Don't try this at home?

[Jim Koepke]

Sometimes for a quick sharpening it is quicker to use an oil stone than to get out the water stones.

So I decided to clean up one of the old oil stones to have around when I wanted to give a tool a few quick licks.

Dang, the only kerosene is in a lamp and I do not want to try and pour that out. Then, double dang there is some mineral spirits but what to pour it in to soak the stone. An old Altoids tin is too small.

Hang on, mineral spirits shouldn't melt a plastic sandwich bag. Besides, it is nice outside and if it does go bad and leaks, SWMBO will never find out and I won't get in trouble. So outside it was with the baggie and a wire tooth brush and it all came out fine with a clean stone sitting in a hollowed out block of wood with a thin coat of oil.

Just what the quick tool licker needs.

jim

[Bob Noles]

Good post Jim, and how right you are about the inconvenience of water sometimes.

[Mark Stutz]

Jim,
I just picked up a couple of old oilstones...a black one I think is of "medium" grit, and a light colored Washita stone. I've cleaned up the Washita with MS, but still need to work on the other and flatten both of them...lots of light coming under that straightedge!:eek:

I got them primarily to use for molding planes and small plow cutters so I wouldn't dish or groove the waterstones as quickly. We'll see how well my idea works.

Mark

[Bruce Haugen]

My brother is a chef and once sharpened all his own knives. Then he got high up enough in the food chain to have them done by the restaurant. At that point, he gave me his Norton Multi Oilstone Tri Hone outfit. They are three oilstones that are held in a triangular jig and rotate through an oil bath of some sort.

The stones were badly dished when I got them, and it took some work to both clean them up (he used olive oil for the lubricant) and to flatten them.

But, oh, the joy of having a 11-1/2" stone to work with! Man is that nice. And they don't require soaking or anything. Of course, the finest produces only a good edge, but they're sure handy to have around.

Bruce

[Jim Koepke]

But, oh, the joy of having a 11-1/2" stone to work with! Man is that nice. And they don't require soaking or anything. Of course, the finest produces only a good edge, but they're sure handy to have around.

Should have mentioned the one I was cleaning is a hard white Arkansas stone.

I think my 4000 and 8000 water stones give a finer edge.

Just looked at the chart and it confirms this. Great things these computers. When the rememberator is full, the hard drive isn't.


jim

[Stan Suther]

I too hate to get out the water stones because of the mess. However, when I just need to touch up, I either use my 4000 water stone which doesn't need to be soaked, just wetted, or I've got some old Spyderco ceramic stones that can use just a spritz of water as a lubricant. Don't read much on ceramics, but these are good for final polishing, but no good for shaping or back-flattening.

[Eric Hartunian]

I used to use waterstones, but the hassle of making them flat, the mess, etc was to the point that I rarely stopped working to touch up a blade. This resulted in waiting until blades were quite dull, so sharpening took longer. My solution: use a granite surface plate (9"x12", I think) and put PSA 3m film on it of different grits. I use honing oil on it, and just keep the plate out on a separate table, covered with a rag. Now, when a tool needs a touch up, I just slide the rag over, do my thing, and get back to work.

Eric