What kind of honing stones are these??? Help!

[Michael Broeker]

I would like to get into sharpening some chisels and such using stones but dont know what I have here. I dont know what grit these are, if they are water or oil stones, what order should I use them in if I should use them all or just the Craftsman combination by itself? Also, whats the deal with this "Kimberley Special"?What kind of oil can you use for honing on stones or do I have to buy honing oil specifically. Thanks for any and all help.
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[Andrew Pitonyak]

Where do you live Michael? Maybe someone close by can shed some light on this.

Do you have some better photographs? Can't see much detail. It might help if the boxes were readable.

The top right stone looks like some old oil stones that I have used.

You want to start with the course stone and move to the finer stones. Knowing which is which can be tricky at best. For the upper right stone, I can tell that the top is the course part of that combination stone.

[jeremy j smith]

You can use unscented baby oil or mineral oil. Both are inexpensive and readily available.

[Ray Selinger]

Some say you can use WD-40 as honing oil, I found mineral oil works much better.

[Michael Broeker]

Thanks, I live in Pittsburgh. The blue box is an old Craftsman Combo Sharpening stone #6440 and the smaller red box says "Kimberley Special" embossed on top. Also it says that on the side of the stone and on the other side it says "AM. HONE CO. OLEAN N.Y." I think its "OLEAN" not positive though...

[Jim Koepke]

Michael, Welcome to the Creek. As Andrew mentioned, your profile doesn't list your location. You may live near another member who can help you with this in person. I am almost always happy to help another if you are in the Pacific Northwest.

Do you know any of the history of these stones? I am hesitant to state my opinion on these stones based solely on the images.

Water will not normally hurt an oil stone. Oil on a water stone will make a mess that may ruin the stone.

A few drops of water on these may produce evidence to indicate if thesr are oil stones.

The last thread we had on honing oils grew to lengths usually only seen in a sharpening thread. I is safe to say many different things will work. I like mineral oil. It is usually in every grocery stores home health section labeled as a 'Lubricant/Laxative.' It can be purchased in gallon size bottles at many feed stores. Last time I looked it was cheaper by the pint at our local supermarket. It is good for squeaky hinges. It helps to protect wooden cooking utensils and as the second use on the label testifies it is rather safe for human consumption. As that use requires a couple of table spoons there are no worries to be had about unwanted surprises.

Some like kerosene, mineral spirits or even a 'special' blend for their honing oils. The purpose of oil or water on a stone is to keep the swarf (the byproduct of rubbing steel on stone) in suspension so the stone doesn't become clogged.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Just did a quick Google of > kimberly honing stone < and found a discussion at at the 'straight razor place' web site.

SMC rules do not allow linking to other forums.

I will send you a PM in a few minutes.

jtk

[jeremy j smith]

The Kimberly Special looks like a hone used by barbers for straight razors. It is likely one of the finer stones in the group.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I am in Columbus, Ohio, so no help in person from me :rolleyes:

The craftsman stone is available (in a variant anyway)
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-combination-bench-stone-1-pk/p-00964404000P

it simply says course and fine, which is vague.

You can also purchase specific oil for this (Norton makes it, for example), but the Mineral Oil is not smelly...

I have not used oil stones much, I assume that you need to flatten them periodically.

I have seen "Kimberly" stones produced by "Birmingham Grinding Works", but I do not know much else about that, so I suspect that Kimberly sourced their products through others. My best guess is that this is related to razors since all of my searches show those and the AM HONE company related in that way.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?181939-Ahconite-AM-HONE-CO-OLEAN-NY

I know, rough guesses and not much to go on.

[Michael Broeker]

Here is some more pictures.

[Patrick Chase]

Some like kerosene, mineral spirits or even a 'special' blend for their honing oils. The purpose of oil or water on a stone is to keep the swarf (the byproduct of rubbing steel on stone) in suspension so the stone doesn't become clogged.jtk

After that last thread to which you refer I took my own advice and went back to using Kerosene (I had been using Norton honing oil).

I ended up with a nasty case of contact dermatitis and a stiff does of Prednisone.

I've been using light petroleum distillates of various sorts without trouble for decades, so I suspect I reacted to some sort of contaminant in the K-1 I got at Lowes. Next time I'll go with RP-1 :-).

[Michael Broeker]

More Pictures

[Michael Broeker]

Thanks for all the help by the way. So anyways I go to estate sales and got a Stanley Bailey #7 for $20 and these for $1 a piece and was wondering with the stones I have if that will be good enough to sharpen/ hone them?

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[Tony Zaffuto]

Far left looks like a carborundum. second from left looks like a fine & medium india. Third and fourth look like natural oilstones, but without a closeup of the top and the sides, I'm just guessing.

Great day in the 'Burgh yesterday for sports! Pirates win, then the Pens close out their home schedule with a win (I'm from DuBois).

T.

[Glen Canaday]

Woah, those chisels are a nice find.

I pretty much echo the same things everyone else said. I hesitate, for obvious reasons, but the lighter colored stone appears to be a hard ark. That could be your finishing stone.

Due to the age, I again hesitate but venture that waterstones were less than common when these were made. Oil is more likely.

They do need to be flattened depending on frequency of use, but nothing at all like waterstones. Your finishing stone might get touched maybe once every 5 years. Old timers rarely did it. Consider it something you do to prep one and then you don't do it again for a very long time. Like fettling a plane sole.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

If it is not obvious which is finer, I would start with what you think is the coursest stone, and then see what kind of scratches these stones create on a piece of metal that you do not much care about. Of, just test to see which polishes your chisels the best when using the fine stones.

[Tony Zaffuto]

You can always give it the fingernail test: use your fingernail to see which stone feels the finest.

[Michael Broeker]

Thanks for all the help everyone ill give it a try and see how it turns out!

[Luke Dupont]

Wow. Nice Japanese chisels you found there. And nice stones, too! I assume those were also at the estate sale?

For the stones, I'd just recommend giving them a try and finding out through trial/error/experience which ones are finer, and which ones are coarser.

Most of those stones look like oil stones, though I'm probably not the best authority on that. If you want to use them with oil, you're probably safe doing so. If you want to use them with water, or use them with water after having used them with oil, you may need to boil and wash them with dishwashing soap. Not sure the exact process for that, so definitely do your research.

EDIT: One of those is a Japanese Waterstone. It's the one with the orange on one side, and the white on the other. It's separated by a piece of black plastic. I have one just like it. No knowing what the grit on yours is, but for mine, it's 1000/2400. The white is usually the finer side. Don't use it with oil.

[Stew Denton]

Michael,

In the set of photos you put on at 11:36, the two stones on the left look like carborundum stones. Carborundum stones can either be used dry, or with oil I seem to remember, but am not absolutely certain.

In the pictures you posted at 11:38, the water beaded up, which tells me that in all likelihood that they contain oil which repels the water. As such they were likely oil stones. If the water soaks in, then they have been used with water probability.

It also looks a little like there was a trace of an oil film on the edge of the beaded up water, another evidence of an oil stone, if that is the case.

On the other hand, it looks like the stones discolored in the center of the water spots, which would indicate that the water may be soaking in like a water stone would.

One close examination is worth a lot of pictures, however, and I don't know for certain what they are. I do agree completely with Jim, however, if you use oil on a water stone it can ruin it.

Stew

[Michael Broeker]

The stones and the chisels were not actually found together. My dad got all the stones except the Combo stone at an estate sale about 8 years ago along with a Stanley Bailey #5 plane. After years left in a box in a shed it peeked my interest and thus began me being more interested in older hand tools.

[Michael Broeker]

Thanks yea I dont know much about them besides being japanese but I really wanted a set and couldnt beat a $1 a piece. The stones my dad got years ago going to an estate sale of his own in the neighborhood. He got a big box of stuff that had those stones, Stanley Bailey #5 planer, old wood brass screws in bright advert boxes, etc.

[Michael Broeker]

Is mineral oil and mineral spirits the same?

[Michael Broeker]

Haha yes it was!

[Glen Canaday]

Good finds no matter who went to the estate sale!

[jeremy j smith]

No. Mineral Oil and Mineral Spirits are not the same.

Mineral Oil has many uses. Because it can be used as a laxative, it is often found in the pharmacy section of most grocery stores. A 16 ounce bottle will last quite a while because little is needed on most oil stones. It also does not have an objectionable odor, so it can be used indoors.

Mineral Spirits are a solvent.