gunked up oil stone in the dishwasher???

[lw395]

I find a bench grinder far too harsh so do it the other way. Firstly starting with oil stones the whetstones down to 4000 grit which gives an edge sharp enough to shave the back of my arm with. Then if I’m inclined, I’ll use a polishing mop fitted to the bench grinder to buff the knives to a smooth finish. It doesn’t add anything to the sharpness but looks nice.

Like the OP I tried veg oil on sharpening stones, thinking it would be good for kitchen knives as it’s edible, the gummed up result was the same and it took repeat cleaning to finally rid the stones of gum; the stuff kept coming back.

'Dry' bench grinder is only for rough re-shaping of things, crude tools like cold chisels, not really for sharp edges.
I have a cheap wet and dry type a bit like this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silverli...h=item2a85a50112:g:o6wAAOSwN2VZSpzQ:rk:2:pf:0

Except mine has a DIY more rigid tool-rest on the wet side.
It could be improved, but for me it works 10x better than an oil stone and honing guide.

I think my eyesight and dexterity is now such that I need mechanical aids to get the angles consistent. :-(

Some cheap diamond products are useful. I've used diamond burrs in a dremel to sharpen carbide tools.

I've heard of people finishing off e.g. plane irons on a polishing mop, I might give it a go as I have a spare bench grinder.

 

[lenten]

there are many grades of polishing mops from soft to be used with jewellers rouge for polishing silver----to calico used with aggressive compounds to polish stainless steel----think you would need the latter to finish a plane iron

 

[northwind]

but since the popularity of double d 40 haven t had any in the house for years---------

The blue cans of WD40 is not a lubricant.... can cause more issues in the long term than it solves..

 

[lenten]

The blue cans of WD40 is not a lubricant.... can cause more issues in the long term than it solves..

interested can you explain

 

[northwind]

yeap, WD40, is a Water-displacing fluid the 40th version they made

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40

It was originally designed to stop Atlas Rockets from going rusty while on the launch pad. It is a solvent, and not a lubricant, while it "works" as a lubricant in the short term, it will strip oil away and then go sticky and start attracting dirt.

The history of it is quite interesting, there is a radio 4 programme about it:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00m721v

 

[lenten]

thanks northwind ----i vaguely remember??---that the u.s. navy stopped using it because by stripping oil--- in the long term it promoted rust

 

[Sandro]

The traditional way to flatten them is to rub them on a concrete paving slab, with water.

Thanks lw395.
Would concrete be hard enough for wearing stone?
The resulting grit would not be too coarse? - The main good of an oil stone versus grinder is fineness of grit.
I thought fine sandpaper or emerycloth on a mirror could do but will the grit be fine enough?
Perhaps doing a second refining pass with two flattened stones one against the other?

Has anybody experience?

Sandro

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Use a lapping plate: -

https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/How-To-Flatten-a-Waterstone-W69.aspx

No experience, just googled it.

 

[Spuddy]

Avoided hollows in my oilstones by using the ends and edges for sharpening smaller chisels.
For one that has gone hollow I've heard of using coarse emery cloth stuck to a bit of glass and then working down thro the grades of wet or dry.
Wonder if some coarse grinding paste would work - such as used for valve grinding - instead of the emery

 

[Lucy52]

Grinding past will wear the glass away quicker than the tool.

 

[Keith 66]

My favorite oilstone is quite soft & rapidly gets a hollow in it. You can resurface on a concrete slab or similar but much faster is a belt sander!
As for lubricant I dont use oil as it clogs up the stone. Parafin is good or just good old WD40, quick squirt on the stone & it works really well. Never clogs it up either.