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Silicon Carbide stone and VG-10 blade, what oil?
- Thread starter BigDude
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2007
- Messages
- 945
You should stay away from any kind of oil that you would cook with. It will eventually get gummy and clog up the stone. I'm not sure what the best oil to use would be, but some kind of mineral oil or 3 in 1 oil would be easy for you to get at just about any hardware or department store and I think they would work alright. I may get corrected on that though. . . I mostly use diamond stones and water, so I don't know much about oil stones. I do know that vegetable oil, olive oil, corn oil, etc. are not a good idea though.
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2006
- Messages
- 42,237
I have a Norton India combo stone that I use as the first step when I have a seriously dull blade. I've been using tapping fluid that I bought at Home Depot for about 5 years now. Seems to work good for me. The stone cuts fast and it doesn't clog up. Cleans up nice afterward, too. Stuff is cheap, too.
I used to use Buck honing oil. I'm not sure if they sell that anymore. I have also used 3-in-one. I agree with Salamander42 that vegetable oil is probably not a good choice. If you have a thing about not wanting to use any fluid you wouldn't eat, you could use the mineral oil the drug stores sell as a laxative. Never tried it, but it should work and it would not gum up.
Knarf
I used to use Buck honing oil. I'm not sure if they sell that anymore. I have also used 3-in-one. I agree with Salamander42 that vegetable oil is probably not a good choice. If you have a thing about not wanting to use any fluid you wouldn't eat, you could use the mineral oil the drug stores sell as a laxative. Never tried it, but it should work and it would not gum up.
Knarf
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2001
- Messages
- 1,917
Most silicon carbide stones are pretty course. Unless your VG10 is seriously dull...
That said, smokeless/odorless lamp oil (kerosene without the stench) is great stuff. If it is too "fast" for you, you can mix it with a bit of mineral/baby oil (3:1).
Think of if this way. You want to abrade metal. Oil is a lubricant. It is made to prevent the abrasion of metal. Thus, use only enough oil--sometimes none at all--to keep the stone from loading. But the more you use the slower your sharpening will be.
John
That said, smokeless/odorless lamp oil (kerosene without the stench) is great stuff. If it is too "fast" for you, you can mix it with a bit of mineral/baby oil (3:1).
Think of if this way. You want to abrade metal. Oil is a lubricant. It is made to prevent the abrasion of metal. Thus, use only enough oil--sometimes none at all--to keep the stone from loading. But the more you use the slower your sharpening will be.
John
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2002
- Messages
- 9,948
Oil and mineral distillates can also help break down abrasives with vitrified bonds (such as silicon carbide hones) to expose fresh, sharp layers of abrasive and speed up the sharpening process. Kind of like waterstones only messier and slower.
- Joined
- Apr 27, 1999
- Messages
- 6,117
You may be dissatisfied with the edge that you get using a silicon carbide hone. They cut relatively fast, but leave relatively coarsely finished edges. I would at least look for a fine aluminum oxide hone for your finishing step. Look at this graph. The silicon carbide hones are on the left (coarse).
