What is your preferred lubricant for bench sharpening with diamond plates?

What is your preferred lubricant for bench sharpening with diamond plates?

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maximus83

Joined
Nov 7, 2011
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Interested to learn what folks are using on your diamond plates, and WHY you use that versus other options.

Listed options in the poll that I've seen people mention in threads. Please use "other" and specify, if your fave isn't listed.

I've tried different things in about 8 years working with diamonds. Here's the current:
  • Field and mobile use: dry. Why: because I'm lazy and it's REALLY convenient. :-)
  • Bench use: Norton honing oil or soapy water. Why: both are non-toxic and mild for skin contact and inhalation, help to minimize swarf build-up, and make the stones easy to clean when done (usually just rinse off).
 
Usually same as jc57 -- use dry, clean with dish detergent later. Sometimes use a stone with water/detergent on it, and don't see any diff in performance.
 
Yup, dry. My understanding is that they really don’t need to be moist. I have tried some of the above methods but didn’t see any results that would change my mind. I usually start off with diamonds because of how quickly they cut. Any type of wetness in my experience reduces, even if only slightly, how fast hey cut. I may be wrong but it is my opinion. Once I step of the diamonds I use water or mineral oil depending on what I’m on next.
 
Since I mostly use diamond for finishing with little to no dust build up, I use them dry. I do however keep a damp paper towel handy to give them a swipe every once in a while.
 
I've liked mineral oil for use on diamond plates, lately. I started using it for the sake of feedback, which I've liked better with the oil; especially on coarser diamond hones. Norton's Sharpening Stone Oil has been the favorite for me, in that capacity. It also prevents loading or sticking of swarf on the hone (big improvement over dry use, especially for heavier grinding jobs), and washes up easily in dish soap & water. A microfiber towel is a good addition, as it does a great job in wiping the plate clean, either dry or wet. A spritz of Windex on the hone/towel makes it clean things up even better.

I'm not averse to using a diamond hone dry, especially in quick, on-the-go touchups of an edge. For light honing, accumulation of heavy swarf isn't much of an issue anyway. So, for those situations, a dry hone is fine for me.

For more portable use, a pocketable 'precision oiler' (pic below) is very handy for applying a few drops at a time, which is all that's needed on pocket diamond hones, like the credit card hones or Dia-Folds.

589-oiler.jpg
 
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Ditto what David said right above ^. I like using mineral oil, for the simple reason I like the "feedback" over using them dry. Not that there is a whole heck of a lot of change, nor do I always use oil, but I just prefer it.
 
I use the diamonds only for the very hardest high vanadium alloys that I cannot sharpen with my Shapton Pros. The steel doesn't seem to cling to the diamonds but comes off on the stone like black very dusty . . . well. . . dust. So when I am all done sharpening I rinse the stone under the water tap in cool water.
Done.
No problems.
All the stones, even including the 8,000, sharpen extremely effectively each time.
 
I get my best results using waterstone slurry.
Not sure if it affects the finish but it gives an improved feel for me.
 
Splash of water for convince and improved feel. Its also a coolant in my intuitive understanding.
 
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I clean my DMTs with BreakFree CLP. Spread a thin coat on, let sit a few hours (overnight is even better), then wipe dry. It lifts off any embedded swarf and restores cutting efficiency.
 
This looks pretty interesting:
skip forward to 1:19. He used a sponge wet with soapy water and just dabs the stone on the sponge. I haven't tried it yet.
 
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