diamond sharpening plate.

[ED65]

what lighter oil would you recommend then?

I prefer not to use it myself but white spirit is a good option at the light end of the oily spectrum.

If you want something even lighter – with no oily feel, plus a more pleasant smell – then some use isopropyl alcohol on very fine hones (finer than 400 typically), although when you get to this sort of consistency there's a lot to be said for just using a window cleaner. For all intents one of these is the same as some of the posh honing solutions, at a tiny fraction of the price.

 

[ED65]

"Honerite' ...actually costs more by volume than a good Irish whisky, it's a blatant con trick - it'd make more sense to use 12 year old Redbreast* (no ice or water)!

Shocking isn't it? Possibly only exceeded in the level of swizz by camelia oil!

I actually know a couple of people who use bog-standard vodka as honing liquid or as the basis of a homebrew mix as it's the cheapest way they have of getting a weak ethanol solution, and needless to say it costs a lot less than commercial honing fluids.

Does puffin smell awful like 3 in 1?

P a r a f f i n referred/refers to something like kerosene, "liquid p a r a f f i n" on the other hand is the British term for mineral oil.

puffin - wtf?

I know, right? Is there some rude connotation of p a r a f f i n we're unaware of?? Some of the word substitutions on the site make sense, and the subs can be amusing, but this one sure has me scratching my head.