I use Water or Oil on DMT benchstone or just go dry?

[Blue Sky]

I’ve always used my diamond stones and plates (cards?) dry. Washing them in warm soapy water when they load up works well.

 

[nickycat]

One of the major diamond stone makers said Krud Kutter was the best, so I tried it. I had already tried dry, plain water, water with dish soap, and water with lanolin.

Krud Kutter was noticeably better than anything else. Outstanding lubrication, and absolutely no clogging on the stone. Cleanup takes a minute, if you take your time. I mix a fairly strong solution in a big spray bottle, and it lasts a long time. It is cheap. I haven't tried to clean anything with it so I don't know if it is any good for that, but it kills on a diamond stone.

I second this recommendation, krud kutter is such a great versatile cleaner and works superbly for lubrication on a diamond stone. In general, I much prefer to use diamond stones DRY; the exception is if I need to grind off a lot of metal, using krud kutter is very effective at floating away swarf thus cutting slightly faster compared to using dry.

 

[forkup]

I use Trend lapping fluid which works well imo but I'll definitely be trying the Krud Kutter as a comparison because it's a cheaper solution.

 

[000Robert]

I just use a little bit of water.

 

[RHINOKNIVES]

Dry. I use BreakFree CLP to clean the swarf off when it builds up.

I use Simple Green soap, it flors the swarf out of the stone. You can use se it during & after sharpening.

 

[Blade Lab]

Water with a few drops of Dawn dish washing liquid here.

 

[jeffbird]

Mineral oil for me on diamond plates and most all of my other stones, except for Naniwa and Suehiro water stones. Once sharpening is finished, the diamond plates are washed with dish soap and water and turned on their side to dry. Mineral oil and washing keeps the swarf from clogging up the cutting surface.