Thread: Cleaning an Oilstone?

G'day Everyone
I'm helping my fiance clean out her late fathers shed. (geez-what a mess, its a bit like a diamond mine - a lot of grud with the occasional gem )
Anyway I have found a couple of manufactured oil (wet) stones, which, while not worn much, are just chocker with crud. ie old oil and dirt.
Has anyone ever tried cleaning these?
I'm thinking of sticking them in a pot of water, outside on the primus stove and boiling them for a while.
Any other suggestions?

regards
bollie7

you can put them in the dishwasher. Not sure about boiling water though. Maybe boil and leave it while, then put them in the pot.

oil stones wet stones??

If they are oilstones, soak them in kero.
If they are wetstones they are probably NBG. Boiling them can't hurt.

After cleaning the oilstones, you can prevent them crudding up again by using kero in the lubrication when sharpening.
I use a kero/oil mix of around 5/1. I have found this to be very effective and I always wipe the stones clean after use to prevent evaporation and oil buildup.

Here is mine that has had years of use in this way:
More information on my blog:
The Village Woodworker: Pre-Owned and Pre-Loved
Hope this helps.

SG

G'Day Fellas,
I hit mine with the pressure washer, need to keep it moving or you will blow holes in the stone.
Regards,
Martin

Originally Posted by Avery

oil stones wet stones??

If they are oilstones, soak them in kero.
If they are wetstones they are probably NBG. Boiling them can't hurt.

Avery. Ok, I learn something new every day. Can you clarify this a bit for me. I've seen the manufactured ones (as against natural stone) called oilstones, wetstones, sharpening stones etc. From your post I gather that there is a difference between oilstone and wetstone?
I have a couple of my own in the shed that I use for honing tools on and just use a bit of oil on them. They are kept covered so dirt isn't an issue. I also have another one of the same type which I keep in the kitchen just for knives which I only use water on.
regards
bollie7

If they are oilstones I have cleaned mine with Kero.
If they require flattening use a sheet of Silicon Carbide grade 120 Wetordry laid on a flat plate & rub the stone over it till flat & clean. Kero can be used.
Traditionally these old oilstones were used with Neatsfoot oil, an animal oil that tended to become gummy when the stones were not used.
I have also a pair of Shapton Ceramic stones 1000 grade & 4000 grade for woodworking tools & these are flattened the same way but using water as a lubricant.
regards
Bruce

Generally synthetic stones are oilstones and natural stones, such as the japanese stones are wetstones. In fact the word"wetstone" is a completely made up thing.

All sharpening stones were called "whetstones" , "whet" means to sharpen a blade.

Most people seem to prefer to use water as a lubricant on natural stones and this usage has coined the term "wetstone" . If you use oil on a natural stone it will still work OK but it will not be any good for use with water anymore. Natural stones are usually much softer and finer grit than synthetic stones

I use a 2:1 kerosene:light oil mix as a lubricant and clean the stones with kerosene.

Boiling and old stone, perhaps with some detergent, or as someone suggested, using a dishwasher , will certainly clean up an old stone, but oil will remain in the stone.

number one, don't boil them! the kero solution aint a bad idea as far as i know, ive seen thousands upon thousands of grinding , wet , oil stones left to their own devices and age isnt their friend, all depends on how they have been stored, easy to say clean it with a wet rag or boil it or rub kero on it, no worries.

get your finger nail and scrape it longitudaly and see how much is left under your nail, you migh have sand stone there now, so to speak. or you might have a brittle as glass stone there.

if you can get you hands on an industrial diamond large enough ( like ones used on mine raised drill shafts) that would take the surface off without compromising the stone any further.

I have sprayed WD40 or the like to lubricate and clean my ezi lap diamond stone and the other older type of stones. Works for me.

Originally Posted by bollie7

Avery. Ok, I learn something new every day. Can you clarify this a bit for me. I've seen the manufactured ones (as against natural stone) called oilstones, wetstones, sharpening stones etc. From your post I gather that there is a difference between oilstone and wetstone?
I have a couple of my own in the shed that I use for honing tools on and just use a bit of oil on them. They are kept covered so dirt isn't an issue. I also have another one of the same type which I keep in the kitchen just for knives which I only use water on.
regards
bollie7

thats a bloody good question Bollie

as I dont have to ask it, I wont look so dumb now...will I

Bloke

When I did my apprenticship back in the mid sixties as a smallgoods maker, I started out using oil on an oil stone, and was serverly chastised by an older apprentice for using oil. It's Kero what you use, Kero cleans the stone as you sharpen your knives he says.

Never used anything else since then. Worn out a few stones though.

I sharpen a bunch of different things.

For each of my 3 grit grades of oil stones, I use automotive motor oil as it is non-drying.
I nearly flood the stones to keep the swarf moving.
For cleaning, I use a cheap brass-bristle BBQ brush, lots of oil, lots of scrubbing and lots of paper towel. I think that would rehab a cruddy oil stone.

All 5 of my Japanese fine grit stones are called water stones, not wet stones.

When I know I'll need the water stones, I soak my selection while the oil stone work goes on. Two I keep specifically for lapping the others.
Good enough to keep the customers coming back.

I have some crooked knives for wood carving (there's a sweep to the blades and double edged). I've been using 1500 grit (and finer) automotive finishing W&D sandpaper with satisfactory results. Never seen a quicker way to wreck a water stone slip.

To clean an OIL STONE , as suggested KERO & BRASS BRUSH, If the stone is badly blocked , soak in Kero, over night , then scrub , repeat as required.

Kero is an abrasive in it's own right, and when mixed in a ratio with light oil works well on an OIL stone, WIPE THE STONE DOWN AFTER USE,.

Heavier motor oils , will hold any swarf , in suspension when they are being used, but do not let them stay on the stone as when the volitials evaporate , the heavy components of the oil will start to bolck the stone surface, along with the swarf from sharpening.


Jeff

vk4 (VE7APC here)
I agree that a long soak in kero will loosen any bunged up oil and dirt and swarf. I neglected to mention that in the flood of oil on my stones, they get wiped up with fresh oil and a good scrub avter every gross sharpening session. Yes, it's messy but I don't sweat those things.

Here at 53N, we need multigrade motor oils, I'm quite fond of Pennzoil 5W30. I'm sure that British Polluters market something similar.

Kero has no abrasive particles in it, nothing even so coarse as chromium green used in some honing compounds and also in artist's oil & acrylic paints. I suspect, rather, that the kero lifts and suspends very, very small particles of crushed abrasive from the stones themselves.